Date

5-16-2024

Department

Rawlings School of Divinity

Degree

Doctor of Education in Christian Leadership (EdD)

Chair

Gary May

Keywords

volunteer engagement, spiritual gifts, staff-volunteer relationships, interdependence theory, discipleship, volunteer manager

Disciplines

Leadership Studies | Religion

Abstract

Volunteers play a critical role in churches, and successful collaboration between paid pastoral staff and volunteers is essential for achieving the church’s mission. However, conflicts can arise when defining the roles and responsibilities of volunteers and paid pastoral staff. This qualitative phenomenological study explored the perceptions of paid pastoral staff regarding volunteer engagement in the Assembly of God’s (AG’s) church mission. The research drew from Harold Kelley and John Thibaut’s interdependence theory, which shed light on human interactions and their influences. Utilizing semi-structured interviews with 10 AG pastors in paid staff positions, the findings described the volunteer manager role that pastors perform. The findings suggested that staff-volunteer collaborative relationships derived from the paid pastoral staff’s perception of volunteerism as discipleship. The role of volunteer managers in a church contributes significantly to volunteer engagement through leadership modeling, ministry-based training, and spiritual gift identification. Therefore, the successful engagement of volunteers in the church’s mission depends on the willingness of paid pastoral staff to provide training and collaborate with volunteers. Finally, the study presented some suggestions for future research and exploration.

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