Passionate Steward - 10th Anniversary Edition

136 THE PASSIONATE STEWARD
are identical. Demographics and economic characteristics will vary,
as will the views of the clergy and lay leadership on stewardship
and parish development. Parishes are at different stages of
congregational development, and different places in their
communal faith journey. Needs and goals differ, too. For this reason
a campaign plan which fails to take account of the parish’s
peculiarities and uniqueness will fail likewise to seize the
opportunity to nurture the spiritual, religious, and theological
development of individual stewards. It will be precisely the kind of
“money only” campaign that undercuts genuine stewardship.
Recruiting Volunteers for Stewardship Ministry
In recruiting volunteers for ministry it is important to be
cognizant of the dynamics of leadership and interpersonal
relationships. To “let our yes be yes” (James 5:12), we need to rethink
the conventional wisdom about sending “the right person to ask.”
When a parish priest or lay leader asks a parishioner to volunteer, this
may create an essentially manipulative power dynamic in which the
parishioner feels uncomfortable saying no. He or she may not want to
disappoint the priest, or appear to be uncommitted to the Church.
Whether the pressure is real or imagined, it is not uncommon for
parishioners in this situation to say yes, but half-heartedly. This is no
place from which to embark upon a ministry which carries a volunteer
deep into the journey of stewardship. It is thus essential to give
parishioners the information they need to come to an informed and
prayerful decision about their involvement in the parish’s stewardship
ministry. Yes needs to mean yes; and it is all right to say no.
The first step in recruiting volunteers for any stewardship effort
is to ensure that stewardship, and not mere fundraising, is at the heart
of the ministry. For this reason it is extremely useful for potential
volunteers to receive a brief vision statement about the goals of the
campaign, their own role, and an accurate description of the specific
duties and demands that will be made of them. This written outline is