Serving and Well-being

Having worked in the nonprofit and the faith-based sectors for over three decades, I have seen the benefits of inviting people into meaningful ways to serve. You are offering them a chance to use their spiritual gifts, to connect with their passions, to make a difference. Every time there is new research on the benefits of serving (volunteering), additional key benefits rise to the fore. People

·         Make friends

·         Connect with their community

·         Experience better health

·         Become higher functioning

·         Find their depression lifting.

If you are someone whose job it is to invite others to get involved, you might not use all of this information as part of your invitation. However, when you’re shepherding, counseling, pastoring, discipling, mentoring, or just walking alongside someone, you can keep in mind that engaging them in service improves their overall health and well-being. Additionally, when people discover and use their gifts, they connect with God’s greater purpose for them. When they work in their areas of greater interest, they stay motivated and are more likely to invite others as well.

Additional Resources:

Inviting People into the Adventure and Growth of Serving

Most People Volunteer Because They Were Asked!

Shirley Giles Davis, author of the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and leaders in a diversity of fields for over 30 years. She has also been Equipping Ministries Director at her church since 1999.

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© Photo by Shirley Giles Davis, all rights reserved.