Live Sent Class
About
We are excited you are interested in being more involved in Lakes Church! The purpose of this class is to help you find your place to serve in the life of our church. Ephesians 2:10 states, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” At Lakes Church, we desire to be a proactive movement of people who is missional on purpose. This means as church members, we each have an important in the function and ministry of our church.
According to the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) we are to go into all the world to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We refer to our obedience to this commission as Living Sent. We are sent into the world to make disciple who make disciples. Living Sent carries with it the idea of being intentional in our efforts. We are not just gathering to gather, but are gathering to go, because by going we are seeking to accomplish the commission the Lord has given us as His followers. We are a sending church, and as a body of believers we are constantly seeking to reach our world with the Gospel.
As a community of believers, we each have a role in advancing the Kingdom of God. God has called each of is to serve Him through the life of the church. As you learn about the various opportunities to Live Sent at Lakes Church it is our sincere desire that God uses you to help Lakes Church reach the world in which we live.
Requirements for Serving:
There are four levels to serving in the life of Lakes Church. The different levels entail different amounts of responsibility, giftedness, and qualifications. As you examine the service opportunities, you’ll notice they are listed by ministry area and according to expectation levels.
Level 1
- Not required to be a church member.
- Not required to pass a background check but will be supervised when serving.
- These areas of service may have minimal interaction with people but are necessary to the function of the church.
- Example: stocking food pantry shelves in the Neighborhood Market
Level 2
- Required to be a church member.
- Required to have a background check.
- Recommended to have sexual abuse awareness training.
- Giftedness and/or specific abilities not required to serve.
- Example(s): First Impressions Team or Coffee Shop volunteer.
Level 3
- Required to be a church member.
- Required to have a background check.
- Required to complete sexual abuse awareness training.
- Certain giftedness and/or specific abilities are preferred or required to serve.
- Example(s): Tech Ministry, Preschool Ministry or Connect Group teacher.
Level 4
- Required to be a church member.
- Required to have a background check.
- Recommended to have sexual abuse awareness training.
- Certain giftedness and/or specific abilities are required to serve.
- Selected by way of church vote.
- Example(s): Deacon or Finance Committee member
Register for an upcoming Live Sent Class at your Campus
Volunteer Opportunities:
Click on your campus below to view volunteer opportunities for your specific campus:
DOWNTOWN CAMPUS OPPORTUNTIES
Sing & Snuggle Friends
Volunteers to help leaders love, sing, and snuggle newborns-18mos. Greet moms/parents/families with an excited smile. Volunteers will help change diapers, feed babies, and rock little ones to sleep. For classes with 12mos-18mos, read from storybook bibles and help with age-appropriate lessons. Wednesdays & Sundays
Pray & Play Friends
Volunteers will help leaders in an age-appropriate lessons for 18mos-2-year-olds. Helping littles learn to pray, sing fun worship songs together, play intentional games, help with fun crafts, help with potty time or diaper changes, help with snack time and assist with taking littles to the playground. Wednesdays & Sundays
Connect group teacher and assistant
Teacher will teach age-appropriate lessons with crafts and activities. Assistant will help teacher with engaging kids in the lesson, craft time & games. Will also help kids with snack time. Sundays at 9:15
Preschool praise and worship volunteers
Help leader engage 3s/4s in the lesson, play games, and participate in worship. Wednesday nights & Sundays 10:45
PreK Worship Team
Learn preschool worship songs and help lead littles in worshipping.
Birthday Cart Attendant
Excited and Bubbly volunteer, willing to sing Happy Birthday, help kids pick a prize from the cart. Being silly a plus! Sunday Mornings
Preschool Hype Crew
Excited and Bubbly volunteers to greet families as they arrive. Possible pool noodle waving abilities, enjoy fun music. Being silly a plus!!
All Kid’s Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 3 clearance, which includes a background check and sexual abuse awareness training.
Connect group leader
Need leaders to teach each Sunday morning during the 9:15am hour. There is a curriculum book that each teacher uses. We provided teaching resources a weekly leader podcast, and we are always available to help with lessons.
Substitute teacher for connect groups.
Available if a regular teacher is out. Resources the same as teacher.
Worship Hour volunteer.
During the 10:45am service we need volunteers to come and worship with our kids! They will sit with the children and participate in the service. They will also be available to do bathroom runs or meet any needs of the children while we are teaching. VBS volunteers
Multiple positions: group leader, crafts, music, Bible story teacher, Rec leader, snacks…
All Student Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 3 clearance, which includes a background check and sexual abuse awareness training.
Adult volunteers
We take great care to make sure that the volunteers serving in our Student Ministry are vetted (background checked) and trained to work with teenagers. While there are a variety of opportunities to serve within the Student Ministry, each adult volunteer is expected to be a qualified small group leader. Therefore, opportunities to serve are limited to individuals who are first willing to be a small group leader. Here are the small group leader expectations:
- You must be a member of Lakes Church for at least 6 months.
- You must have graduated from the student ministry for at least one year.
- You must have an initial interview with the student pastors.
- You must be background checked.
- You must complete the Ministry Safety Training.
- You must shadow in the student ministry for at least two weeks.
- You must have the Leader covenant signed.
Student volunteers
We desire our students to serve in the life of the church. Students themselves will go through a vetting and training process to equip them to serve. They will then be encouraged to serve in the praise band, as door greeters, assist in the café, room setup, event planning and other opportunities. The goal is that our students would be exposed to serving in the local church at an early age so that they will continue to serve into adulthood.
All College Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 3 clearance, which includes a background check and sexual abuse awareness training.
Connect Volunteers:
We need volunteers that are willing to speak into the lives of college students with Biblical truth that is tied to personal experience. Sunday mornings are a time to help college students not only grow in the Word but teach them practical ways to take that knowledge and apply it to every aspect of their daily lives.
D-Group Participant:
We need adults that are willing to participate in group discipleship with our college students, not only by walking through Scripture together and offering life experience as well.
Adult Discipleship Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 2 clearance, which includes a background check.
Director
Level 3 requirement. Provide overall leadership for the group, and its pursuit of Reaching, Learning, and Caring.
Teacher/Facilitator
Level 3 requirement. Lead the group to learn and apply God’s Word by preparing and leading a Bible study.
Outreach Coordinator
Focus on reaching new people and helping connect them to the group.
Care Group Coordinator
Care for members of the group, focused on needs and follow-up.
Prayer Coordinator
Focus on prayer needs of the group.
Missions Coordinator
Level 3 requirement. Engage the group in at least one “GO” mission activity each term, as well as inform the group of local and international mission opportunities.
Activities Coordinator
Engage the group in at least one “FUN” activity each term.
Secretary
Maintain group records.
Greeter
Provide a warm welcome to visitors and members.
Midweek Meal Setup and/or Serve
Setup for the Wednesday evening meal and serve food, drinks etc.
Mature Adult Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 2 clearance, which includes a background check.
MAM News editor
Assist the Mature Adult Pastor in producing monthly newsletter of Mature Adult Ministry events.
Monthly Luncheon Coordinator
Assist the Mature Adult Pastor in coordinating the monthly Mature Adult Ministry luncheon.
Volunteer recruitment coordinator
Assist the Mature Adult Pastor in recruiting volunteers for the Mature Adult Ministry.
AT HOME ministry
Photographer
Missions leader
Assist the Mature Adult Pastor in coordinating Mature Adult Ministry missions opportunities.
Women’s Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 2 clearance, which includes a background check.
Event volunteer
Assist with Women’s Ministry events throughout the year. Events include:
- Spring Brunch
- Fall, Night of Worship
- Christmas event
Moms of Lakeland
Volunteer as a Mentor Mom (Table Host) who encourages and invest in younger moms at the weekly Moms of Lakeland gathering.
Connect Group leader
Level 3 requirement. Provide leadership for a small group Bible study that meets on Sunday morning (Sunday School). For more information contact Matt Nipper at email: matthew.nipper@golakeschurch.com, or phone (863) 682-0163 ext. 319.
Midweek Bible Study leader
Level 3 requirement. Provide leadership and teaching for a small group Bible study that meets during the week. For more information contact Matt Nipper at email: matthew.nipper@golakeschurch.com, or phone (863) 682-0163 ext. 319.
All Men’s Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 2 clearance, which includes a background check.
Men’s Breakfast
Volunteers for the Men’s Breakfast can help in several ways. There are opportunities to cook, serve, or cleanup the meal. We also need volunteers to help collect tickets and serve as greeters. The breakfasts take place 6-8X a year on Thursday mornings from 6:30 – 7:30a. Preparation for cooking the meal usually takes place very early in the morning, but most opportunities to serve are between 6:00 – 8:00a.
Events
There are events throughout the year for Men’s Ministry. We’ll need volunteers for preparing, organizing, and running the event. Volunteer opportunities can involve cooking, setup & breakdown, greeters, and other opportunities.
Disaster Relief (see Local Missions page as well)
When natural disasters or other unfortunate events take place, we want to respond and offer assistance to those in need. Volunteers can serve in a variety of ways: chainsaw & tarp teams, food services teams, mud-out units that clean out damaged homes, assessment, communications, childcare and chaplains. Volunteers in DR receive training annually through Florida Baptist Disaster Relief.
Music Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 2 clearance, which includes a background check.
Worship Vocalists
Through singing, assists in leading our congregation in corporate worship
Worship Band Instrumentalist
Assist in leading corporate worship by playing guitar, drums, piano, or keyboard
Season Instrumentalist
There are a few times a year when we look for players that play instruments outside of the traditional instrumentation. If you play brass, woodwinds, strings, percussion, or any nontraditional instrument we would love to meet with you.
The audition website is golakeschurch.com/auditions
These volunteers assist our Tech Director with sound in all our worship services throughout our Lakes Church ministries and campuses.
Video Production tech
These volunteers assist our Production Associate in capturing and producing video of the Downtown worship services for in-house and on-line use.
Camera tech
These volunteers assist our Production Associate in capturing video of the Downtown worship services for in-house and on-line use.
These volunteers assist our Production Associate in creating and managing lighting for all our worship services throughout our Lakes Church ministries and campuses.
First Impressions Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 2 clearance, which includes a background check.
Golf Cart Drivers
This team of greeters gives the first impression of our church to most visitors and members, responsible for being a visible presence in the parking lot, helping people find the best place to park, transporting guests and people with needs to their preferred entrance, and helping guests find their next destination. Point of Contact: Jack Miller, 863-581-6957
Door Greeters
This team of greeters man the major entrances to our building, both inside and out, greeting everyone, having the door propped open, distributing the Connection Guides, and helping guests to find their way to their next logical stop. Point of Contact: Beth Miller, 863-581-3991
Guest Central
This team of greeters assist Pastor Aaron at our Guest Central reception area located in the Gathering Area. Guest Central volunteers assist the pastors in distributing a church gift to our visitors, assist visitors in entering their contact information into our computer system, handout helpful resources about the church or help guide guest to their desired destination. Point of Contact, Tammy Frisbie, 863) 682-0163 ext. 303
Information Desk
This team of greeters assist members with their needs, answering questions pertaining to upcoming events, and supervising the “Lost-and-Found” items, as well as helping with directions, and assisting in hearing devices.
Circle of Friends Ministry for Students with Special Needs
Volunteers serve on a one-to-one basis as “buddies” or “shadows” for students with special needs in Sunday School, Children’s Worship on Sundays and Wednesday night programming.
Local Missions volunteers can start at Level 1 clearance.
Disaster Relief
When natural disasters or other unfortunate events take place we want to respond and offer assistance to those in need. Volunteers can serve in a variety ways: chainsaw & tarp teams, food services teams, mud-out units that clean out damaged homes, assessment, communications, childcare and chaplains. Volunteers in DR receive training annually through Florida Baptist Disaster Relief.
NEIGHBORHOOD MARKET:
Shopping Manager
Oversees the volunteer shopping clerks. Manages orders and shopping area.
Shopping Clerks
Pull and Pack the shopping orders.
Warehouse Manager
Oversees the warehouse volunteers. Manages the incoming food and inventory of the warehouse.
Warehouse Workers
Stock shelving with food products. Receive new products. Maintain warehouse.
PC Program Manager
Oversees the other volunteer PC Program volunteers. Manages the inputting of new inventory into the Pantry Program.
PC Program Clerks
Inputs new inventory into the Pantry Program. Make inventory adjustments to the Program.
Transportation Manager
Oversees the pickup and deliveries of inventory. Oversee the volunteer drivers and vehicles.
Drivers
Makes pickup and deliveries of inventory.
Distribution Manager
Oversees the distribution volunteers. Works with the Neighbors as they pick up their orders.
Distribution Clerks
Works with the Neighbors as they pick up their food orders.
Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Manager
Oversees the volunteers working with refrigerated and frozen foods. Manages the new inventory and food orders.
Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Clerks
Processes new inventory of refrigerated or frozen foods into the coolers or freezers. Pull orders of refrigerated or frozen foods for pick up.
NEIGHBORHOOD MISSIONS:
Administrative Manager
Oversees the Mission Coaches. Coordinates the volunteer program. Manages the food orders with the other managers. Works with our supply partners on reporting and administrative needs
Coaches
Work with our Neighbors to enroll them in our Pantry and Café services. Share the Gospel with our Neighbors. Provide spiritual growth coaching. Provide coaching to help with their physical needs. Refer our Neighbors to needed services we don’t directly supply. Build relationships with the Neighbors assigned and provide them encouragement. Be willing to continually learn about available resources that can help our Neighbors move forward.
NEIGHBORHOOD CAFÉ:
Kitchen Helpers
Volunteers that work with the Kitchen Manager to prepare foods for the Café. Requires a SafeServe Food Handlers Certificate and other Food Training.
Set Up
Help set up the Café for meals.
Beverage Barista
Prepare various beverages for the Café. Requires a SafeServe Food Handlers Certificate and other Food Training.
Beverage Servers
Provide various beverage service to our Neighbors.
Clean-Up Dining Room Volunteers
Clean and sanitize the dining area after meals. Requires Food Training.
Clean-Up Food Equipment Washers
Clean and Sanitize food preparation and serving equipment using a commercial food kitchen equipment. Requires Food Training.
Food Servers
Plating food for our Neighbors. Requires a SafeServe Food Handlers Certificate and Food Training.
Table Servers
Provide meal service to our Neighbors.
Salvation Coaches
Welcome and Talk to our Neighbors about the Gospel and Christian Growth before and after the preaching service.
Sound Tech
This volunteer ensures the sound system is up and running for services. They also make needed adjustments to volume and clarity.
Pastoral Care volunteers can start at Level 2 clearance, which includes a background check.
Widow / Widower care
Level 3 requirement. These volunteers assist Pastor Walt and the Deacons in caring for our Lakes Church widows and widowers. This care can include making phone calls, home visits, or hospital visits.
Homebound
Level 3 requirement. These volunteers assist Pastor Walt and the Deacons in caring for church members who are homebound. This care can include making phone calls, writing letters, and/or making home visits.
Hospital Visits
Level 3 requirement, plus hospital ID (Lakeland Regional Medical Center). These volunteers assist Pastor Walt and the Deacons in caring for church members who are in local hospitals. This care can include making phone calls, writing letters, and/or making hospital visits.
Baptisms
These volunteers assist our pastors with baptisms by preparing and collecting towels, distributing t-shirts, putting name tags on baptism candidates, and helping cleanup afterwards.
Ministry Support volunteers can start at Level 1 clearance.
Worship Center, restock chairback holders
These volunteers assist our administrative assistants in restocking sanctuary chairback holders with pens, tithe envelopes, and visitor cards.
Wednesday night dinner
These volunteers serve in two different ways. One group assists Chef Ryan during the day with plating food and transporting it to the Sky Light area for our Midweek meal. A second group assists with meal distribution in the serving line at the Midweek meal, which takes place from 5:00 – 6:30p on Wednesday nights.
Office help
These volunteers work with our ministry assistants during the week to make copies, sort literature, pickup and/or deliver supplies, enter information into our computer database, and other routine office task. These volunteers can serve whenever their schedule allows Monday – Thursday, 8:00a – 5:00p.
Lakes Church Academy volunteers must be at least a Level 3 clearance, which includes a background check and sexual abuse awareness training.
Reader / Listener
Volunteers will read to students and or listen to the child read.
Library Assistant
Assist in labeling books and organizing them in the library.
Office assistant
Help with routine office task such as making copies, laminating, picking up and delivering supplies, decorating and more.
SOUTH CAMPUS OPPORTUNTIES
All Preschool and Kids Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 3 clearance, which includes a background check and sexual abuse awareness training.
Nursery: (Birth – 2 years)
Volunteers to help leaders love, sing, and snuggle birth – 2-year-olds. Greet moms/parents/families with an excited smile. Volunteers will help change diapers, feed babies, and rock little ones to sleep. For classes with birth – 2-year-old’s, read from storybook bibles and help with age-appropriate lessons. Wednesdays and/or Sundays.
Preschool: (2 years – 4 years)
Volunteers to help leaders in an age-appropriate lessons for 2 – 4-year-olds. Helping littles learn to pray, sing fun worship songs together, play intentional games, help with fun crafts, help with potty time or diaper changes, and help with snack time. Wednesdays and/or Sundays.
Connect group teacher and assistant: Teacher will teach age-appropriate lessons with crafts and activities. Assistant will help teacher with engaging kids in the lesson, craft time & games. Will also help kids with snack time. Sundays at 9:15am.
Kids: (Kindergarten – 5th Grade)
Connect group leader: Leaders that can teach each Sunday morning during the 9:15am hour. There is a curriculum book that each teacher uses. We provided teaching resources a weekly leader podcast, and we are always available to help with lessons.
Substitute teacher for connect groups: Available if a regular teacher is out. Resources the same as teacher.
Worship hour volunteer: During the 10:45am service we need volunteers to come and worship with our kids! They will sit with the children and participate in the service. They will also be available to do bathroom runs or meet any needs of the children while we are teaching.
VBS volunteers: Multiple positions: group leader, crafts, music, Bible story teacher, Rec leader, snacks…
All Student Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 3 clearance, which includes a background check and sexual abuse awareness training.
Adult volunteers
We take great care to make sure that the volunteers serving in our Student Ministry are vetted (background checked) and trained to work with teenagers. While there are a variety of opportunities to serve within the Student Ministry, each adult volunteer is expected to be a qualified small group leader. Therefore, opportunities to serve are limited to individuals who are first willing to be a small group leader. Here are the small group leader expectations:
- You must be a member of Lakes Church for at least 6 months.
- You must have graduated from the student ministry for at least one year.
- You must have an initial interview with the student pastors.
- You must be background checked.
- You must complete the Ministry Safety Training.
- You must shadow in the student ministry for at least two weeks.
- You must have the Leader covenant signed.
All College Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 3 clearance, which includes a background check and sexual abuse awareness training.
Connect Group Volunteers:
We need volunteers that are willing to speak into the lives of college students with Biblical truth that is tied to personal experience. Sunday mornings are a time to help college students not only grow in the Word but teach them practical ways to take that knowledge and apply it to every aspect of their daily lives. Sundays at 9:15am.
Adult Discipleship Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 2 clearance, which includes a background check.
Director
Level 3 requirement. Provide overall leadership for the group, and its pursuit of Reaching, Learning, and Caring.
Teacher/Facilitator
Level 3 requirement. Lead the group to learn and apply God’s Word by preparing and leading a Bible study.
Music Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 2 clearance, which includes a background check.
Worship Vocalists
Through singing, assists in leading our congregation in corporate worship
Worship Band Instrumentalist
Assist in leading corporate worship by playing guitar, drums, piano, or keyboard
Tech Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 3 clearance, which includes a background check and sexual abuse awareness training.
These volunteers assist with sound in all our worship services on Sundays and Wednesdays.
Lighting Tech
These volunteers assist in creating and managing lighting on Sundays and Wednesdays.
First Impressions Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 2 clearance, which includes a background check.
Door Greeters
This team of greeters man the entrance to our building, both inside and out, greeting everyone, having the door propped open, distributing the Connection Guides, and helping guests to find their way to their next logical stop.
Guest Central
This team of greeters assist Pastor Alex at our Guest Central reception area located in the front of the Worship Center. Guest Central volunteers assist the pastors in distributing a church gift to our visitors, handout helpful resources about the church or help guide guest to their desired destination.
Midweek Meal Setup and/or Serve
Assist in the setup and serving of our weekly Wednesday evening meal.
Safety Team Ministry volunteers must be at least a Level 3 clearance, which includes a background check and sexual abuse awareness training.
Safety Team
The Safety Team volunteer assists in providing a safe environment for everyone that comes to our Church. Individuals that serve in this capacity can also help with medical needs that arise on Sundays, Wednesdays, events, etc., if they are medically trained personnel.
