Why do they Do It? A Study of Volunteer Commitment in the Parish Setting

[Editor’s Note: author’s contact information not available] To study factors that contribute to volunteer commitment, questionnaires were sent to members of Baptist congregations who were, or recently had been, involved in volunteering. In this setting, how well the volunteer's position utilized her/his talents and gifts and coincided with the agency's/church's mission, a person's satisfaction in volunteering, and the religious and altruistic reasons for volunteering far outweighed material rewards and the desire to have per-sonal needs met. This article adds to the limited literature on church-affiliated volunteers and suggests areas for further study