The First Cathedral Volunteer Ministry Operation Guidelines and Procedures
Mission Statement:
The Volunteer Ministry mission is to create and maintain volunteer ministries in which its members are equip and committed to using their talents and skills to carry out the ministry assignments of The First Cathedral.
A. Scheduling Volunteers
The First Cathedral’s Volunteer Ministry is committed to providing support services to The First Cathedral and its affiliated organizations on a daily basis. It is important that we schedule volunteers as much as possible to meet the increasing needs of the ministry assignments. To assure that we have volunteers to meet the demands of the incoming assignments, volunteers must be contacted on a regular basis via phone or e-mail.
When volunteers are contacted, we encourage them to commit to a minimum of two – three hours of volunteer time per project/activity. We allow the volunteer to tell us what hours work best for them. We schedule and monitor volunteer assignments two to four weeks out and match up volunteer’s name to each project according to date and ½ hour time frame. When we have time frames not covered, we will ask the volunteer to come in for a specific time period.
For those members who want to volunteer but cannot volunteers during the day, we have designated the 1st Thursday in each month as “First Shift”. This provision allows every member the opportunity to get involve in Kingdom building assignments. The hours for “First Shift” are 6:00 PM until 8:00 PM.
B. Sign In/Out Procedures
The purpose of maintaining a sign in / sign out sheet is to provide a vehicle for tracking volunteer hours. In order to reach the goal of achieving 300 man-hours per week, it’s important to have a system that allows you to keep track of the number of hours logged in by each volunteer.
Upon arriving to The First Cathedral’s Security Desk, all volunteers must sign-in and receive a Volunteer’s ID badge. (Badges are worn as mean of security and acknowledgement).
Once the volunteer has signed in, he or she is then given their assignment and instructions from the Volunteer Coordinator. The project supervisor picks up the volunteer from the Administrative Office and escorts them to their assignment. At the completion of their assignment, the volunteer reports back to the Administrative Office to sign out and return their ID badges.
On a weekly basis, the volunteer’s hours are computed and logged into the computer to generate the monthly report giving the number of hours volunteered. This report updates itself so that the numbers are always current, year-to-date.
C. Volunteer Requisitions
Volunteer requisition is defined as any incoming work request seeking the services of a non-paid staff member.
In order to receive work assignments into the Volunteer Coordinator’s office, there must be a systematic way of accepting assignments. The objective of using requisitions is to have a systematic way of handling all incoming assignments from various departments. Recognizing that every department feels their work is important, a requisition will enable you to prioritize all assignments according to date and/or necessity. The Volunteer Coordinator has the authority to determine what gets completed first, based upon the order of importance and deadlines.
D. Assignments
Within every ministry, there’s a business side that handles the administrative entity of that ministry. The general membership for the most part either do not realize or even think along the lines that the administrative side operates and functions like any corporation. What is important to know is that there must be a distinction between volunteer and paid staff. This distinction helps to eliminate any possible confusion/argument that a volunteer should have monetary compensation. Using correct termination does this.
An assignment is a job-related task that needs to be done to assist a department within the ministry. The assignment can be anywhere from administrative to physical labor. Proper procedure states that assignments are to be scheduled, however, this may not be the case at all times.
Assignments can fall into two categories: Scheduled and Drop-In
Scheduled Assignments are given to those volunteers who have committed to come in at a designated time to do a specific task.
Drop-In Assignments are given to those volunteers who were not scheduled for an assignment but dropped into the facility to see if there are any projects available. Drop in volunteers must await instructions before signing in. Upon being matched to a specific project, drop volunteers will be escorted to the requesting department.
Volunteer Recognition:
It is the goal and desire of The First Cathedral and its affiliate to outwardly demonstrate our appreciation to those who volunteer within our four walls as well as within the community on our behalf. We encourage and empower every staff person who uses the services of a volunteer to outwardly show their appreciation.
We want to hear from you!
Submit your nominees for the following recognition programs:
Quarterly Recognition Reception: At the end of each quarter a reception will be held to recognize volunteers who have had significant contribution in any particular department, ministry or special event.
Volunteer of the Year Award: Given to the volunteer with the most hours logged in as well as written recommendation from a manager describing the volunteer’s contribution and impact to the ministry.
Nomination Form
