Meaningful Engagement in the New Year: Questions to Ask

Dear Ministry Leader:

 Happy 2026! With the New Year, and with new people visiting your church in recent weeks, it's a great time to be thinking about how you plan to engage these people in your ministries. Leaders, as Paul says, in Ephesians 4, are to "equip the saints for ministry", helping them toward maturity in Christ.

 Hopefully, you have clear job descriptions for what you hope the right people will fill.

 Having a prayer team praying over these needs is essential, as is the following:

 •           Are you asking at least four-six times as many people as you have positions to fill? Each of these conversations is an important touch-point with an important person in the eyes of God. You WILL have to make a LOT of personal invitations. Fewer if you have spent time praying and thinking through how their gifts and talents and interests fit the position needs.

 •           Do people understand what’s being asked of them? Do they feel seen, valued, important?

 •           Have you connected the ministry position needs/expectations to the person’s own interests/passions/understanding of God’s call on their life and their value to the congregation/community?

 •           Do people feel personally, intentionally invited or like they are just interchangeable cogs in filling a slot?

 •           Are you asking too much or too little?  Are you willing to be creative and flexible with the position’s hours and demands?

 •           Has there been a recent staff/leader change such that the current team who were invited and trained are more connected to/allied with the former leader/staff member and perhaps see this season as a time to rotate off? This is completely normal. Taking time to get to know these faithful servants AND re-casting the vision for these existing people can go a long way to keeping them.]

 •           The BEST “recruiters” of others for a position are those who are already serving there. Ask them to invite their friends!

 As always, I'm happy to help you brainstorm ways to engage others. [Feel free to use the Contact form at the bottom of this website page.] Your job is not to do everything! And, by growing your team, you are expanding and extending ministry in exponential ways—ways that you, alone, could simply not cover.

 Blessings,

Shirley

 

Important resources:

 

 

Shirley Giles Davis, author of God's Affirmations For You: A Book of Encouragement—A 12-Week Devotional Practice, the God. Gifts. You. Your Unique Calling and Design workbook, Your Unique Design Class Guide, Your Unique Design Facilitator Guide, DIOS. DONES. TÚ.: Tu llamado y diseño único (Spanish Edition), and Gifts-Calling-Purpose blog, is a consultant, coach, facilitator who has worked with hundreds of faith-based organizations, nonprofit agencies, and executive leaders in a diversity of fields for four decades. She currently serves as Catalyst for Equipping at her church.

 

Photo © Shirley Giles Davis. 

All rights reserved.

Additionally, the contents of these blog posts may not be used to train generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies without the author's express permission

Shirley Giles Davisephesians 4, engaging volunteers, church volunteers, church volunteerism, church ministry job descriptions, personalizing volunteer invitations, connecting passions and interests to volunteering, calling and ministry, creativity in volunteer jobs