This ProTip comes to you today from Marna Ward and Ben Bockert! WOOT!
Roles and Responsibilities
-Who creates them?
-Where can I find them?
-Why are they important?
-How does it support our church?
Roles and Responsibilities Communicate Respect
Have you been asked to take a job without knowing what you’ll be doing? Or have you said yes to a volunteer role, and it’s double the time you thought? Most often, we wouldn’t say yes to a job we don’t know anything about. Or if we said yes and it requires more time or isn’t what we thought, we may feel ill-equipped and undervalued, regretting our yes, dare we say even a teeny-bit disrespected?
That’s a pretty strong word, but working with volunteers is different than working with paid staff. When we are getting paid for a role, changes and adjustments get made, and we need to be flexible to what is required, but when it comes to working with people who are not getting paid, the stakes go up if we aren’t clear. Jenni Catron, in her article, Leadership: Making Volunteers Feel Valuable, shares:
“Volunteers don’t want to feel used and abused. We need to remember that there are a lot of things competing for their time and attention. Remember that volunteers aren’t here to help us; we’re here to help them. Our primary goal as ministry leaders is to equip the entire body for the work of the ministry.”
That’s why we have Roles and Responsibilities for each role on the DreamTeam. They play an essential part in helping our DreamTeam feel valued, cared for, equipped, and honored in their role.
What are the Roles and Responsibilities?
They are like a job description for each role on the DreamTeam. Each description answers the questions: what will I be doing, why does it matter, and when would I be doing it (how much time). The goal is to be as clear as possible on the ask and what is needed upfront. We get to be a part of a big mission, and we want to invite them into it with honesty, excitement, and clarity on how they are a part of it.
Who creates them?
The Senior Directors and their teams are provided a template to build each role and responsibility.
Where can I find them?
All the roles and responsibilities are posted on CreekHelp under GrowthTrack, including the template to build them.
Why are they important?
In addition to equipping our DreamTeam for the work of ministry and honoring them with an honest ask, it also helps others across our church know and understand the different roles available:
- Our GrowthTrack DreamTeam has access to them so that if someone is unsure about where to serve, they can provide more details on the roles they are considering.
- During an onboarding interview, they can be used to determine role fit and if their gifting and time match up.
- During a check-in with a team member, they may express interest in a new team, or, if a new gifting emerges, we can go over the role description to see if it would fit.
- Finally, while rare, it may also help in conversations where a team member isn’t a good fit in going back to what is being asked, why, and sharing what isn’t working.
Jenni Catron goes on to share in that same article, “…when volunteers feel valued and invest[ed] in, they become essential partners in ministry. Unfortunately, I’ve seen far too many leaders, including myself, drift toward seeing volunteers as another task we have to manage, rather than individuals to invest in.”
Valuing and investing in the DreamTeam as individuals starts with a clear roles and responsibilities description. It communicates how much we value and honor who God has made them to be and continues throughout their time serving on the DreamTeam through team meetings, retreats, launch, celebration, and the time you and your leaders spend with them one-on-one.