Recruiting, Training and Maintaining Volunteers For Disability Ministry

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Recruiting, Training and Maintaining
VolunteersFor Disability Ministry

• Pastor Julie Keith
• Crossroads Christian Church
• Corona, CA

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• ASK are you here as a Disabilities Ministry
  Director- paid or volunteer- does your church
  have a ministry or are you just starting out-
  Are you the only person in your church striving
  to get something started or are there others?

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RECRUITING VOLUNTEERS

• Volunteers are the life blood of any Disability
  ministry. Without volunteers your ministry will
  be limited in how effective it will be.
  
• If you are a lone ranger type of person- I can
  tell you that your ministry will not grow to the
  extent God would have it.

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WHERE TO RECRUIT

• small groups or Sunday school classes
• churchs bulletin, newsletter
• announcements to be made from the pulpit when
  they are recruiting for various ministries.
  
• youth group
• Womens ministries
• Seniors ministries- classes

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• Singles groups
• College groups
• Childrens ministry- they might know of some
  teachers who are special education teachers
  
• Universities that have special ed Degrees,
  occupational therapy or physical therapy majors
  
• Wherever you find people who have a heart for
  Gods Kingdom

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WHEN TO RECRUIT

• special campaigns/emphasis
• 40 Days of Purpose
• Spiritual Gifts Emphasis
• Ministry Fairs

• ONGOING
• During Bible Study/Small Groups
• Womens groups
• Mens group
• Sunday School class
• Website

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• Church social events
• One on One Conversations
• Prayer groups
• Always be ready to share the blessings of your
  ministry and the opportunities for others to get
  involved.

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HOW TO RECRUIT

• Be prepared
• Specific Ministry Position
• Volunteer application/packet
• Time Commitment You are asking for
• PRAY
• Develop relationship with a Pastor/Director
• Share Ministry Opportunities

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THE NEED

• 4 out of 5 marriages that produce a child with a
  disability or the spouse becomes disabled end in
  divorce
  
• 95 of families affected by disability are
  un-churched
  
• Disability affects 10-35 of our population
• Children with cognitive impairments are subject
  to abuse ten times more frequently than typical
  children and the incidence of abuse is in
  families where there is a disabled child is twice
  that of typical families

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VISION AND MISSION Biblical Basis for Disability
Ministry

• Then Jesus came to them and said All
  authority in heaven and on earth has been given
  to me. Therefore, go and make disciples of ALL
  nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
  and the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching
  them to obey everything I have commanded you.
  And surely I am with you to the very end of the
  age.

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Example of Jesus Own lifeHe ministered with
people who had disabilities

• Matthew 91-8 A man who has paraplegia
• Matthew 927-34 A man who is blind
• Mark 140-45 A man with leprosy
• Mark 521-27 A woman with excessive
  bleeding
  
• Mark 731-36 A man who is deaf
• Luke 438-44 Many people who had
  disabilities and illnesses
  
• Luke 1310-17 A woman who was crippled

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An Individual does not understand God through his
mind or body but by his spirit. 1Corinthians
29-12

• However, as it is written, No eye has seen no
  ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God
  prepared for those who love him but God revealed
  it to us by His Spirit. The Spirit searches all
  things, even the deep things of God. For who
  among men knows the thoughts of a man except the
  mans spirit within him? In the same way no one
  knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of
  God. WE have not received the Spirit of the word
  but the Spirit who is from God, that we may
  understand what God has freely given us.

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VISION AND MISSION Biblical Basis for Disability
Ministry

• Then Jesus said to his host, When you give a
  luncheon or a dinner, do not invite your friends,
  your brothers or relatives, or your rich
  neighbors if you do they may invite you back and
  so you will be repaid. But when you give a
  banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame,
  the blind, and you will be blessed. Although
  they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the
  resurrection of the righteous. Luke 1412-14

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but never underestimate their spiritual growth
and development and what God is doing in their
lives
All are needed in the body of Christ and must be
united to work together. No part of the body of
Christ is more important than other partsRomans
12 and 1 Corinthians 12-14
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How it effects volunteers personally

• Share Stories
• Personal Testimonies
• Spiritual blessings
• Develop new friendships

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Other Ways Of Recruiting

• Multi-media
• Resource center or welcoming center

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Volunteer application

• Personal Information name, address, phone, over
  or under 18, marital status, Spouses name,
  Childrens names and ages, Drivers License,
  Occupation, Employer, Home church and how long
  attended.
• Previous Ministry Experience if served in a
  church before how long, dates of service, church
  name, position held, and a phone number
  
• Previous Church Attendance a place for them to
  list at least the last two churches they have
  attended if applicable
  
• Christian Testimony Date became a Christian and
  a place for them to briefly describe events that
  led up to this- ask them about their current
  spiritual condition
• Personal References at least two NON family
  references with complete name, address, phone,
  relationship and how long you have known them.

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• Personal Background ask the following
  questions
  
• ever been arrested for, convicted of, or plead
  guilty or no contest to a criminal act ?
  
• Have you ever been accuse, arrested or convicted
  for any sexually-related crime?
  
• have you ever been accused, arrested or convicted
  for any abuse-related crime?
  
• do you use illegal drugs?
• Have you ever been hospitalized or treated for
  alcohol or substance abuse?
  
• Have you ever to your knowledge, been
  investigated by Child Protective Services, Adult
  Protective Services or any other governmental
  agency involved with the protection of children
  and/or dependent adults? 
• If answered yes to any of the above questions
  please explain.

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• Why do you want to work with the Disabilities
  Ministry?
  
• Box or designated area with specific areas of
  ministry- make sure you have a place for the
  individual to check the areas he/she is
  interested in serving
• Permission to Check background- you want a
  statement that reads I give the name of your
  church permission to check references, church
  history, personal or criminal background using
  the information provided. I understand that by
  submitting this application I am willfully
  permitting to this background check process. I
  understand the personal information learned from
  such background checks will be held confidential
  by Name of your church- then provide a place for
  person to sign and date
• Verification of truthfulness- statement declaring
  the information on application is correct
  
• Volunteer Agreement back page of application-
  verifies that volunteer understands his/her role
  and expectations- such things as leaving all bad
  habits at home, show respect for all persons at
  all times, respect and follow instructions,
  abstain from alcohol drugs, smoking and using
  profanity when volunteering, wear modest
  clothing, respect personal property of
  participants, remember you are here to serve with
  participants keep them at the forefront and
  include in conversations, respect and cooperate
  with ministry team.

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Volunteer Orientation

• share the vision and mission of your ministry
• why ministry exists and is important
• disability related facts
• Biblical Basis
• Introduction to Persons with Developmental/Cogniti
  ve Impairments
  
• Dealing with challenging behavior
• Ways to prevent challenging behavior
• Discipline practices

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• Consequences
• Safety tips and procedures
• Emergencies and incident/injury reporting
• Abuse reporting churches are mandated
  reporters
  
• Fire safety
• Child abuse and neglect
• When to report suspicion of child abuse
• elder/dependent abuse
• when to report elder/dependent abuse
• guidelines for mandated reporters
• first aid for seizures
• Language usage guide
• Information sheets on specific disabilities- can
  be obtained from National Information Center for
  Children and Youth with Disabilities
  www.nichcy.org or call 1-800-695-0285
• Any other information that is pertinent to your
  specific disabilities ministry

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ON-GOING HANDS ON TRAINING

• The best way for a volunteer to learn is to pair
  them up with other volunteers who have been
  serving longer or have more experience working
  with children and/or adults who have
  disabilities.
• Special Seminars, Trainings and Conferences

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• Personality Profiles and Spiritual Gifts Surveys
  
  
• DISC
• Myers Briggs
• Taylor Johnson Temperament analysis
• Personality Profile Test
• Spiritual Gifts Inventories

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MAINTAINING VOLUNTEERS

• Keep Ministry focus at the forefront
• Share personal stories
• Share any thank yous that come from the families
  
  
• Specific Commitments
• Teaching Teams

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• Volunteer Appreciation
• Appreciation luncheons or dinners
• Send a gift certificate to a resturant or
  favorite store on the birthday
  
• Christmas cards and/or a small gift
• Thank you cards
• Take out for a meal
• Discount Coupon Books
• Inexpensive gift of personal taste
• Saying thank you after a job well done- reinforce
  how important the volunteer is to the ministry
  and church

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Spiritual Development

• Have a Bible study with your key leaders
• Make it a requirement that all volunteers are
  involved in a Sunday school class or small group
  or attend service on Sundays or alternative night
  if you have that
• Ensure that volunteers are not spending all of
  their time serving so they dont get to church
  
• Spend time in prayer for each of your volunteers
• Check in with your volunteers how they are doing
  with their walk with God

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Empower to Ownership

• Teachers plan and implement lessons and crafts
• Event coordinators plan and implement events
• Coordinators to plan activities and arrange for
  volunteers
  
• Volunteers given freedom to use their own
  giftedness and talents the way God created them-
  Dont be afraid if something is done differently
  than you would do it