What should you do when you run out of volunteers?
How a church with limited resources found the people to serve.
5/21/20262 min read
Every church eventually faces this moment.
You look at the schedule…
and realize there’s no one left to fill the roles.
That’s exactly where we found ourselves.
We had:
Barely three people to run the screen
One person handling video
And an audio engineer who also had to lead worship
It wasn’t just stretched—it was unsustainable.
Something had to change.
The Reality: You Don’t Have Enough People
At first, the situation felt frustrating.
We kept asking:
“Where are we going to find more volunteers?”
But the truth was simple:
They weren’t coming.
No sudden wave of experienced people.
No perfectly trained media team walking through the door.
We had to face a hard reality:
We didn’t need more people.
We needed to develop the people we already had—and the ones we didn’t yet see as ready.
The Shift: Train People You Don’t Have
That mindset changed everything.
Instead of waiting for skilled volunteers, we started looking for:
People who were available
People who were curious
People who were willing
Not experienced. Just willing.
And then we made a decision:
We will train them, even if it takes time.
The Process: Slow, Simple, Intentional
We didn’t build a complex training system.
We kept it simple.
Step 1: Invite
We personally invited people:
“Would you like to learn how to run sound or help with media?”
Most people said yes—because no one had asked them before.
Step 2: Shadowing
New volunteers didn’t start by doing.
They started by watching.
Sitting next to the operator
Seeing how things work
Asking questions
Step 3: Small Responsibilities
We didn’t overwhelm them.
We gave them one task at a time:
adjusting one mic
changing one slide
pressing one button
Small wins built confidence.
Step 4: Repeat
Week after week, they improved.
Not quickly.
Not perfectly.
But consistently.
The Key Ingredient: Patience
This is where most churches struggle.
They want:
fast results
perfect execution
fully trained volunteers immediately
But that’s not how it works.
Training people takes time.
There were mistakes.
There were awkward moments.
There were Sundays that didn’t go perfectly.
But we stayed patient.
And slowly, things began to change.
The Result: A Growing Team
Over time:
The pressure on the original team decreased
New volunteers became confident
The system became more stable
And most importantly:
We no longer felt stuck.
The Bigger Lesson
Running out of volunteers isn’t the end.
It’s actually the beginning of building something better.
Because the goal isn’t to find perfect people.
It’s to build people.
Final Thought
If you feel like your church doesn’t have enough volunteers, remember this:
You probably don’t need more people.
You need:
a simple system
a willingness to train
and patience
Because when you’re willing to invest in people,
the right team will grow over time.
Contact
Reach out for support or questions
Phone
freddy@pikksaarmedialabs.com
+372 56681090
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