Integrating New Volunteers

Now that you are actively recruiting, you will begin to locate new volunteers that match your ministry. The next step is to integrate them into your team. Here are some suggestions:

1. Introduce them to the team at the next meeting - if you don’t have a meeting planned already, schedule an informal one over snacks at someone’s house or get them together with part of the team before or after a church service
2. Send an introduction email to the team’s mailing list and include any staff or other leaders that would like to know about the new volunteer
3. Pair them up with someone - let them first learn what someone else is doing and free up your experienced people for new jobs
4. Get them engaged early - new volunteers will bail if they are left without things to do to make them feel wanted
5. Meet them every 2-4 weeks for the first few months to ensure that they remain connected and are engaged
6. Consider meeting with the rest of their
7. Don’t abuse them - respect the hours they signed up for when you interviewed them
8. Don’t burn them out - even if they are available for more hours, resist the temptation as it will place undue stress on them and cause you to potentially abuse them in the future