Volunteer & Project Management

Why Volunteer and Project Lessons from Nehemiah? Referring to Nehemiah as a Volunteer Coordinator is not intended to minimize who he was at all. Here is a man taking on a project that without a large-scale coordinated effort of volunteers would never be completed. This book spotlights how he takes on this massive undertaking. Most would say it was the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, but Nehemiah did much more than that. He brought direction to the Hebrews where there was none. He brought a concerted effort by everyone to raise their quality of living, helping and encouraging them to climb out of their hovels and rubble to build homes in a place of safety. There was a revived dedication to commit their lives to follow the Law of the Lord. After the construction phase was over Nehemiah established a civil government, and kept the progress of community and spiritual development moving in the right direction. He did far more than build a wall. He did all of this by managing and coordinating volunteers while directing a massive project and completing it in record time. Several lessons that freely flow from this Old Testament book can be utilized in projects today. Drawing on his years of experience as Volunteer Coordinator for Promise Keepers and other faith-based nonprofits, Bryan Yeager extracts these lessons and presents them as a practical guide to volunteer and project management. Topics covered include team building, preventing and dealing with conflict, selecting leaders, managing transitional phases, considerations for volunteer security, keeping the project on track, and much more. Each chapter is followed by both thought-provoking questions and action items, to assist in the practical application of these principles to your own project plans and volunteers. Why Volunteer and Project Lessons from Nehemiah? Referring to Nehemiah as a Volunteer Coordinator is not intended to minimize who he was at all. Here is a man taking on a project that without a large-scale coordinated effort of volunteers would never be completed. This book spotlights how he takes on this massive undertaking. Most would say it was the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem, but Nehemiah did much more than that. He brought direction to the Hebrews where there was none. He brought a concerted effort by everyone to raise their quality of living, helping and encouraging them to climb out of their hovels and rubble to build homes in a place of safety. There was a revived dedication to commit their lives to follow the Law of the Lord. After the construction phase was over Nehemiah established a civil government, and kept the progress of community and spiritual development moving in the right direction. He did far more than build a wall. He did all of this by managing and coordinating volunteers while directing a massive project and completing it in record time. Several lessons that freely flow from this Old Testament book can be utilized in projects today. Drawing on his years of experience as Volunteer Coordinator for Promise Keepers and other faith-based nonprofits, Bryan Yeager extracts these lessons and presents them as a practical guide to volunteer and project management. Topics covered include team building, preventing and dealing with conflict, selecting leaders, managing transitional phases, considerations for volunteer security, keeping the project on track, and much more. Each chapter is followed by both thought-provoking questions and action items, to assist in the practical application of these principles to your own project plans and volunteers. In addition, Yeager's lessons for managing volunteers on large projects is now the basis of a course on Volunteer Management through CareerLearning.com.