Turning Service into Discipleship



The U.S. Department of Labor reported that 33% of all volunteers worked the majority of their hours in 2013 serving with religious institutions. People are more inclined to volunteer within the church rather than with secular organizations.
However, do they see their volunteering as acts of discipleship? Do we help them see the difference between being in ministry versus performing a task or doing a job?
We can help by making the following changes:

Change our language. By definition, something a volunteer does is voluntary. Something a disciple does is the expected result of loving obedience to the one he or she follows. Language drives the culture in helping people see this difference.

Change our focus. Instead of focusing on the people we need to staff our ministries, we would focus on the people God has sent us, and on the God-given gifts they've received to do ministry.

Change our emphasis. Instead of telling people how easy serving will be or how little of their time it will take, show them how their service in ministry will be the most valuable time they invest all week.

Change how we view results. Instead of measuring how many people are sitting in the pews, measure how many people are working towards being disciples. 

Change how we view our leaders. Encourage ministry leaders to see that one of their most successful accomplishments is how they are raising up disciples.
Making these changes could mean we will soon have more on-fire people than we ever imagined! Disciples, not volunteers.

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