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Written by: The Orchard

women serving food to parishioners, chicken after church event

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” Galatians 5:13


The Importance of Volunteers in Church


If you are looking for a place to grow in your faith, volunteering in your church community is the perfect place to start. Volunteering helps you grow in your faith and commitment to God and allows you to help others do the same as well. But how do you get started volunteering in Church?


Let’s find out. But first, let’s pray for guidance.


Pray for Guidance


Prayer:


Heavenly Father, please lead me in the direction where my efforts will be the most useful. Help me project myself as salt and light in your name. And help everyone I meet feel your love and compassion through my works.


-Amen 

Benefits of Volunteering in Church


There are so many benefits that are the result of volunteering in church. You grow your Christian muscles, make new friends, give back to your church and the community, and it will help improve your health and well-being. It also helps nurture a feeling of belonging. It promotes your spiritual growth and adds to your personal fulfillment.


But there’s more to it than that.


Keep reading to take a deeper dive into the benefits of volunteering in church.


Helping Your Church Community Grow in Faith


Volunteering in church helps you take other church members to new levels of their faith. And you can only do that if you have already been there yourself.


Therefore, you, as a pillar of the church, should take the time to invest in the faith formation of other volunteers. Share your personal spiritual growth story with them. Let them know how valuable they are, and that no volunteer is perfect, so they don’t have to worry about that. Always promote a team mentality and let your volunteers know you truly appreciate them.



Take the next step in your faith journey with The Orchard!


Close to our Chicagoland locations? Find a campus near you and join us in person.


Farther away? Join us online and be part of our growing community.


Have questions? We’re here to help!

Helping Your LOCAL Community

Volunteering doesn’t just mean doing so only within your church community. It means so much more! Helping your local community has many unseen benefits. When you and other members of your church volunteer in the community, it could mean more than you realize or may ever fully know. But God does!


Volunteering helps relieve the suffering of others. And that’s it in a nutshell. Volunteering helps meet the under-resourced community needs of an entire marginalized population that otherwise would be left to suffer.

A large group of people are standing in front of a tent Itasca Church picnic volunteer opportunity

For the majority of those people, it’s not their fault and there’s nothing, aside from a drastically life-changing event that can change their situation. However, with your help, God’s help, and the help of the Church, it could mean providing a hand-up out of that current “stuck” and often human-created situation.


“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these, my brothers and sisters, you did it to me.” Matthew 25:40


Growing Closer to God


When you volunteer in your church, you strengthen your relationship with God. And why is this? Because you are doing God’s good works.


“For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10


So what does that mean? It means that God has given you gifts that are specific to you, and he wants you to use them. It doesn’t matter how great or small you might think those gifts are. They are all valuable in the eyes of God. You are incredibly valuable to God and thus, valuable in the church and your community.


“As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace.” 1 Peter 4:10


Building Your Skillset

volunteer leading a bible story class for children

If you are already a volunteer at your church, part of your mission will be to recruit and train new volunteers. And that means building your skillset. You can start by not just focusing on your church’s needs but rather focusing on the talents of your members and how those talents can make a difference.


First, create a list of potential volunteers or host a volunteer class to help gain interested volunteers. Once you have new volunteers, the real work begins.


You will need to give them the training and education they need to be successful. Have them shadow others, make them lesson plans, activity sheets, and whatever else they might need to feel empowered. You could also have them participate in small groups to role-play and get a feel for their new role.


How to Get Started Volunteering at The Orchard


The Orchard church makes it easy to get started volunteering. In fact, each of our locations has different needs. So if you don’t see something that sounds like a good fit for you, then you can always check into volunteering at another one of our locations.


Here are some of The Orchard volunteering opportunities where we would love to have you come and share your gifts and talents with us, the church community, and the local community.

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19-20


Final Thoughts…


It’s a great thing to volunteer, but Christ calls us to serve one another in love. We’re called not only to give our time but to give our love. God says, by your love, the world will know you are my disciples!


The greatest joy in serving the Lord is displaying the love of Christ to all the world. The greatest motivation for serving others is Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us. The greatest gift to the church is giving yourself to serve the body of Christ.


We Invite You to Visit The Orchard, a Gospel-Centered Church


We would like to invite you to visit and/or volunteer at any of our six The Orchard church locations near you. Alternatively, please feel free to Contact Us anytime.


We are a Bible-based church. And our teachings are all founded on Faith, Hope, and Love. We look forward to welcoming you into our church community!

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January 10, 2025
In 2024, The Orchard North Shore hosted their very first Orchard Kids Week, a VBS-style program geared specifically toward unchurched kids and families. The Orchard North Shore had 61 kids attend (21 of whom were unchurched!). Their hope was twofold: that kids would hear the gospel and that some who don’t know Jesus would sign up for Awana in the Fall. One young girl did sign up for Awana and was given her first Bible. When she was told that the Bible was hers to keep, she couldn’t wait to start reading it! From an invitation to VBS, to signing up for Awana, to consuming God’s Word, it’s evident the Lord is at work in this young girl’s heart. Praise God for all the work He has done at The Orchard North Shore!
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Dan and Betty Chung are members of The Orchard and co-founders of the mission of Crossing Borders. Crossing Borders was established in 2003 by several Christians of Korean and Chinese descent who felt a burden for the North Korean people during a time of severe famine and starvation. During (and following) the Great North Korean Famine from 1995 to 1998, there has been a large exodus of refugees from the country. Watch this SHINE Story to learn more about how Dan and Betty are shining with the compassion of Christ to North Koreans and their children in China and South Korea. Do you, or someone you know, have a SHINE story? Let us know!
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