{"id":774,"date":"2010-05-21T12:05:01","date_gmt":"2010-05-21T17:05:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.churchvolunteerdaily.com\/daily\/retention\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/"},"modified":"2016-09-07T18:30:44","modified_gmt":"2016-09-08T00:30:44","slug":"avoiding-volunteer-burnout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/","title":{"rendered":"Avoiding Volunteer Burnout"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever heard this before?<\/p>\n<p><em>\u201cI\u2019m going to take a few months off from&#8230; [teaching Sunday school\/leading worship\/ushering\/any other volunteer position]. I\u2019m just a little burned out and I need a break.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Sadly, many of those volunteers never come back.<\/p>\n<p>Simple recognition of the time, energy, and sacrifice of volunteers, however, can turn them into Energizer Bunnies\u2014they\u2019ll keep going and going.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRecognition does more than express appreciation,\u201d says Margie Morris, author of Volunteer Ministries (Standard Publishing). \u201cIt validates and motivates. It provides both in\u00adcentive and visibility to the volunteer. It says to the volunteer that their work is important, and that the church supports their effort.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5em\">Morris lists a number of simple ways you can ensure that volunteers get the recognition they deserve:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Mention volunteers by name during worship and prayer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Greet volunteers warmly and ask how their ministries are going.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Supply a volunteer suggestion box.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Issue a permanent name tag that also includes the job title they hold.<\/li>\n<li>Hold a reception for volunteers during the worship service, and encourage members of the congregation to thank volunteers for their service.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Invite volunteers to participate in staff planning sessions.Make sure volunteers know you have time to listen to their problems.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Send a donation to a mission project in a volunteer\u2019s name.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Be generous with well-deserved praise\u2014both publicly and privately.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Write a letter of recommendation for the volunteer.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Send personal birthday cards thanking each volunteer for another year of service.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Honor a \u201cVolunteer of the Month.\u201d<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>Reward innovation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Nurturing volunteers through public and private recognition and in writing will not only keep volunteers going, it will stretch them further to attempt new challenges. Which of these have you used with your volunteers? Which ones are you going to try?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever heard this before? \u201cI\u2019m going to take a few months off from&#8230; [teaching Sunday school\/leading worship\/ushering\/any other volunteer position]. I\u2019m just a little burned out and I need a break.\u201d Sadly, many of those volunteers never come back. Simple recognition of the time, energy, and sacrifice of volunteers, however, can turn them into Energizer Bunnies\u2014they\u2019ll keep going [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":82,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,670],"tags":[178,179,180,112,113,184,231,105,199,200,201,115,202,196,203,204,205,206,15,207],"class_list":["post-774","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-retain","category-volunteers","tag-christian-volunteer","tag-christian-volunteer-program","tag-christian-volunteer-programs","tag-church-volunteer","tag-church-volunteer-central","tag-church-volunteers","tag-usher","tag-volunteer","tag-volunteer-appreciation","tag-volunteer-appreciation-letter","tag-volunteer-appreciation-letters","tag-volunteer-central","tag-volunteer-opportunities","tag-volunteer-program-blog","tag-volunteer-recognition","tag-volunteer-recognition-banquet","tag-volunteering","tag-volunteerism","tag-volunteers","tag-volunteers-work"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v24.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Avoiding Volunteer Burnout - Group Children&#039;s Ministry<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Have you ever heard this before? \u201cI\u2019m going to take a few months off from... . I\u2019m just a little burned out and I need a break.\u201d Sadly, many of those\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Avoiding Volunteer Burnout - Group Children&#039;s Ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Have you ever heard this before? \u201cI\u2019m going to take a few months off from... . I\u2019m just a little burned out and I need a break.\u201d Sadly, many of those\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Group Children&#039;s Ministry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GroupChildrensMinistry\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2010-05-21T17:05:01+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-09-08T00:30:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Bob D&#039;Ambrosio\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@groupkidmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@groupkidmin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Bob D&#039;Ambrosio\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/\",\"name\":\"Avoiding Volunteer Burnout - Group Children&#039;s Ministry\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2010-05-21T17:05:01+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-09-08T00:30:44+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/#\/schema\/person\/f9232e7dfdbd3b39f3cdd48f90d6299b\"},\"description\":\"Have you ever heard this before? \u201cI\u2019m going to take a few months off from... . I\u2019m just a little burned out and I need a break.\u201d Sadly, many of those\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Avoiding Volunteer Burnout\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/\",\"name\":\"Group Children&#039;s Ministry\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/#\/schema\/person\/f9232e7dfdbd3b39f3cdd48f90d6299b\",\"name\":\"Bob D'Ambrosio\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c019befa624fb4e5409dd32bab0d321dd598f0c7931200eca373bd723dc55a98?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c019befa624fb4e5409dd32bab0d321dd598f0c7931200eca373bd723dc55a98?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Bob D'Ambrosio\"},\"description\":\"Bob D\u2019Ambrosio is a 25-year veteran of frontline church ministry and now serves with Group\u2019s content solutions team. He\u2019s a trainer for volunteer equipping, a Refresh the Church blogger, and a ministry coach for Group U. Bob is a contributing author and general editor of the E4:12 Bible Study Series Better Together: Connecting to God and Others and Leading Out: Connecting People to Purpose.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/author\/bob-dambrosio\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Avoiding Volunteer Burnout - Group Children&#039;s Ministry","description":"Have you ever heard this before? \u201cI\u2019m going to take a few months off from... . I\u2019m just a little burned out and I need a break.\u201d Sadly, many of those","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Avoiding Volunteer Burnout - Group Children&#039;s Ministry","og_description":"Have you ever heard this before? \u201cI\u2019m going to take a few months off from... . I\u2019m just a little burned out and I need a break.\u201d Sadly, many of those","og_url":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/","og_site_name":"Group Children&#039;s Ministry","article_publisher":"http:\/\/www.facebook.com\/GroupChildrensMinistry","article_published_time":"2010-05-21T17:05:01+00:00","article_modified_time":"2016-09-08T00:30:44+00:00","author":"Bob D'Ambrosio","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@groupkidmin","twitter_site":"@groupkidmin","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Bob D'Ambrosio","Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/","url":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/","name":"Avoiding Volunteer Burnout - Group Children&#039;s Ministry","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/#website"},"datePublished":"2010-05-21T17:05:01+00:00","dateModified":"2016-09-08T00:30:44+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/#\/schema\/person\/f9232e7dfdbd3b39f3cdd48f90d6299b"},"description":"Have you ever heard this before? \u201cI\u2019m going to take a few months off from... . I\u2019m just a little burned out and I need a break.\u201d Sadly, many of those","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/retain\/avoiding-volunteer-burnout\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Avoiding Volunteer Burnout"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/#website","url":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/","name":"Group Children&#039;s Ministry","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/#\/schema\/person\/f9232e7dfdbd3b39f3cdd48f90d6299b","name":"Bob D'Ambrosio","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c019befa624fb4e5409dd32bab0d321dd598f0c7931200eca373bd723dc55a98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c019befa624fb4e5409dd32bab0d321dd598f0c7931200eca373bd723dc55a98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Bob D'Ambrosio"},"description":"Bob D\u2019Ambrosio is a 25-year veteran of frontline church ministry and now serves with Group\u2019s content solutions team. He\u2019s a trainer for volunteer equipping, a Refresh the Church blogger, and a ministry coach for Group U. Bob is a contributing author and general editor of the E4:12 Bible Study Series Better Together: Connecting to God and Others and Leading Out: Connecting People to Purpose.","url":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/blog\/author\/bob-dambrosio\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/82"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=774"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/774\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=774"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=774"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wwv.group.com\/childrens-ministry\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=774"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}