Monday 22 August 2011

Good things (& some not so good things) about Monday morning

Arrived into work today to find a volunteer application for a new volunteer on my desk. Hurrah. Contacted them instantly & booked an interview with them on Thursday. Good start to Monday morning.
This was followed by discovering a new J Gen guy in brotherhood who'd come in after hearing about our volunteer shortages to do a GIG shift in cafe. He's doing a training year with us. (Note to self suggest to Church Growth folk that volunteering at the Jesus Centre should surely be a compulsory part of a training year?) Completed his application form and interview after brotherhood.

One of the things I love about my job (some days the only thing!) is meeting new people, who I otherwise wouldn't meet and helping them to find their ministry at the Jesus Centre.

Good prayer time at lunch time. Heard there were several new people in Step Up including a couple of people who seem to have been met during Saturday's evangelism on Abington street. Very grateful for the team leader who'd come in to cover at short notice otherwise we would have had to close. Average age of the team nearly 70 years old! Not sure that's really good if we're looking to the future of NJC. Prayed in faith for more young people to find ways to get released to volunteer during the day.

Not so good thing about today... not able to open the cafe kitchen due to the regular chef being on holiday and no one being willing or available to cover. anyone a trained Chef can help out covering holidays & sickness?

Other not so good things which make the start to the week difficult... one team leader dropped out at short notice. Step Up virtually covered all week but 5 vacancies on Info desk Wed, Thurs, Fri am. Prayed a prayer of agreement that they would all get sorted even though I have no idea how!

Also believing for some volunteers who've gone on hold as well as new volunteer applications to come in as a result of the strong entreaties there have been this week to leaders and the congregation about owning their Jesus Centre and supporting it in whatever way they can to be open and available to share the love of Jesus in practical ways to those in need... it's easy to sing about it on Sundays but it's what people do on Monday's that is the real test of what their faith means to them...

Friday 19 August 2011

Encouraging happenings recently

It's felt like there's been too much doom & gloom around associated with NJC recently. Yes it is tough going at the moment with volunteer shortages and high staff sickness BUT that isn't the whole story....


We've had 7 baptisms of people met through the Jeses Centre this year
Bible study with English looks set for it's first baptism thanks in part to RAW.
A Latvian family who recently came in have been to Church with us


2 J Gen groups have taken on a Wednesday night shift and  4 out of 6 new volunteers this quarter are young men under 30.


Our 1 new work release this quarter is a young man under 20 yrs old.


The "Socks" video produced for Faithworks based on the story of an ex- Jesus Centre visitor, Sid Elliott (I would say no relation at this point... but he's actually my husband!) was produced by 2 J Gen young men and has received Rave reviews at this years Edinburgh Fringe (ok that's not strictly true) but it has been very well received .


The last J Gen Saturday resulted in 2 new volunteer applications.


During our current volunteer shortages people have been coming from as far as Milton Keynes and Kettering to do extra shifts to help us stay open.



Current Volunteer vacancies

More than anything we need people who are willing to serve and who want to share the love of Jesus with people in practical ways, or through random acts of kindness.


We particularly need young men who will step up to the line and take on responsibilty, be it Team leading in the Drop in, or in the cafe, or with an eye to the future to get involved in cafe management, site maintenace, to train to be ESOL tutors and Finance/ accounts people. 


We also need Receptionst on the Info Desk Thursday or Fri mornings and several afternoons, front line meeters & greeters, pot washers, Gifts in Kind fundraisers, and general drop in volunteers.


The ability to work as a team, cope under pressure at times, and above all flexibility and a willingness to serve and love people.


If you want to know more please contact me at the Jesus Centre.

So I'm thinking of volunteering - but I'm not sure what I could do.

That's fine. There are various things that you can do which don't involve committing the rest of your life to something you wont enjoy out of some misplaced guilt or sense of duty! 


* You could do a GIG shift (give it a go) simply come in with a friend or someone who already volunteers and spend time hanging out with them in what they are doing... if you don't like it you could contact me for an informal chat and we could suggest other areas you could try.


* You can do GIG shifts in as many different areas as you like until you find the thing that you really enjoy. 


* If dealing with the public or being out in the forfront isn't really your thing you could assess how much time a week, a fortnight or a month you might have to offer and contact me to find out ways in which you might be able to help behind the scenes


We offer you an informal opportunity to discuss with me what you want to get out of your volunteering, full training and support. 


Want to GIG? you can complete an application form, talk to me face to face, ring me at the Jesus Centre or email me...but PLEASE do something!

So what does a Volunteer co-ordinator do? pt1

So what does a Volunteer Co-ordinator do? 
Well the simplest answer is- organises volunteers but that's not all I do! 
It needs over 100 volunteers a week to run our current services at Northampton Jesus Centre which includes a Community cafe,offering a reasonably priced menu and the opportunity for a few minutes peace and quiet away from the busy Northampton High Street; a drop in with laundry and shower facilities, drinks and snacks and a listening ear or support for those wanting to make positive changes in their lives. Then there's there's support, signposting and English conversation offered through New to Uk and Talk English services or for those looking for a more academic approach to reading and writing English to a high standard there are ESOL classes with trained tutors and classroom assistants. For the rest of the community there are a wide range of creative and social groups and groups for those who are spiritually searching. We also need cleaners, receptionists, meeters & greeters, listeners, people with administration and finance skills, people to fundraise, be involved with our publicity & promotion, lettings management, maintenance, most importantly people who love God, love people and are willing to serve in what ever ways they can. In fact I made a list the other day & counted 68 different roles that are needed and roles like the drop in and cafe volunteers, reception and meeters & greeters need many more than just one of them in order to run services. 

Currently, we're always at least 10 volunteers a week short, during our day time opening, some times more during holiday periods, even on our basic minimum requirements to open the core services (drop in, cafe, reception, front line) 

That means a lot more work for the Volunteer co-ordination team in trying to fill gaps so we can open or a lot more pressure on the staff and current volunteers who have to do more.

This blog is a way of hi-lighting the needs and also the benefits of volunteering. So if your looking for a challenge, an opportunity to grow, serve, have your love & your patience stretched, work as part of a team, learn new skills, discover your potential, a new ministry or simply share the love of Jesus with our visitors in practical ways then read on...