The Volunteer Playbook: A proven framework to help your church recruit, train, and empower more volunteers

by Nick Blevins

Are you tired of never having enough volunteers?

Are you overwhelmed by the challenge of leading a ministry without having enough time to work on it to make it better?

Do you want to build a healthy volunteer culture that will help your ministry and your church thrive?

The Volunteer Playbook will give The 5-part framework to recruit more volunteers consistentlySpecific plays you can run to apply each chapter to your ministry8 game changers that will significantly transform your volunteer cultureStructure that will allow your volunteer team to expandIdeas to boost volunteer recruitment all year longMost churches have a volunteer problem. That problem is holding back their ministry and their church. The trouble is, it's not one problem. It's a collection of issues that all have a negative impact on volunteerism in your church.

Run the plays outlined in the book, and you can turn volunteerism from a frustration to fuel for your ministry.

274 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 18, 2023

Reviews

[Ashley Chaddock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book had so many practical ideas I can apply to my job as a volunteer coordinator at our church! There are so many ways to grow your volunteer base and help them to feel appreciated and encouraged. I have already started applying some of them and hearing positive feedback. Highly recommend!!

[Steve · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve served in the student ministry world for over 20 years, and one thing I learned early on is that I cannot do it alone. Because recruiting and leading teams are an ongoing tasks within ministry, it’s so important that we do them well. But for many, this does not come naturally. Thankfully, Nick Blevins has created a tool to help!

Over the years, teams became one of my passions. But when you first step into a ministry, this can be especially overwhelming. How are we supposed to form a team? How do we train them? How do we continue to grow the team over time? How do we build a foundation for our team based on the vision and mission God has given us? How do we structure the team, equip them, and empower them?

While there is a lot of great content, I really enjoyed Nick’s five-part volunteer framework, where he provides leaders a step-by-step process to forming an ongoing recruitment plan. He also identifies four basic elements to build a strong foundation in your ministry team, provides a great suggestion on how to structure your team for multiplied impact, and focuses heavily on how to involve teenagers in your volunteer teams.

I think another reason I like this book so much, because it is not filled unproven concepts. Instead, it is based on years and years of learning. Over time, Nick developed this strategy from his own experiences, and he knows it can work.

I also love how he included very practical steps, additional resources, and game-changing strategies throughout the book. A lot of times I will read something filled with theory and opinions, but I’m still left wondering what the author suggests I do with all of it. This is not that type of book, as Nick provides questions to consider and ways to put it into practice.

If a ministry leader dedicated some time to read through this book, contextualize it, and put it into practice, I strongly believe they could have an amazing volunteer ministry that will do far more than any one person could do on their own.

[Brooke Whitson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a literal game changer, sprinkled with lots of small to medium game changing actions that will take alllll the stress out of your plans for volunteer recruitment and retention. It’s scalable for the size of your team (and the team of your dreams) and easy to integrate into your weekly schedule, even if you only work part time in ministry.

I’m excited to put these ideas and strategies into practice!

[Lori Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book filled with practical resources and advice for people who lead volunteer teams. I found it helpful as I begin to prepare to form volunteer teams in a new church plant. Highly recommend!

[Kim Botto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Volunteers are our greatest assist in childrens ministry. Nick gives helpful tips and strategies from recruiting and retention to training, encouraging and building a team leadership structure. If you want new ideas to build a healthy volunteer team this book is for you.

I received an advance copy of this book. This review is my own.

[Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a must have for those who work with volunteers. It gives everything you need in a workable framework. It is super practical. It is worth your time and investment.

-I received this book for my honest review.