“May your Spirit strengthen us; so that we will be: strong in faith, discerning in proclamation, courageous in witness, persistent in good deeds.”
Table of contents
Thanking and Recognizing Volunteers
Within a church, volunteers are members who use their talents or their background, to aid the church and fulfill its needs with service and actions. Without volunteers, our churches – especially in the educational arena – would be a shell of what they are. After all – it is the people who make the church! And they are not just volunteers, they are Christian ministers.
Have you put on the church calendar a time to thank and honor volunteers? Or if this is the beginning of the program year, will you dedicate or install these important ministers in the midst of your worshipping community on a Sunday? If not, check that calendar today!
2 Prayers for Volunteers
For Those Who Volunteer in Churches
Everlasting God, strengthen and sustain all those who volunteer in our churches;
that with patience and understanding they may love and care for your people;
and grant that together they may follow Jesus Christ,
offering to you their gifts and talents;
through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
(Adapted by Sharon Ely Pearson from the Collect at a New Ministry, Episcopal Book of Common Prayer)
May Your Spirit Strengthen Us
Almighty God, our heavenly Father, the privilege is ours to share
in the loving, healing, reconciling mission of your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord,
in this age and wherever we are.
Since without you we can do no good thing, may your Spirit make us wise;
may your Spirit guide us; may your Spirit renew us;
may your Spirit strengthen us; so that we will be: strong in faith,
discerning in proclamation, courageous in witness, persistent in good deeds.
This we ask through the name of the Father. Amen.
(from the Church of the Province of the West Indies)
Need Volunteers? How to Call Volunteers
These two articles on Building Faith will help you with the process of volunteer “calling” volunteers. Identify your needs, pray for guidance, personally invite people.
5 Steps for Calling Volunteers by Sharon Ely Pearson
Need Church Volunteers? : A Step-by-Step Process that Works by Liz Perraud
Sharon Ely Pearson is a 30+ year Christian formation veteran, currently serving as an editor and the Christian Formation Specialist for Church Publishing Incorporated. Wife, mother, soon-to-be-grandmother, and author, she enjoys connecting people with each other and the resources they need for growing in the knowledge and love of Jesus.
www.buildfaith.org
This “deciding where to volunteer prayer” can help us sort out where our service can make the biggest impact in light of our limited time, energy and resources. Often we volunteer simply because someone asks us to, or we feel a sense of obligation or we feel proud that we were asked or there is a vacancy that needs filling. This prayer will help us ask God to show us where He might be calling us to volunteer so that we can say “yes” to His opportunities and “no” to the ones that aren’t right for us.
Deciding Where to Volunteer Prayer
Dear Jesus, I ask for your help in making a good decision about where to volunteer. I am thankful for giving me the opportunity to be of service in your world. I am grateful that you didn’t choose your disciples based on which ones had perfect skills or had plenty of time or who had a great education or lots of money they could donate. Instead you chose your helpers based on their hearts and their desire to serve.
Today I come to you weighing this specific volunteer opportunity that has come my way…
First of all, show me what motivates me to serve.
Do I have a personal experience where I have been through something that makes me want to help others who are going through the same thing?….
Do I already have something that I’ve enjoyed doing as a hobby or a cause that has always been dear to my heart that might lead me in the direction to volunteer?…
Do I have a personal insight, passion or vision for a certain ministry or cause?…
Do I want to serve simply for the joy and satisfaction of doing something that gives back to the world?…
Do I want to feel a connection and fellowship with like-minded people who are serving you?….
Do I need an opportunity to get out of my own small world so I can be in touch with others who will broaden my horizons?…
I pray that you will bring to my mind right now a time when I was doing specific volunteer work that gave me the most satisfaction….
Show me why this work was so meaningful to me…
I pray about the parts of the volunteer work that I am now considering that I don’t feel thrilled about…
I pray about the time commitments I already have that seem to be obstacles to doing this work. You know about my work schedule, my family obligations and other areas where I am already serving. Please show me which time concerns are valid and which aren’t…
And after I have finished sorting through all of these things about where my heart is concerning this volunteer opportunity, I pray that you will show me where your heart is. I realize that you sometimes call me to do things that will cause me to stretch and grow and to rely on you more completely. Please speak to me now about your direction as to whether I should volunteer for this specific job even though I may not be naturally inclined to do it…
I thank you for helping me make this decision. May I daily learn more about how to discover your direction for me through prayer as I serve your world. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Copyright Karen Barber 2012 All rights reserved.
prayerideas.org
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Thank you for being willing to give your time and talent to serve God as a volunteer in our ministry. God designed you to serve in an area based on your passions, gifts, and talents. There are presently six volunteer opportunities for anyone willing to serve God with us.
- Serve as a Phone Volunteer
- Serve as a Prayer Partner
- Serve as a Mentor
- Serve as a Counselor
- Serve as a social Media Page Moderator
- Serve as a Guest Writer
Click to Join as a Volunteer
help us serve!
Become a part of the Prayer Connect family.
Make a lasting impact on others. Get plugged into the opportunity that best fits your unique gifts and interests.
Here at Prayer Connect, we welcome and appreciate those who would like to volunteer their time. It takes many hands and many hearts to make our ministry operate the way it does! Come jump in!
six volunteer opportunities to serve 
Phone Volunteers
Receives the phone calls that come from those needing prayer or someone to talk to in time of distress. Phone Volunteers listen to prayer requests and then pray with the callers. The volunteer shares the prayer request with the Prayer Team, which then make the request public to be held in prayer for an extended time or made confidential (based on the requester’s preference)
The Prayer Mentor
The Prayer Mentor program is designed to provide spiritual direction, wisdom, encouragement and training/coaching to those needing growth in their prayer life.
Social Media Page Moderator
A social media moderator will manage our social media pages. He/she will respond to comments, send messages, create ads, and view insights, but does not allow posting and deleting.
Become a Prayer Partner:
Category one is when you receive weekly prayer requests via email and pray for the persons in need. Category two: There are people in need of a personal trusted prayer partner to agree with them in prayer over an issue for a certain period of time. When such requests come, we choose from the pool of our prayer partners to connect to them.
Prayer Counseling
The Pastoral Counseling Ministry has pastoral counselors available to meet with anyone dealing with personal or family life challenges. The Pastoral Counseling Team is dedicated to providing a compassionate listening ear and sound Biblical advice. It is a counseling approach based in Biblical Christian faith, activated and applied through prayers to offer godly, biblical, spirit-filled counsel. People who find themselves in pain and need with nowhere to turn to or no one to talk to can seek the help of our prayer counselors.
Guest Writers
We welcome guest writers who are willing to write prayer-related articles that are original and not plagiarized. We welcome anyone to contribute to our blog. If you would like to be considered as a guest writer on our blog and social media, please click the link to fill the form below.
www.prayercentric.com
People all over the world who are going through hard times need hope. They’re desperate to know that God’s help is only a prayer away. By volunteering you can change lives by providing prayer ideas, resource reviews, and the benefit of your wisdom learned through your life experience that has taught you how to get closer to God through prayer.
Because we’re a web based ministry, our volunteer opportunities fit your schedule. You help at home on your computer. We provide online training and support. Invest your passion today to help others through prayer!
Our Pictures of our Volunteers:
Placing a prayer for our ministry at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem; Volunteer film makers at work on our video; Fun at a Friend Making Even; A creative prayer idea using the language of flowers; A computer whiz volunteer; an administrative volunteer leading a strategic planning session; Prayer Team beach retreat on Hilton Head Island.
- Take Our Interest Matching Quiz
- Volunteer Job Descriptions
- Volunteer Application
Our Interest Matching Quiz
The following interest matching quiz will help you see where you might want to serve. When you finish, decide which volunteer team best describes you and then read more about the job.
Put a check next to the ones that describe you.
Group I: Content Writers Team
____ I like to write or a I keep a journal.
____ I have seen or developed some practical ideas on how to pray.
____ I read books and recommended them to others.
____�� I travel and have knowledge of places of prayer.
____ I have true stories about prayer experiences to share.
Group 2: The Admin Team
____ I like to help people find the information and help they’re looking for.
____�� I enjoy being in contact with others and meeting new people via the internet.
____ I like sending and receiving email.
____ I’m a people person.
Group 3: Prayer Support Team
___ I am involved in intercessory prayer and have a set time when I pray for others.
___ I regularly pray for specific ministries, leaders and global causes.
___ I have a heart for prayer and long for others to come into a close relationship with Jesus through the means of prayer.
___ I believe that prayer is vital for gaining God’s guidance, power, wisdom, vision and protection from evil.
Group 4 : The Marketing Team
___ When I find something that works for me, I like to tell people about it.
___ People listen to my recommendations.
___ I have connections with a large variety of people all over my neighborhood and community.
___ I like to get people together to connect with each other and I know how to spread the word about things.
___ I enjoy working for meaningful causes and feel gratified when I feel that I have helped someone.
Group 5: The Computer Whiz Team
___ I spend a large amount of my free time on the computer.
___ People come to me when they have a question about how to do something on the computer.
___ I am fascinated by the ministry potential of the Internet.
___ I know how to do more than the average person when it comes website building, debugging and programming.
Job Descriptions
Content Writers Team
Job Description: Content Writers share their ideas and resources on prayer on the Prayer Ideas website. They use the forms on the Prayer Ideas website to submit:
Tips on how to pray
How to pray for specific needs
Reviews of books on prayer, music and prayer aids that they have personally found helpful
Descriptions of places of prayer worldwide
True inspirational stories about prayer
The Value of this Service: Prayer is such a gigantic topic that no one can possibly completely know everything about even a small segment of it. The Prayer Ideas website is designed to be a library of practical wisdom on prayer that will give everyone the opportunity to find prayer methods and ideas that work in their life situations and capitalize on their personal styles of communication. Therefore, we need volunteers from all backgrounds and all branches of the church. Content writers are absolutely vital to our ministry!
Qualifications:
Good Grasp of Basic Christianity. We focus on prayer as a means of closer fellowship with Jesus Christ. We do not include content from other religious practices. Before they are posted, all contributions are screened by staff and/or clergy advisors for traditional Biblical Christianity.
Prayerful. Content Writers are those who actively engage in prayer and who share practical ideas out of their own personal experiences.
Good communication skills: Content Writers do not need special writing credentials or training but should have the ability to put things into words so that others can easily grasp them. Internet users like straightforward writing that is in everyday language they can quickly understand. We welcome both unpublished and published authors, journal writers, bloggers, lay people, speakers, leaders and ministers.
Computer and basic computer skills: Content Writers will need access to a computer and to the Internet. They will also need basic computer skills on how to fill in and submit our easy-to-use forms.
Hours: Content writers may submit a single entry which may take half an hour or they may write regularly for us, such as weekly or monthly. The number of hours a volunteer works is up to the individual. Those who commit to writing regularly for us will be able to earn progressive titles that can be used on a resume, such as Associate Contributor, etc.
Training: Content Writers will be provided with online forms, samples, and suggestions on where to find ideas. Content Writers will also be given information on writing for the Internet, using key search engine words, etc. Writers grant us permission to use their material on our website and the writer retains the copyright on all original written material they submit which means they may later use them in books, articles, videos, etc.
The Admin Team
Job Description: The “You’ve Got Mail!” volunteers serve as virtual receptionists responsible for answering the “Contact Us” emails by forwarding them to the proper ministry department or responding to them with a form from a file of already composed responses that the receptionist personalizes and sends to the user. These inquiries may range from requests for information, technical questions on how to use the site (passed on to the tech support team), questions about faith or those requesting prayer for difficult personal situations.
The Value of this Service: In online ministries it is vitally important that people who need personal help can easily and quickly connect with a caring, knowledgeable person when they click the “contact us” button. Our volunteer virtual receptionists not only serve our users but also add monetary value to the ministry budget by their service which otherwise would have to be done by paid employees.
As a virtual receptionist, you will be the representative of Christ to our users.
Qualifications:
Good People Skills: Virtual Receptionist Volunteers have a genuine interest in helping others and know how to deal with people with tact, respect and skill.
Organizational Skills: Virtual Receptionist Volunteers are good at sorting things and take pride in putting them into the right pigeon hole and in the promptness of their replies.
Email Skills: Virtual Receptionist Volunteers are familiar with receiving, sending and creating email, using spell check and proper grammar, opening computer files, copying and pasting information and sending attachments. .
Access to a computer and the Internet: Virtual Receptionist Volunteers will need to have a reliable computer and access to the Internet. All work will be done in the volunteer’s home.
Hours: Since a team of Virtual Receptionists will work together so that someone covers every day during the month, the normal commitment is to be responsible for one (or more) calendar days a month. On the volunteer’s day, they will spend anywhere from ten minutes to 2 hours in answering the day’s emails or directing them to the proper ministry departments. This may be done during the day as emails arrive or done all at the same time in the evening.
Training: Virtual Receptionist Volunteers will receive instructions on how to log onto and use the ministry email account. They will also receive a list of emails for various directors and departments and instructions on how to determine which requests go where. They will have access to form emails to use for frequently asked questions to copy and paste into replies. They will be given information on replying to people going through crisis situations. (Although this is not part of our ministry focus, we will occasionally receive cries for help from people reaching out to God and will have simple guidelines on how to respond and where to refer them for further help.)
Prayer Support Team
Job Description: The Prayer Team members support the overall outreach and direction of Prayer Igniters International by covering the ministry in prayer. The Prayer Team members will make a personal plan as to when and how they will pray for Prayer Igniters. The Team will receive periodic emails, prayer requests, upcoming events and updates on our specific progress so the Prayer Team can be in specific prayer.
The Value of this Service: As a ministry operating in the spiritual realm, Prayer Igniters cannot function without the support and protection of prayer. Although we may make use of the Internet, volunteers and money to carry out various projects, we actually rely on invisible resources that only God can provide, such as prayer ideas given to us by our fellow Christians. Without intercessors skilled in venturing into the spiritual realm of the Kingdom of God, we cannot survive.
Qualifications:
A strong personal relationship with Jesus Christ and a dependence on Him.
Experience in intercessory prayer.
Knowledge of Biblical principles of prayer and promises to claim.
A willingness to take prayer stands against evil.
Email address and computer so you may receive requests via email from the Prayer Director.
Hours: Hours will vary according to the individual prayer plan made by each volunteer.
Training: As a member of the Prayer Team, you will receive a form that will help you decide how and when you will pray for Prayer Igniters International. Afterwards you will receive emails and updates as to specific prayer requests.
Marketing Team
Job Description: Good News volunteers help spread the word about our ministry and our services in their churches, communities and to their friends and email contacts. They work on a grass roots level to contact local prayer leaders, friends and neighbors via emails, phone calls, twitter, facebook or brochures and let them know about our free services. They also are our “eyes and ears” to help us become aware of the needs that prayer leaders through the use of surveys and personal feedback. They make us aware of local prayer ministry groups and ministries with whom we might partner.
They actively and naturally recommend us to individuals who might have need of ideas and resources on prayer. They can help connect people with the help they need in a variety of creative ways, such as looking on our Prayer Ideas website for help, ideas and resources related to the specific interests and needs of others and emailing them the link.
The Value of this Service: Even the best ministry falls short if those they serve don’t know about them. Since we serve both prayer leaders and those wanting to learn more about prayer in all denominations, we serve a very large and diverse group and no one marketing method can reach them all. Connecting people with the help they need is a very valuable contribution in the Kingdom of God. The guidance of the Holy Spirit via the personal contact of our Good News volunteers can make a tremendous difference in someone’s stressful day or for the rest of their lives. Our Good News volunteers also do work that has great monetary value in terms of dollars saved on expensive marketing services and advertising campaigns.
Qualifications:
Good people skills and communication skills
A desire to help others and an ability to pick up on people’s needs so they can be directed to God’s help.
The gift of encouragement in brightening people’s days with hope and affirmation of their value in God’s eyes and the help and consolation that can be found in His presence through prayer.
Friendliness
Familiarity with social networking in the community and/or via electronic means
Access to a computer and the internet, cell phone, etc.
Hours: There are no set number of hours required. Each volunteer will decide on what level of networking they desire to work. Most of our Good News volunteers will find that no matter where they are, they are potentially meeting someone who could use a fresh prayer idea or encouragement.
Training: Prayer Igniters will provide each volunteer with a kit with information on our programs and natural, creative ways to let others know about them. We provide information that can be printed out from our resource materials to give to others they meet.
Computer Whiz Team
Job Description: The volunteers on the Computer Whiz Team will assist in answering technical “how-to” questions from users about using our site, make suggestions about how the site might better operate, assist in some webmaster duties, advise on search engine optimization, survey the web for new links, keep us current on facebook, twitter, and other emerging social networks, ideas for iPhone apps etc.
The Value of this Service: Since we are a web-based ministry making sure we have an excellent, well functioning website is vital. We strive to make the site user friendly, be always up and running well to optimize search engine crawlability. The services of full time web techs would be a major expense for our ministry. All computer tech volunteers add money savings to our bottom line that can be used for all ministry programs. ��
Qualifications:
Good computer skills. These may include the ability to program, debug, write procedures and instructions and teach staff members how to use different programs. These also may include experience in search engine maximization and web marketing skills.
Desire to use the internet for the good of God’s Kingdom.
Access to a computer and the Internet.
Hours: Hours are flexible and can be worked from your home or office from any geographical location.
Training: Training will depend on your area of expertise. Our webmaster will give instructions on how to interface with our site.
Volunteer Application:
Thank you so much for volunteering! We’ll be in touch with you with more information in your chosen area. May God continue to work through you to help others develop dynamic prayer lives.
prayerigniters.org
