Thoughts on a Christian Singles Volunteer Corps.

Thoughts on a Christian Singles Volunteer Corp.

The young and single often have good health, limited family responsibilities, and a natural desire to develop new relationships. It's been said that youth is wasted on the young perhaps because the focus, direction, and wisdom that often comes through the trials of life are absent. How many are in this circumstance? A community-wide Christian singles ministry with a focus on community service may help direct the energy and time of single people in better ways.

Benefits

More Community Needs are Met

A Christian Singles Volunteer Corp. (CSVC) may enable more Christian singles to meet the needs of the community. Often times people don't know what they can do to bring solutions to community problems and, even when they do have ideas, the motivation and confidence necessary to start and follow through can be absent. A collaborative effort like a CSVC would help alleviate these issues. Partnerships could be developed with area social service organizations and businesses to develop involvement options and allow for the most efficient effort. With the prospect of engaging groups rather than just individuals, the time spent by already tasked volunteer coordinators to develop plans would have a higher payoff. Team work can also be more compelling and satisfying than individual efforts and so offer mutual support to carry through projects to completion.

Glory to God

When Christian singles give their time and efforts united in service, the good works of the Church can be made more evident. CSVC initiatives could garner more publicity and show that the Church is putting love in action.

Draw More People into the Church

A CSVC could also draw more people into the Church. Singles who may not have a deep relationship with God may be motivated to participate by the desire to socialize, be part of something, and do something good. Their participation would help them develop relationships with committed Christians who are also participating. CSVC activities then offer the clear opportunity to share truth with these participants. In addition those individuals and communities helped will see that it is Christ's servants working on their behalf. These acts can be another testament to the love of God.

More Unity in the Church

A CSVC would establish another means of interaction among Christians. Often times church members can attend on Sunday but have little other God-centered interaction with Christians the rest of the week. CSVC would create the potential and even necessity for more such interaction as opportunities are discussed, plans are made, and efforts initiated. CSVC would also allow more lines of communication between individual churches as Christians across the community unite in service.

Potential Pitfalls to Avoid

Poor Performance in Service

Poor efforts by the CSVC could give fodder to those that attack Christians. One probably instance leading to this could come from initial enthusiasm causing members to commit to activities or service they aren't able or prepared to complete. Where this is a risk, starting small may be the prudent coarse of action. Instead of committing to long term involvement or complicated projects, those that can be completed in one or two evenings seem like a more sure bet.

Just another get together

Where the desire for companionship is overbearing, the possibility exists for CSVC time to be socialization without service. Getting past this requires efficient methods to let members introduce each other as well as specific non task oriented times to socialize. It also requires appropriate segregation of that time from time dedicated to the service mission. Each meeting should have an agenda with each item scheduled a specific time to ensure distractions don't rule the evening.

Avenues for outside interaction could also be facilitated. These could include a web page with chat and forums, a Second Life space, and email exchange.

Inter-church barriers

It seems possible that inter-church rivalries could become an issue. In discussions of what community service to do, no doubt participants may mention what their church does. Such discussion could take a “my church is doing more” tone. Participants may also feel more naturally inclined to support methods that their church uses over others. In these instances it would seem helpful to remind participants of the mission and the consequences of failing or not succeeding as effectively as possible. It means people that are suffering are not helped, division in the Church, and wasted time for participants.

A generic and general opposition to coordination amongst churches might also inhibit startup and promotion of a CSVC. Some churches could fear loosing members to other churches. This feeling might be intellectualized causing the production of numerous reasons why another church is off the mark on small matters. At these times perhaps it is best to focus on the gospel message and remind all involved the real mission which every Christian church can support.

Dominance by Non Christians

Depending on the publicity level, the natural attraction a singles group has to singles of at all stages of their walk could lead to a group prone to get off course. This increases the importance of well defined structure as well as discipleship with an emphasis on the fundamental gospel message.

Safety and Liability

Consideration will have to be taken for liability issues. Someone could get hurt in the act of service. The notion of an endorsement of participants should also be handled. Participation by an individual should not be taken as endorsement of the individual or their efforts by the CSVC. This suggests a waiver could be good to get from participants, those helped, and other service partners. Similar considerations should be given to any online tools.

Thoughts on Implementation-What a CSVC Will Do

Maintain a Database of Volunteer Opportunities

This could be done offline or through a web site. One option is to assist agencies and nonprofits with placing their volunteer opportunities on an already developed web site like volunteermatch.org. Another possibility is to partner with local volunteer centers who may already have an active program to maintain such a database. In either case consideration will have to made as to the completeness and scope of existing resources with an eye towards filling in the gapes through collaboration or a separate database.

Maintain List of Community Service Project Ideas

These ideas could be developed in concert with area agencies. Brainstorming should also be done at CSVC meetings. Participants will likely have a number of thoughts to contribute. A request for ideas could also be placed on the CSVC web site, if it is available.

Connect Individuals with Opportunities

A searchable online database would be ideal for informing participants of the opportunities available. This would allow lists of opportunities to be generated based on any number of criteria and keyword searches. A more simple web solution would offer the opportunities categorized by the single most significant criteria, perhaps type of service.

A phone service may also be possible depending on volunteer availability and a telephone call forwarding service. Calls to a central number could be forwarded to individuals or churches that agree to handle them for a specified period of time.

Volunteer Center Difference

In many respects the CSVC will be a volunteer center and many of the practices and procedures found helpful in volunteer centers could be useful. The Christian focus and mission is a crucial distinction that warrants the establishment of a CSVC even where successful volunteer centers exist. Our purpose is to minister to the participants as well as those they serve all while showing the love of Christ. That love demands we feed the hungry and comfort the heartbroken but if we stop there and don't show them and the world the love God has given us, we've lost an opportunity and risk failing our highest calling.

Emphasize Group Activities

While some opportunities are best suited for an individual working alone, perhaps the greatest benefits and enjoyment can come from service done as a team. Team efforts can make even the most boring tasks tolerable and they are the ones most likely to appeal to single participants. Working as a team also helps attain one of the primary CSVC goals of developing greater unity in the church.

When actual service tasks must be done individually by the nature of the task or scheduling issues, it may still be possible to have preparation and planning activities done collaboratively. An example might be a child mentoring program. One individual might meet with one child alone but that volunteer could work with another to plan the activities of each meeting, pray for the child and ministry, and develop ways to increase the positive impact. These collaboration are best done face to face but telephone and internet interactions can be helpful as well.

Singles Ministry Plus

Another way of looking at a Christian Singles Volunteer Corps. might be to frame it as a community wide Christian singles ministry with a community service focus. Biblical teaching and discipleship that deals with the particular issues of singleness can have value. It would be unwise to supplant community service activities in place of this sort of specific teaching time. It may be possible to adapt singles ministry activities that are primarily social in nature. Instead of a night out bowling, perhaps it could be a night out serving or learning about community needs. Serving together could be conducive to an even deeper social experience.