-This is a good idea: create what Hybels calls "First Serve: one-time serving opportunities offered at a variety of times and tapping into a wide range of skills and areas of interest...First Serve mantra: Come once and check it out. No strings attached."
--This would be a good thing to do at GP. It would give people the permission to check out a service area before they committ to it. I think a few people get scared off thinking that if they come once or act interested, they will be conscripted for the long run.
-Hybels says after the volunteer serves once, he should ask himself a series of questions to see how well he matches this area of service.
1) Did the work feel meaningful? Did he feel emotionally energized or exhausted afterwards?
2) Did he enjoy working with the people he served with? That is, is there a comfortable relational dynamic on the serving team? (The relational sense of community may be just as, or more important than the actual work the volunteer is doing.)
3) Does the time frame for the service opportunity fit realisticly into the volunteer's schedule?
Hybels gives some examples of First Serve. Most of them involve a team leader or an experienced volunteer on the team meeting the person and showing him the ropes. If the task is one that can be easily performed by the first timer, such as directing traffic or raking leaves, he should do it. But more complicated volunteer positions could best be served by a tour as the action happens, such as the nursery/preschool area, so the person gets a realistic feel for what it would be like.
Hybels also says that a person should be allowed to experiment with many different opportunities until they find the one that would be most fullfilling to them. The best thing they can do, he says, is "Just jump in!"
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