Calling All Volunteers…Maybe: The Consequences of Hurt Caused by Rejection within the Evangelical Christian Church

It is common for Evangelical Christian churches to encourage young adult congregants to volunteer within their organization. However, when a volunteer applies for a position, and they do not receive it, they risk experiencing emotional hurt. There is a gap in the literature regarding responses of church attenders who have experienced rejection within the Evangelical church, specifically from a volunteer leadership position. In light of this, the present research conducted a qualitative study to identify how relationships between church staff and aspiring volunteers influence acquiring a leadership position and how young adults respond when they have been hurt by perceived rejection messages regarding volunteer leadership requests. This study gathered data through in-depth, one-on-one interviews of young adults, pastors, and church consultants. Pastors and church consultants provided context for young adults’ responses to rejection from volunteering. Analysis of raw data followed Braun and Clarke’s reflexive Thematic Analysis to identify patterns and themes seen throughout the data set. The depth of a relationship between a pastor and an aspiring volunteer is the primary evaluative process for pastors to acquire responsible leaders. However, aspiring volunteers who do not maintain a deep relationship with the pastor perceived behaviors demonstrating favoritism and were inclined to experience emotional hurt caused by feelings of exclusion and feelings of being morally or socially less than others. Young adult aspiring volunteers responded to perceived rejection through negative self-talk, avoidance, and continued participation in the ministry. Over time, young adults learned to understand and accept what had happened. Ultimately, the research found that the common leadership approach of developing leaders based on personal relationships between church staff and aspiring volunteers increases young adults’ hurt when they are not accepted into a leadership position.