Community Volunteers Coordinator Job Description

Result Expected

An effective leader will guide the congregation to understand that Christian discipleship is lived out through volunteer service to the community. This leader will connect people with opportunities for community service.

Spiritual Gifts and Qualifications Helpful for the Job

This ministry coordinator benefits from having one or more of these spiritual gifts: servanthood, teaching, exhortation (encouragement), leadership, compassion, discernment, helping, and administration. This leader should show evidence of passion for active Christian service lived out through a wide range of volunteer service in the community.

This leader needs the ability to listen to and communicate with people of all ages, ability to work with leaders of non-profit and service organizations in the community, skills for researching and developing service opportunities for people of all ages in the congregation, and discernment to connect service with Christian discipleship.

This leader should show genuine interest in responding to the hopes and concerns of people in the community.

Responsibilities of the Position

• This leader will coordinate the planning and implementation of opportunities for the congregation to serve the community in which it is located.
• The leader will consider the theological and biblical foundations for Christian service through regular Bible study and discernment in choosing projects.
• This leader will provide and communicate opportunities for people in the congregation to serve the community and make a difference that fulfills the mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ who transform the world.
• This leader will be intentional about helping people debrief their volunteer experiences and connect those experiences with Christian discipleship.
• This leader will help the congregation celebrate an annual Human Relations Day offering and other efforts for congregational and/or community service.
• This leader will link with organizations, people, and resources in and beyond the congregation that are concerned with service.
• This team leader is accountable to the charge conference through the church council.

Getting Started

1. Learn about the hopes, needs, and lives of people in the community and congregation. Seek to identify gaps where the congregation can lead the way in making a positive difference in the community.
2. Talk with people in your congregation and other congregations who are interested in community volunteering.
3. Soon after you are elected, gather a group of interested people to help you plan. Share the ministry with others by delegating projects to people in the church or community who have a passion for this work.

People and Agencies That Can Help

• Your pastor and people in your congregation, the community, and other congregations who share your interest. Be alert to community groups committed to community volunteerism and organizing as well as to community needs. As you travel, visit other congregations to check out ways they are affecting the communities in which they are located.
• Discipleship Ministries, www.umcdiscipleship.org/leadership-resources/church-leaders; toll-free, 1-877-899-2780; email [email protected]
• InfoServ, the information service for the church, provides current information about United Methodist resources, programs, and staff services. Email: [email protected]; Website: infoserv.umc.org.

Web and Print Resources

• The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church, 2016 (Nashville: The United Methodist Publishing House, 2016)
• Compassion in Practice: The Way of Jesus by Frank Rogers, Jr. (Upper Room Books, 2016)
• Compassion: Thoughts on Cultivating a Good Heart compiled by Amy Lyles Wilson (Upper Room Books, 2008)
• Congregational Tool Box for Prison Ministry by Betsey Heavner (Nashville: Discipleship Resources)
• Five Practices of Fruitful Congregations by Robert Schnase (Abingdon Press, 2007)
• Growing Compassionate Kids: Helping Kids See Beyond Their Backyard by Jan Johnson (Upper Room Books, 2000)
• Interpreter, www.interpretermagazine.org
• Let the Children Give: Time, Talents, Love and Money by Delia Halverson (Upper Room Books, 2007)
• Living Our Beliefs: The United Methodist Way by Kenneth Carder (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2007)
• A Mission Journey: A Handbook for Volunteers (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2014)
• Mission Opportunities
• https://umcyoungpeople.org/missions
• http://umvim.org/
• www.freshexpressions.org.uk (mission in local communities is bringing “fresh expressions” of the British Methodist Church)
• Three Simple Rules: A Wesleyan Way of Living by Rueben Job (Abingdon Press, 2007)
• Transforming Ventures: A Spiritual Guide for Volunteers in Mission by Jane Ives (Upper Room Books, 2000)
• The Volunteer Book: A Guide for Churches and Nonprofits by Denise Locker (Beacon Hill Press, 2010)
• The Volunteer Revolution: Unleashing the Power of Everybody by Bill Hybels (Zondervan, 2003)