Individual Volunteer Resources (for Catalyst Week 2022)

Who can serve?

Any individual who loves Jesus (and is in agreement with our belief statement) is welcome to volunteer with Jesus Loves Kzoo during Catalyst Week.

We want you to have all the info you need so that we might step out together to share the love of Jesus Christ in a well-coordinated effort. If you need further information than is found on this page, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

Volunteer registration instructions

1. Fill out the online registration form – Click Here for 2022 Registration   or download a paper form
2. Order a JLK T-shirt! We ask all volunteers to wear a red JLK shirt. These help us unify and identify (for safety reasons)… plus they are a great witnessing tool! Order your shirt:  Click Here to order a shirt  or download a paper order form
3. Be sure to get all important dates listed below on your calendar.

A little more info on what is happening…

Street Ministry Equipping

• “Hands On Equipping” – 6-8:30 pm / Hand’s-on Street Min practice!  Please contact Julie at Jesusloveskzoo@gmail.com if you would like to connect.
   

All Volunteer Meeting

Date & Time: Thursday, July 23 (6-8 pm); Location TBA

• Whether you are a veteran JLK  volunteer or a first-timer, this meeting is vitally important so we can all be on the same page and hit the ground running. There will be information on Grill Site Assignments, Breakout-Sessions, and a time for Prayer over every aspect of Catalyst Week! 

Catalyst Week

• SUNDAY, July 10 (3-6pm) – OneWorship for the whole community @ Arcadia Festival Site.
  Let’s come together to worship Jesus as ONE Church…. Praying, interceding, and believing for our region. Some volunteer opportunities, but mostly this is a time for the Community of Believers to gather together in worship and prayer for our region! Lord, let your Kingdom come in Kalamazoo as it is in heaven!
• MON-THURS, July 11-14 (5-8:30pm) — Prayer & Grill Nights outreach in various neighborhoods.
  Hundreds of believers from the Kalamazoo Region serving alongside one another, DOING the Great Commission together. Events are open to the community but we need over a thousand volunteers and they all need to register. Grill Site locations are listed at the bottom of our Catalyst Week page by May
• FRIDAY, July 15 – this year we are looking at doing a care package outreach for Teachers – Stay tuned for more info!

“FAQ’s for Catalyst Week

Where will the “Grill Site” locations be (Monday–Thursday)?

We will have over 8 different Grill Site locations (2 or more per night) during the week. The locations are listed at the bottom of our Catalyst Week page and will be finalized by late spring.

If there are two Grill Sites per night, how do I know which one to go to?

We have many churches that are on board with JLK “as a church”. To assure we have enough volunteers and have good diversity, we will be assigning each of those churches to a particular site each night. These will be announced at the All-volunteer meeting.

However, if you are volunteering as an individual (not with your church), you are free to choose which sites you would like to serve at. Unless you are in a leadership position, we do not need to know which particular site you will be going to.

Timing:

What  time should  I arrive at the Grill Site?

• Leaders: arrive approx 4:15 PM.
• General volunteers: – arrive between 4:30-5:15.

I work late and can’t arrive until later? Am I still allowed to serve?

• YES! If you have to arrive later, just plug yourself in when you get there.

What time does it end?

• There will be a large group prayer circle (JLK volunteers and the community) that will form about 8:00 pm. Prayer will likely end by about 8:15 pm. Then we ask every volunteer to help with clean up and loading the trailers. Most sites are cleared out by about 8:30 pm.

Set up:

How can I be most useful during the set up? There seems like a lot of chaos and nothing I can do to help…

• Just Pitch In. Unload trucks, set up tables, chairs and canopies. Disburse water, freeze pops and ice among the coolers. Check in with the info table to see if there are some miscellaneous things they need help with (such as holding a parking sign or helping volunteers get a nametag).
• Take time to PRAY with one another and over the site before the community begins arriving.
  

Do I need to check in somewhere?

• Check in directly with the area where you feel most led to serve.
• The leader of each area will have a bright yellow lanyard and will give you some direction.
• Please be flexible. If there area you wanted to serve in seems to have enough help, try another area.

A few serve-area tips…

• ARE YOU WILLING to do Street Ministry?  WE NEED YOU!  Check in right away at the Street Ministry Table.  Street teams will form and be sent out by 5:25 pm.
• FOOD/ Grill area is first-come, first-serve. Check in at the food-serving area when you arrive and help with set up. Remember, only so many volunteers can fit behind the tables. You may need to do something else. Thanks for being flexible : )
• If you want to PRAY with people or just intercede over the site, check in by the “Care & Prayer” Tent.
• If you love interacting with CHILDREN, check in with the Children’s Area or Games Area leaders and be willing to help where most needed.  The main focus is on taking time to build relationship in the children’s area. Many of the children’s activities use the colors of faith (please learn them!)
• ON-SITE MINISTRY just refers to those volunteers willing to stay on-site to talk and pray with our guests (rather than leaving with a street team). As street ministry teams leave the site, be sure to let the Hospitality leader  (at the Info table) know you are still there and available.
• If you are NOT SURE what to do, check-in by the “INFO” SIGN. There are many miscellaneous jobs such as parking, bathroom security, holding signs, passing out care packages etc!

Is there a rain plan?

#1 – Pray to the God who stops the rain!

#2 – if there is an active thunderstorm or tornado warning, assume the site is postponed until it is over. If it is slightly drizzly, that is a harder call. Watch the web site for direction or better yet, sign up for Text Updates (text “JLK” to 88202)

What should I do if someone has a prayer request that makes me feel uncomfortable, or I’m not sure how to handle?

Here are a couple of tips:

• Look for someone one your site wearing a blue lanyard that says (“I will pray with you”). They are the official prayer team and would be great to pull into the conversation.
• You might also gently ask the person you are talking with if they would like to go with you over to sit down by the prayer tent where there are some other people who can help.
• If a situation arises that you feel needs to be reported (such as someone how is being abused or is feeling threatened), definitely let someone know such as the leaders in the prayer tent or your site coordinator.

It seems like there are a lot of “red shirts” at the site and I don’t feel like I am needed…

It is true that there will be times at the site when there are a lot of volunteers… especially at the beginning (before street teams go out) and at the end (when street teams return and there is an ending prayer circle).

A point to consider is that we need as many people as possible to be willing to go out in a street ministry team so that we don’t crowd out the site with volunteers. Even if you have not done it before, or feel nervous, we encourage you to give it a try! You will be in a group of 4-6 people and within that group many gifts are needed, and some will have more experience than others. Street ministry can be easy as you have a lot of ‘openings’ to start the conversation with people… you will be handing out water and freeze pops in addition to some community resource information, etc. Once you have an opening to begin conversation, it is easy to let them know that we are just letting them know God loves them and ask if there is anything they would like prayer over.

Another thing to consider is that if you see a lot of “red-shirts” look for someone you don’t know from another church and get to know them! God is using JLK to build unity and within the Body in Kalamazoo across racial and denominational lines. This happens best in the context of serving together!

I might be interested in the follow up team. How can I get involved?

That is great! If you want to hear more about JLK/365 please contact Jill Stephayn at Jesusloveskzoo365@gmail.com.  You can also find a little more info on the web site at: https://jesusloveskzoo.org/jlk365/

During Catalyst Week, JLK/365 jumps quickly into follow-up, so you will want to get on board to help right away…

• The Administration Team (data entry) begins entering information during Catalyst Week. And the Prayer Team (prayer warriors) will be able to begin praying over the requests.
• On the first Monday following Catalyst Week,  the Connections Team will receive their assignments.
• The Special Events Team will be planning a connection brunch for early fall and a family Christmas event as further connecting points for those they are following up with.  There are also men’s and women’s small-group Bible studies  that will continue year-round.