Volunteers are evaporating: here are 4 fixes
Churches everywhere are in a drought when it comes to volunteers.
Something shifted a few years ago.
Call it a pandemic aftershock, a cultural reset, or just the long tail of burnout—but volunteer engagement never quite bounced back to its old rhythm.
Across the country, pastors are noticing it — fewer sign-ups, faster burnout, and less long-term commitment than before. The same faithful few are doing more. New recruits start strong, then quietly disappear.
And for all our talk about “getting back to normal,” it’s clear that serving still hasn’t stabilized.
But here’s the good news: the problem isn’t that people don’t want to serve.
It’s that the systems that helped them succeed before no longer fit the world we’re in now.
If volunteer energy feels like it’s evaporating, here are four fixes that can help you rebuild engagement—and design something stronger than what you had before.
➊ Consolidate Similar Teams and Cross-Train
When volunteers are thin, the fastest relief isn’t more recruitment—it’s smarter alignment.
At one of our campuses, our Guest Services Director, Amy, noticed that three of her teams had almost identical personalities and strengths: First-Time Guest Hosts, Greeters, and Guest Central.
Instead of trying to keep all three teams fully staffed every weekend, she combined them into one “Welcome Team” and cross-trained everyone to serve across roles as needed.
Now, instead of scheduling 18 people per service (6 on each team), she can staff just 6 versatile volunteers who rotate between greeting, hosting, and helping new guests.
It was an instant pressure release during a season when the volunteer pool was running low.
Moves like this bring quick relief while you rebuild engagement. Just remember—it’s a short-term fix that creates breathing room for the longer-term work that comes next.
➋ Clarify the “Why” Behind Every Role
Every role should have a story, not just a slot. When volunteers know why their role matters, motivation lasts longer than a sign-up push ever could.
Ask: What difference does this make in real people’s lives? If the answer isn’t clear to your leaders, it won’t be clear to your teams.
Start rewriting role descriptions with the “why” first. Function follows purpose.
Also, try to keep it visceral and ground level, not just ethereal and lofty.
For example, your parking team isn’t just directing traffic — they’re the first sermon your guests experience. The tone they set in thirty seconds can shape someone’s entire morning.
➌ Make Serving a Pathway, Not a Plea
People rarely say yes to pressure — they say yes to purpose.
Say it with me… INVITATION—not obligation.
Instead of filling holes, invite people into a pathway of growth.
Show them how serving helps them connect, belong, and mature. Frame each opportunity as a next step in discipleship, not a desperate need on Sunday.
When serving is about formation instead of desperation, people stay.
➍ Redesign Your Volunteer Onboarding Experience
Recruitment gets all the attention, but retention happens in onboarding.
If the process feels slow, cumbersome, confusing, disorganized, or impersonal, even eager volunteers quietly disengage.
Walk through your current flow as if you were brand-new.
Would you know what to do next? Would you feel equipped or lost?
Then simplify: clear expectations, a personal connection, and one quick win in the first week.
➎ Celebrate and Coach Continuously
Most churches appreciate volunteers occasionally.
Healthy teams celebrate and coach them constantly.
Celebration says, We see you.
Coaching says, We believe in you.
The best way to do this (bar none) is volunteer pre-service huddles. They’re the most important 10 minutes in your week as a team leader.
When encouragement and development become routine, retention stops being a mystery.
Why a Volunteer Problem Is Actually an Assimilation Problem
Even with all five of these fixes in place, there’s still a brass-tacks question left to wrestle with:
Where are these new volunteers going to come from?
Because the usual suspects just don’t cut it anymore:
🚫 Shoulder-tapping works for a few weeks, then burns out your most relational people.
🚫 Stage announcements are few and far between—and shockingly ineffective long term.
🚫 “We put the teams on the website” is like burying treasure and burning the map.
We like to think of assimilation as the circulatory system of the church.
It’s constantly working to bring life-giving blood (people!) to the essential organs (your ministries!).
When that system is healthy, every part of the body gets what it needs.
When it’s blocked, the whole church feels it.
That’s why your assimilation system should be your primary volunteer recruitment driver.
When it’s flowing right, you:
⚔️ cut down on ministry competition
✅ pitch serving as an essential part of discipleship
👀 hold teams accountable to best practices
Here’s how we look at it:
Assimilation isn’t just about welcoming guests — it’s about helping them move through Three Journeys that every guest wants to go on at your church:
Journey 1 (Screen → Seat)
They find and visit your church (and start to belong).Journey 2 (Seat → Circle)
They build relational connection and find purpose (and start to grow).Journey 3 (Circle → Street)
They serve and live out their calling (and learn how to go).
Thriving volunteer cultures have all three journeys pumping.
That’s why we built the Assimilation Audit.
It’s not just about new guests — it’s about strengthening the whole pipeline that keeps your church alive, connected, and serving.
Inside, you’ll get…
✅ 49-point audit to see where your system is leaking
✅ 10-minute video that explains the vision we’re after
✅ 30-minute debrief call to talk through real next steps
It’s the simplest way to stop guessing and start building a system that turns guests into fully engaged disciples.
Start Your Assimilation Audit for $40 →
May your volunteer challenges become opportunities in the months ahead. I hope these “fixes” move you toward something life releasing for your teams, ministry and church.
Use the questions below to talk through this post with your staff or volunteer teams to help “grease the process” and move forward.
➊ Which of these five fixes would make the biggest difference right now — and what’s your first small step to try it?
➋ Where could you combine or cross-train teams to create breathing room without burning people out?
➌ How could your church do a better job of developing and caring for volunteers — not just scheduling them?
