Stop Recruiting Volunteers: Start Developing Ministry Owners
Leadership Reality
Pastor, church leader, let me ask you something.
How many times have you heard these words?
“We need more volunteers.”
We need more greeters.
We need more children's ministry workers.
We need more people in production.
We need more people to help with outreach.
And because the need is real, we start recruiting.
We make announcements. We send emails. We ask people personally. Sometimes we practically beg.
Eventually, somebody says yes.
We give them a position, put them on the schedule, and celebrate because the vacancy is filled.
But here's the question: Did we develop a leader, or did we just fill a position?
There's a difference.
A person can serve every Sunday without ever feeling connected to the mission.
They can complete every assignment without understanding why their contribution matters.
They can faithfully follow instructions without ever developing the confidence to take initiative.
And when that happens, the ministry becomes dependent on the same few people to keep everything moving.
The problem isn't always that we need more volunteers.
Sometimes we need to rethink how we're developing the people we already have.
Filling positions keeps ministry operating. Developing ownership helps ministry grow.
Let's Open the Book
In Exodus 18, Moses is doing important work.
People are coming to him with questions, disputes, and decisions. He's helping them understand God's instructions and resolve their problems.
But the entire operation depends on him.
His father-in-law, Jethro, recognizes the problem and tells him that what he's doing isn't sustainable.
Then Jethro offers a different approach.
Moses should teach the people, establish clear responsibilities, and appoint capable leaders who can share the work.
Read Exodus 18:19–23.
Moses doesn't abandon his responsibility.
He develops other people to carry responsibility with him.
He moves from being the person who handles everything to becoming a leader who equips others.
And the result is a healthier structure for Moses and the people.
Here's the leadership lesson: If everything depends on you, you haven't built a leadership system. You've built a dependency.
The goal isn't simply to find more people willing to help Moses.
The goal is to develop people capable of carrying the mission.
Research & Reality
Gallup's 2026 employee engagement research offers an important insight into ownership.
Among U.S. employees surveyed in 2025, only 28% strongly agreed that their opinions counted at work. Just 31% strongly agreed that someone encouraged their development, and 32% felt strongly connected to their organization's mission or purpose.
Those findings concern employees rather than church volunteers, so they aren't a measurement of volunteer engagement. But they highlight questions worth asking in ministry.
Do our volunteers believe their ideas matter?
Are we developing them, or simply assigning them tasks?
Can they explain how their contribution connects to the mission?
A separate 2025 Gallup and Stand Together study of U.S. working adults found that people with a strong sense of purpose at work were 5.6 times as likely to be engaged as those with a low sense of purpose.
The ministry application is worth considering: People need more than something to do. They need to understand why what they do matters.
Let’s Think About This
There are three important differences between recruiting volunteers and developing owners.
1. Volunteers fill positions. Owners understand purpose.
A volunteer knows they're scheduled to greet at 9:00 AM.
An owner understands that the way someone is welcomed may shape their entire experience at church.
A volunteer knows they're responsible for checking children into a classroom.
An owner understands that they're helping create an environment where parents feel confident and children feel safe.
The task matters. But understanding the purpose changes how people approach the task.
2. Volunteers follow instructions. Owners take initiative.
If the only thing people know how to do is wait for your instructions, every problem eventually comes back to you.
Ownership doesn't mean people operate without accountability.
It means they understand the mission, know their responsibilities, and have the authority and support to make appropriate decisions.
They don't have to call the pastor every time something needs attention.
They know what they're responsible for, and they're equipped to act.
3. Volunteers complete assignments. Owners help improve the ministry.
A person who simply fills a position may notice a problem and assume somebody else will fix it.
A person who has developed ownership is more likely to ask:
“How can we make this better?”
“What are we missing?”
“What would help our team serve people more effectively?”
That's when ministry begins moving beyond participation toward shared responsibility.
And that's when leaders start multiplying.
Real & Raw
I've led ministries where we celebrated because every position was filled.
The doors opened.
The service happened.
The event was successful.
Everybody did what they were supposed to do.
But I've also had to ask myself a harder question:
What did it cost the people who made it happen?
Were the same dependable people carrying everything again?
Did they have what they needed?
Were we developing anybody new?
Did they have a voice in how the ministry operated?
Or were we simply grateful that they showed up and got the job done?
I've learned that you can have a full volunteer schedule and still have an unhealthy volunteer culture.
You can have people serving faithfully while quietly becoming frustrated.
You can have people doing the work without ever feeling like they have a meaningful part in building the ministry.
And sometimes, as leaders, we unintentionally create that environment.
We ask people to help, but we don't invite them to think.
We give them responsibility, but not the authority they need.
We tell them what to do, but rarely explain why it matters.
Then we wonder why they aren't taking initiative.
Here's what I've had to learn: You cannot expect people to take ownership of something you've never invited them to help build.
Ministry Cheat Code™
What people help build, people help protect.
If you want people to take greater ownership, give them meaningful opportunities to contribute.
Invite their ideas.
Listen to their experiences.
Develop their judgment.
Let them help solve problems.
Give them appropriate responsibility and accountability.
Ownership grows when people recognize that their contribution matters beyond completing an assignment.
ChurchLeaderOS Principle
Ownership follows involvement.
But involvement must be more than putting someone's name on a schedule.
Healthy churches intentionally create opportunities for people to contribute their gifts, develop their leadership, and participate meaningfully in the mission.
The goal isn't to make everybody a department head.
The goal is to develop people who understand what they're doing, why it matters, and how they can help make it better.
Don't just give people something to do. Give them a meaningful part in what you're building.
Let’s Reflect
Think about your staff, ministry leaders, and volunteers.
1. Where are we filling positions without intentionally developing the people serving in them?
2. Which responsibilities still depend on one person because we haven't equipped anyone else?
3. When was the last time we asked our volunteers how they would improve the ministry?
And here's the harder question: If you stopped giving instructions for a week, would your ministry leaders know how to move the mission forward?
Your Assignment
This week, choose one ministry team.
Don't start by asking whether they need more volunteers.
Instead, meet with the people who are already serving and ask three questions:
1. What part of this ministry do you believe you can take greater ownership of?
2. What decisions or responsibilities could you handle if you had more clarity, training, or support?
3. What's one thing we could improve that would help us serve people better?
Then identify one meaningful responsibility you can begin transferring over the next 30 days.
Clarify the expected outcome.
Provide the necessary resources.
Establish appropriate decision-making authority.
Agree on when you'll check in.
And let that person lead.
Don't just delegate a task. Develop the person carrying it.
Remember This
A full volunteer schedule doesn't necessarily mean you have a healthy volunteer culture.
You can have every position filled and still have people who feel disconnected, underdeveloped, or exhausted.
Don't measure ministry only by whether the work gets done.
Pay attention to what getting the work done is doing to your people.
Your Move
We're just one week away from Momentum Meetup '26, and this is the third leadership KPI we'll be working through: Keep People Involved.
Not just busy.
Not just scheduled.
Not just available.
Involved in a way that develops ownership and strengthens the mission.
On Saturday, September 26, we'll work through all four leadership KPIs:
Interested
Informed
Involved
Inspired
You'll assess your church, identify the area that needs your attention most, and develop a 30-Day Leadership Action
Plan you can begin implementing immediately.
A few seats remain, and I'd love to have you in the room.
Momentum Meetup ’26
Saturday, September 26, 2026 · 10 AM–1 PM
The 4 Leadership KPIs Every Church Must Protect
Three focused hours. Four leadership KPIs. One actionable plan.
See you next Saturday!
Eric V Hampton
Make. Mature. Multiply. Leaders. Helping busy pastors design strategies that work, implement systems that last, and develop leaders who can shepherd people.