I had a conversation recently about volunteering in the church and why most churches seem to struggle with the amount of volunteers that give of their time and talents. This is most unfortunate; not only for the organization but for people who attend but do not experience.
David Bayles and Ted Orland discuss idealism of art having a short shelf life in their book “Art and Fear.” Most artists stop creating when they stop becoming students. There are fewer individuals who make careers out of art than the number of people who study art. It could be true too that when we stop creating, we stop learning. When we become judgemental. When we grow up. We get “real” jobs just to pay the bills and provide for our families. Priorities shift and stressors become real. Could this be because we are too focussed on the hamster wheel of economics and less on learning and creating?
Fortunately, for those of us who volunteer at Evergreen, we know the blessings of doing and creating and learning, not for a paycheck but for the experience. A tree-trimmer gets to create murals in the Evergreen Kid’s classrooms, a mechanic gets to design sets to compliment the ministry series topics. An EMT gets to lead worship and thaw the frozen heart of someone far from God. A prison guard gets to control the sound levels of the worship experience.
As volunteers at Evergreen we get to do things we never would in the “real” world. This allows for growth, experience, meeting new people and developing a personal relationship with God to boot. So tell me, are you going to attend, or will you experience?
To volunteer at Evergreen contact the office at 320-629-2092 or just ask any of our volunteers how to start experiencing!