5 questions to ask before you volunteer in a ministry

How do you decide whether to volunteer to serve in a ministry or not? 

Your time is valuable. Your ministry clock is ticking. You don't want to spend your time serving in an organization with little or not clarity,

Today, I met with a ministry leader who is trying to decide if he wants to volunteer with a local parachurch ministry. I asked him about the Vision Frame of the organization. 

My friend really didn't know if the organization had clarity about vision and direction. So, I came up with a list of questions for him to ask.

These question might be good for you to use, too, before you decide whether to invest your time, talent, and treasure serving in some ministry organization. 

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I would like to learn more about your ministry’s mission statement, strategy, values, and marks of a fully trained person who has been discipled by your organization. I want to know if your ministry would be a good fit for me as I pray about getting more deeply involved.

1. A mission is a clear and concise statement that defines what a ministry is ultimately supposed to be doing. How do you express the mission of your ministry?

2. Values are the shared convictions that guide the actions of a ministry. What are you non-negotiable values at your ministry?   

3. A ministry’s strategy is the process that a ministry uses to accomplish its mission. What are the steps that you want a person to take who gets saved through your ministry so that they eventually are capable of being sent back into the ministry as a missionary? What do you want the person to do first, second, third, fourth, etc. ?

4. A ministry’s marks are a set of attributes in an individual’s life that define or reflect the accomplishment of the mission. What are the distinctive characteristics that you are trying to produce in an individual who gets saved and then grows through your organization’s ministries?

5. What are your goals over the next 3-9 months? Over the next 1-2 years? Over the next 3-5 years?

(Note: These questions have been inspired by Will Mancini's tool, the Vision Frame.)

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You, I’m sure, have other questions that you might want to ask. But gaining clarity on these 5 questions would be a good start.

If the leaders don't have good answers that seem to fit who you are, then keep looking for a better ministry fit. 

If the answers do seem to resonate with you and if the character and doctrine of the organization align with what you value, then serve Jesus in, through, with, and for that ministry with great passion and distinction!