Three keys to keeping long-term mission partners
There’s no doubt about it, energetic volunteer mission teams are one of the best resources to give a boost to your church’s ministry. Every year scores of churches, mostly from the South, send teams to New England. Unfortunately, some of these do just one project and never return, while others come back year after year and accomplish an enormous amount of good. What is the difference?
Often preparation is the key to keeping long-term partnerships with churches that are passionate about missions. I believe there are three key ways a church must prepare for your incoming mission teams. If you do these things well, you are on your way to developing fruitful long-term partnerships. But if you do these things poorly, you may miss out on the enormous blessings long-term mission partners can bring.
Be ready for the workers.
Being unprepared will waste valuable time and demotivate your volunteers. Before the team arrives, purchase and have onsite all materials and supplies they will need for the project. Tell the team in advance any tools or materials they are expected to bring. Communicate thoroughly with the volunteer team leader to ensure he or she understands the assignment well.
Print and distribute to each volunteer a schedule of activities for the entire week and include phone numbers of church leaders to call in case of questions or emergencies. Know your church’s insurance liability and medical pay coverage for volunteers and have the policy information ready in case of an accident or injury. Think ahead and be ready to go to work!
Provide the best possible accommodations.
One of the most important factors contributing to a positive experience that encourages teams to return year after year, is a having suitable place for volunteers to eat, meet and sleep. Don’t underestimate how important this is!
Making a team comfortable doesn’t have to be expensive. Ask church members to prepare and serve lunches and dinners for your teams. Build a culture of hospitality in your church and enlist your members to host volunteers in their homes. Whether in the home of a church member or in your church building, provide a welcoming space for volunteers to gather together for prayer in the morning and for fellowship and worship at night.
Of course, you should offer all of this free-of-charge to the mission team members. You will find, however, that some volunteer teams want to bring their own cook and pay for their food or stay in hotels. If your church is small and you are unable to host volunteers in the homes of your members, your BCNE Regional coordinator can help you with housing solutions.
Express appreciation and celebrate their achievements.
Never forget: volunteers pay a significant price to serve our churches. They use up limited vacation time, purchase their own airfare, travel long distances, and work very hard to help you. At the end of the week, it is imperative to set aside time to thank your volunteers and celebrate their success. Start off with a slideshow of photos taken during the week. Enlist team members to share testimonials of the highlights of their work.
Present to each volunteer a nice gift, indigenous to your location that will remind them of their service in New England. Our church in New Hampshire, the Granite State, gave each volunteer a sparkling chunk of granite. (They loved it.) A jug of pure maple syrup is the perfect gift for volunteers serving churches in Vermont. A Boston Red Sox cap could be a great memento for teams serving in Massachusetts. You get the idea. But please, don’t give your volunteers a cheap, chintzy souvenir! Give them a nice gift and they’ll keep it for years to come as a constant reminder of you and your church.
Volunteer mission teams are making an enormous contribution to the impact of local churches and the spread of the Gospel across New England. Pastor, if you learn the keys to keeping long-term partnerships, they will do the same for you!
Sam Taylor serves as the Boston area regional coordinator at the Baptist Convention of New England.