Serving Tips...

We are kicking up our training: We want help people to serve well...

Serving Tips

How to serve others more effectively

If you have signed up to serve at the Vineyard, you might be excited, nervous, and feeling a bit like a fish out of water. Good news… it’s normal. Here are some tips to help you develop confidence as you serve.

Gain knowledge…be sure you the information you need and that you have an understanding about your assignment. It’s ok to ask questions and to ask for a simple job description before your time of service. Be sure to attend any training sessions before the event.

Exercise…confidence grows as we apply our ability through experience. Simply put…the more you serve…the better you serve.

Find a place…there may be an event when volunteers just show up, or arrive late; the instructions may seem sketchy; people are rushing to meet time lines; setting things up, moving here and there the energy is high.

The show up events can feel a little like being out of control, chaos. We prefer to call it organized excitement. We really do have a plan and know what we are doing.

The key to press through this stage of the event is to actively seek to find a place of service. Step back and look around and begin to ask yourself is there anything needing done that’s not being done? Is there any equipment that needs to be moved, or set up, or trash needing picked up? Are there any volunteers that seem over whelmed you could help? Learn to step back and take a wide look at what's going on, then take a deep breath and begin to serve.

People focused… remember people are always much more important then the task at hand. In the midst of serving... remember it’s all about building relationships and revealing Jesus to the people we serve.

Attitude…have you ever been served by an uptight aggressive person? I have. I’ve wondered why they are serving in the first place? Having a positive attitude toward the people you are serving is all important. People are usually pretty perceptive and can sense when we are uptight, having a bad day, or when we are full of encouragement and are genuinely seeking to care about them.

Tip: before the event it is important for you to do some personal prayer prep, to pause and think why you signed up and ask God to help you care for others, and help you to serve with a good heart. Chose to wear a smile, and to allow your love to be real.

Paul writing in Philippians chapter 2 talks about having a proper serving attitude. He says, in your serving:

Don’t be selfish…as you serve don't be focused on your feelings and your needs, but choose to focus on the needs of others.

Be humble…begin to think how you can effectively express Gold’s love and grace toward those you are serving. Perhaps your expression of humility will be a kind smile, a calm voice toward and aggressive stressed out person, a warm look toward someone who looks out of place, a gentile hug to affirm a kid, or an informative answer to a nervous question.

Bottom line…How do you learn to serve? By serving. Serving others generates a healthy other centeredness. Consistently serving others is one of the ways God brings health and healing into our lives.