Hello to all.   And I do mean ALL.  Each and everyone of you are wonderful! Fabulous! Amazing!  Do you know why??
Because you put yourself out there. You go beyond your call.  You don’t just work, or raise your children, or clean, or shovel snow (finally!), you do it ALL!
This is a shout out to all the volunteers.  And whether you have signed up on a sheet to be a chaperon, to help out in a classroom, to teach, to drive, or just simply open a door, you have volunteered! You have taken time out of your life to do something for someone else.
Do you realize just how much you matter? Not only to the church, or to the school, or to the ‘leader’ who has asked you (maybe even begged) to help?
I don’t think you do- even if you answered yes, you don’t!

You have GIVEN something of yourself, that no one can ever just take. You must GIVE that away freely…and doesn’t it feel good?!!?

-“Volunteers don’t necessarily have the time; they just have the heart.”  ~ Elisabeth Andrew

“I’m just a volunteer.”  Have any of you ever said this?  Is this how you feel when you are surrounded by others?  It has for me.  Truly.

A short 15 months ago I attended a youth and family workshop.  I had only been a  volunteer for a little over 2 months and I was asked to attend The Living Room Summit.

Once I arrived, I realized this workshop was for youth ministers and pastors.  Needless to say I felt a little out of my element.  Ah, who am I kidding, I was WAY out of my element. I learned about and grew in my faith ten-fold,
but the whole time all I could think was, “I am just a volunteer.”
 As the ever eloquent Marilyn Sharpe reminded me, ‘Chelsey my dear, you are not just a volunteer. You are priceless! Ministry could not run without you!’

I bet you can guess my response to this… “Yea right!”
I couldn’t help but laugh and completely disagree with her.  I am a volunteer, I am so dispensable.  They need me for one thing and then I’ll slink into the back and no one will notice me again.

WRONG-O!  Since that time, I have explosively changed my mind about what a volunteer really is.
Holy Moly guys! You have no idea how important you are!!

We at Cross of Calvary have such fabulous volunteers who, week in and week out, serve the church through involvement in all of the different kinds of ministry we have here.
You aren’t asked to help out because we need to fill space, you are asked because you possess something that is worth sharing.  You have more in you than you may think. 
Or maybe you know how valuable you are! And that is AWESOME! Keep it up, because someone, somewhere will need you.

 -Volunteers don’t get paid, not because they’re worthless, but because they’re priceless. ~ Sherry Anderson.

Are you interested in becoming a volunteer for our youth ministry?
What qualities do you need to possess?
You only need TWO very very important characteristics: Love God, and Love children.
That is it!

Pray with me, and keep this prayer, this request to God, in the back of your mind…
Father, we thank you for giving us all the gifts we possess.  Help us to use these gifts as an outlet to share your Word.  Give us the courage to put ourselves beyond our comfort zone to minister to others in anyway we can.  Amen