Serving in your role – why, who, what, when, where, how???
When you apply for a position of employment, a role description and role criteria are clearly outlined. Such information is necessary to set clear expectations, guide decisions and prevent confusion about specific duties.
In our church where many of us are volunteers, it is no different. Before we agree to step into a role, it is important that we know what it entails.
In my work with congregations, I find this can be a very “fuzzy” area. This may lead to volunteers failing to meet expectations and neglecting tasks, feeling anxious, or conversely, zealously overstepping their role, simply because the role was not clearly defined.
All congregations and agencies are encouraged to consider this topic and address deficiencies. Ask yourself: is there role description for my role and does it meet the current circumstances? If you have a role, you are in a good position to work on its role description, but this should be a team effort, not just the responsibility of one person/you. The team involved might be a specific ministry team (e.g youth or fellowship) or it might be your church council.
There are some templates available (see below) to assist and provide a starting point, but essentially each role and congregational situation is unique, and so the role description must suit the individual context. It is not necessary to have a complicated document (which can be off-putting): the aim is to have some simple guidelines which place boundaries around expected activities and are supportive to the role-holder.
Congregations are encouraged to draw up their own documents and refer to them often.
As we approach the season of AGMs and appointing people to positions, does your congregation need to do some work in the area of role descriptions?
Resources:
There are many resources available on the Congregational Life Hub of the LCA website.
- LCA Website, Congregational Life Hub. Click on CLH G&A – GOVERNANCE – Lutheran Church of Australia
- Click on Leadership – Lutheran Church of Australia Scroll down to the section “Working with Volunteers” and click on the appropriate blue tabs.
If you need some further assistance, please contact me denise.muschamp@lca.org.au or the Safe Church helpdesk safechurch@lca.org.au
