Remember the promises and remind volunteers that there is an inheritance kept in heaven for you.
As humans, we all respond to rewards. We are motivated both intrinsically and extrinsically, and God knows that. God is a God of rewards, but I think we often forget that God has truly incentivized serving and sacrificing for the Kingdom of God. He knows the human heart, and He has thus set up the Kingdom accordingly. We must have faith, but we often need reminding about laying up invisible treasure in heaven.
What if you were to come up to a volunteer on a weekend and remind them that “God is not unjust so as to forget their work and the love in which they are showing, in His name, while serving the saints” from Hebrews 6:10? A simple reminder like that can be wind in the sails of a weary volunteer. Implement “2-Minute Tips” as part of your ministry, where you as a leader continually pour into those who serve with you in simple ways. Remind volunteers why we are doing what we do and the reward for doing those things. We need to be great reminders of the promises of scripture.
I challenge you to do a quick Google search for a list of scriptures promising rewards in heaven. Place those promises on a notecard and simply recite them on a Sunday morning to key volunteers. Each week, you could carry a simple index card with a rich promise of scripture to remind volunteers that their service matters to God, and it will be rewarded. 1 Corinthians 15:58 reminds us that, “Nothing that you do in the Lord is in vein”. You are investing in your volunteer’s knowledge bucket that what they are doing is making a difference and will be rewarded. We are fickle people that need to be reminded that what we are doing is going to be rewarded, and that reward is going to last forever.
As leaders, we need to be inspiring the people who follow us. They are laying up treasure in heaven. You see, the promises of scripture are like a low-hanging fruit. We have the ability to provide an inspirational booster shot week in and week out. It’s not hard to simply look up key passages in the Bible, write them on a notecard, and state them to the people who desperately need it. Remember the promises and remind your volunteers that there is an inheritance kept in heaven for them.