So You’re Looking for Volunteers? Best Practices

for Attracting and Sustaining People

Beverly O’Grady

Office of Formation for Discipleship

“For God is love. God always loves and therefore always calls new laborers into the harvest to complete His own work on earth.”

Archbishop Joseph Pillau

1. Hospitality

• Have people introduce themselves before Mass.

• Send a letter of welcome to newly registered parishioners. Have a volunteer follow-up with a phone call.

• Welcome young families with small children and babies.

• Have Pastoral Team greet people before and after Mass.

• Hold Coffee Sundays after Mass at least once a month. Have various Ministries host the event and introduce themselves.

2. Liturgy

• Good liturgy and great homilies will engage people and help bring them back.

• Music is important and a great way to engage a wide variety of people. Invest in a Children’s Choir to draw in parents.

• Liturgy of the Word with Children will support families.

• Offer tours of the Church to adults. Explain the vestments, sacred items and parts of the Mass.

3. Culture of Encounter

• Personally invite parishioners for coffee to get to know them.

• Parish social events create community. Host Spaghetti Suppers, Foods of the World, Pancake Breakfasts with intergenerational volunteers.

• Create opportunities for faith sharing – Bible Study, Lectio Divina, pilgrimages to sacred sites.

• Become more visible at the Catholic Schools. Young families inviting other young families to join an event or attend Mass goes a long way.

4. Sacramental Moments

• Use Sacramental Preparation opportunities to invite families back to the Church. Facilitate positive encounters.

• Have a Baptism Card ministry send a card to parents, congratulating them on their child’s Baptism.

• Say yes to a funeral Mass request. Moments of loss are opportunities for reconnection and support.

• Offer the Anointing of the Sick at Mass several times a year.

5. Engagement

• Personal invitations for ministry work best. People respond when you encourage their potential.

• Invest in good training, clear job descriptions and defined time commitments.

• Ask experienced parishioners to mentor new people.

• Express gratitude for those who serve by hosting a wine and cheese event. Publicly thank people for their involvement.

6. Outreach• Offer a Memorial Mass in November

for those who have lost loved ones in the past year. Read the names out loud and have families light a candle as a symbol of their grieving.

• Out of the Cold Programs, Breakfast Programs, St. Vincent de Paul.

• Support for families in need at Christmas – donations of gift cards, meals, mitts and socks for children at schools.

• Visit nursing homes to strengthen community connections.

7. Celebrations

• Celebrate wedding anniversaries once a month and offer the couples a blessing.

• Offer a Blessing of Easter Foods on Holy Saturday.

• Find ways for a variety of choirs to sing together at special feasts, Christmas and Easter.

• Celebrate intergenerational gatherings around a meal that reflect the Liturgical year.

• Offer a Blessing of Pets once a year.

• Host a Parish feast day to celebrate your parish’s namesake.

8. Ministry with Maturing Adults

• Begin a Maturing Adults ministry. The second half of life is a time of rich spiritual growth.

• Tap into the skills and talents of the newly retired.

• Offer Lunch and Learn programs for maturing adults. Meeting during the day is preferred.

• Request assistance with tax preparation, accessing the health care system, transportation to medical appointments.

9. Ministry with Youth

• Young adults are hungry for the sacred – Adoration, Taize. Vocations can spring from these opportunities.

• Invest in a Youth Minister. It may take years to show the success, but this is our future.

• Invite young people into ministry and begin to empower their leadership.

• Welcome fresh ideas and enthusiasm from youth and young adults. They can teach us how to interact with their world.

10. Survey of Needs

• Conduct a parish survey.

• Ask parishioners what they want to see offered at the church so that they are invested in the outcome.

• Ask what talents they are willing to share with the community.

• Send the survey to parents at the Catholic Schools and ask what they are seeking from their parish.

Summary of ideas:

Bulletin announcements are not a good way to attract quality volunteers. You might end up with people who are not suitable for the ministry that needs assistance.

Volunteers can be “fired” from ministries where they are not doing a good job. Don’t settle for a warm body. Expect the best and have people live up to your expectations.

If you have to ask someone to step down from a ministry, try to steer them into a ministry that will make good use of their talents.

Summary of ideas:

Be positive in your outreach and invitations. Stress the positive aspect that the “volunteer” will enjoy, so that the ministry sounds inviting.

Personally ask individuals to join a specific ministry.

Clear job descriptions and defined length of time commitment is essential. Busy people do not want to find themselves committed for eternity.

Terms of service could be two years, renewable twice. Rather than seeing a ministry as a clique, new people must constantly be invited into service.

Summary of ideas:

When people are close to completing their term of service, ask them to recruit their own replacement. Let them mentor the new person for a number of months.

Ensure that your new recruits are well trained. Feeling unprepared in a ministry position will prompt new people to run away. They won’t come back if they are uncomfortable.

New ministries can offer individuals a way to develop new skills. There has to be a win-win proposition for everyone.

Summary of ideas:

People are motivated by having their needs met – the need to socialize, to be recognized, to make a difference. Consider what needs can be met through the ministry you need filled.

Listen to people’s suggestions, concerns and feedback. Take it seriously and let them know they are making a difference. Avoid the mindset – “But we have always done it this way!”

Take time to thank people for their contributions, face to face. Feel good scenarios keep us coming back.