If You Raise Your Hand...

Dear Jake,

     As you know our church sets up in a gymnasium every Sunday.  The process starts at about 6am.  There are good things about setting up church every week.  We have a really cool ministry made up of men who talk about football, work, and what's going on in their lives as they line up chairs, stand up curtains, construct a stage, plug in cables, and stretch out giant screens.  There are two teams of men and they rotate setting up by month.  Overall, we have always felt that it is a blessing to be able to do a worship service this way and involve so many people that might not otherwise be involved.
     Every Friday morning I create a map for the setup crew so that on Sunday morning, when they arrive, they can see how the stage should be assembled.  This week while I was etching out directions I suddenly remembered that we would have "Team A" setting up and I let out a joyous "YES!".  When Pastor Doug asked what I was excited about I told him, "We have a new setup crew." He joined me in celebrating.  A short time later Doug retired to his office and I sat back and felt a tinge of guilt that I was so excited that Team B was being replaced by Team A.
     Each team operates a little bit differently and it changes everything.  Team B doesn't really have a leader.  This means that it is Pastor Doug that shows up at 6am and starts unpacking and moving equipment into the gymnasium.  It isn't until 7:00 when team members start to meander in.  They start putting things together, and the stage gets assembled, but it remains empty, free of any sound equipment.  It isn't until everything else is set up, and the worship team has arrived that the monitors, speakers, cables, and instruments, begin to get set up.  Most of that work is being done by the worship team.
     The worship team is supposed to be at church to do sound checks at 8:00 which means they are expected to get there early to get plugged in and tuned up.  When Team B is on setup the worship team has never been doing sound checks by 8am.  Instead they are setting up the stage at that time.
     It's not Team B's fault, they only have one person who knows how to plug everything in and he is only there about 50% of the time. While they are great at taking directions, the rest of the team can't really take the initiative to get it done.
     Let me tell you about Team A.  Doug doesn't arrive for setup at all.  He doesn't need to.  They have a team leader who carpools with a couple other guys.  By the time the rest of the team starts rolling in around 6:45 the work is half done.  The rest of the guys show up and everyone has a job and immediately gets to it.  Everyone working in their place.  By 7:35 they are hanging around their cars chatting and joking with each other before they head out to help their wives get their families ready for church.  When the worship team arrives near 7:45 there isn't a single person from Team A there.
     The effects that trickle down from the two teams change the entire worship service.  When Team B is on, sound checks and rehearsals tend to be rushed and everyone is on edge.  The worship team gets started late.  There is a break of 25 minutes between when the worship team is supposed to be done so that video and other microphones can be tested.  During that time the worship team gathers, prays, goes through the order of worship, and I take prayer requests from the team so that I can pray for them during the week.  When Team B is on we have very little time to do that and usually I quickly pray and run through the order of worship.  We've even noticed that during worship things go differently too.  Little mishaps or sound bugs are much more likely when Team B is on.
    When Team A is on we have noticed that people are more willing to give feedback on things during the service.  We hear more "I really was touched by..." or "God really spoke to me when..." comments.  The staff (all of them, including the church administrator who has nothing to do with setup) have noticed a significant increase in energy after a service that Team A set up.
     So why do I tell you this?  What does it matter?
     The things that you do have way more of an impact than you realize.  Volunteering for anything is a risky thing.  It can take a lot out of you.  It's easy to push it down on your list of priorities.  Sometimes we don't see the many ways our actions trickle down and have a great affect on outcomes.  At a church (and likely anywhere you volunteer) you are incredibly important.
     So whatever you raise your hand to do be it taking out the trash or operating a sound board, I beg you, do it with all your heart.  Make it joyful and do it well.  Make it your ministry.  Learn about it, get better at it, lead in it.  You could be involved in the work of the Holy Spirit moving in people.  You could be a witness to life change.
     Do you volunteer anywhere?  What do you volunteer for?  Have you ever thought about how important your volunteering really is?  I look forward to hearing from you on Thursday.

Sincerely,
Joel