JasonStandfield

Merry Christmas!

It has been a bit of time since my last post, but I felt compelled to share a revelation that my son, Andrew, had while volunteering to deliver gifts yesterday with his mom and siblings. As most of you know, the Giving Tree at SLC was a great success this year. Many people took tags, gave gifts, and blessed families around the community. Here is a story from the delivery side of the gifts that touched me in many ways, and I hope will touch you all as well. Upon returning from delivering gifts Andrew (our 8 year old son), looked a bit down. I asked him how the gift delivery went, and he told me that when they went into the house to deliver gifts, the woman who received them broke down into tears and cried as they brought in the gifts. he told me that he felt bad because he had not been a “good boy” all year and he had made bad choices. He told me he felt he didn’t deserve the gifts he knew he would be getting.

It broke my heart to see him experiencing that emotion. He had served in a new way. He had seen what God can do through the lives of complete strangers, and the acts of kindness that our church family displayed. We hugged him and told him that we loved him and he had been forgiven for his actions over the course of the year. We showed him later that God tells us in 1 John 1:9 that we can be certain that God forgives us.

Service to others changes us. As we experience our new lives in Christ, the journey begins inside of us, as the Holy Spirit transforms us and makes us a new creation. There comes a point in every Christ-followers journey when we begin to sense that Christ doesn’t just transform us, he wants to use us to help others experience that same transformation. To be clear, the transformation is God initiated, and guided by His Holy Spirit. But God can use each of us and our unique stories to help transform hearts and minds to be more like Him. Real service, in my opinion, is defined by the motives behind our actions. Service is Holy Spirit directed, inspiring, and selfless.

Service is at the heart of the Christ-centered life. Christ volunteered His very life to save us from our sins. He volunteered to live the life we could not, and take the punishment we all deserve. Yesterday, Andrew understood that what he deserved was far worse than what he would be given. A friend asked me last week what Christmas meant to me, and I responded that God did the most selfless thing anyone could have ever done for me. He gave me His only Son, who lived and died for me, so that I could experience a personal relationship with Him.

We all have been given a gift this Christmas season, and Christ is that gift. That gift gives us grace, which is defined as God’s unmerited favor. We can’t earn it, and we don’t deserve it, but He gives it to us anyways because of His abundant love for us. Yesterday, Andrew experienced that grace in a new and hopefully life-changing way. I am thankful this season because I know that he would not have been able to recognize that gift without the people at Sound Life Church who volunteer in all aspects of ministry. Our kids, neighbors, relatives, and friends have the opportunity to experience the grace of God, through Christ, because so many volunteer their time every day throughout the year. The volunteer spirit is found in recognizing God’s grace in your life and deciding to do something about it.

If you are a volunteer, thank you. If you participated in the Giving Tree, thank you. If you are reading this post, and don’t yet have a place to serve, find one. Ask God to reveal to you where He wants you to serve and use your gifts and talents. It’s free, it’s fun, and you will definitely impact the lives of people who walk through the doors of Sound Life Church.

God bless you and your family this Christmas.

Hello!

Our volunteers at Sound Life Church mean a lot to all of us on the staff. The questions I have had to most commonly ask myself is: “How do we recruit, train, and retain a group of volunteers?” I’m going to warn you from the beginning, I don’t have this all figured out yet, but I do have some observations that I would like to share with you.

This week we’re going to discuss the first step in volunteer recruitment: asking for help. I know, it sounds ridiculous, but too many people (wrongly) assume that the perfect volunteers will just show up out of the blue begging to be a part of your team. You have to invite them first! When asking for help, remember that the word is “volunteer” not “volun-told.” People, in my experience, dislike being ordered around like robots. So, when you ask, use words like “Would you be able to…” and “Would you be willing…” Don’t say things like “Hey! You’ve got two arms and a strong back! Stack those chairs!” It doesn’t work. Incidentally, when asking for help from someone with a specific skill set or trade, make sure you are clear on exactly what you need accomplished. Many people are willing to offer their expertise, but don’t want to turn a volunteer ministry experience into something that reminds them of their day job. So, if you need wrenches turned, wires spliced, or cabinets installed, make it clear that you are willing to work alongside them, learn about their trade, and do the cleanup part for or with them. The keys here are listen, learn, and participate. You’re asking for expert help, not general labor.

In the end, all we are asking for is time they are already willing to give. Remember, it truly is not what you say, but how you say it. I just want to take a moment to thank all the volunteers that have offered their time and expertise to the Ministry Services team over the last two years. Thanks for your expertise, friendship and passion for service! Over the next couple of posts, I’ll write about volunteer training and retention. In the meantime, ask yourself two questions:

1. Where can I serve?

2. Who can I invite to serve with me?