What do YOU think? (...about recruiting volunteers from outside of your church)

I recently stumbled across this ad on a volunteer site. It's a church sharing the need for volunteers in their disability ministry. It seems as if anyone - from within or outside the church - could respond to this. Here's the ad:

Description

We desire to provide 'Buddies' for children affected by disabilities during our one hour Small Groups for Kids program. Because we believe in 'main-streaming' our special needs children, extra support is needed to assist with participation, activities and transitions. A Buddy for a child affected by disabilities can go a long way to telling their families that they are treasured at New Harvest Church.

Skills

  • Team Player: 1) Ability to work in with well-established programs for one hour each Sunday morning (either at 9 or 10:45 am), providing needed support for one child with a disabling condition; 2) Willingness to connect with the families of children affected by disabilities, providing a much-needed link between the often isolated with the rest of the Church congregation; 3) Commitment to stay in touch with the Special Needs Coach and Family Life Director as situations and needs change.

Requirements

  1. 18 years of age
  2. Love for children
  3. Willingness to commit and serve 4 Sundays a month, for one hour (with 10 flexible Sundays off) for a period of one year.
  4. Participation in training, orientation, which includes a background check.

I don't know anything about this, other than the posting itself. I don't know how they handle it if someone who isn't a Christian or isn't a church member responds. So we can't speculate on this church's practice.

(And, in case you're wondering, yes it can and does happen that people outside your church or even out Christianity might respond. We've had some inquire about serving with us at our church. So don't just assume, "Well, they wouldn't respond unless they had a tie to our church." It happens.)

So let's talk about this one. What do you think about the practice of recruiting ministry volunteers from outside of your church community? I'm thinking about this from a special needs ministry perspective, but you could approach it from any ministry angle.

Please leave a comment to get the conversation started!