‘Professional’ volunteer’s passion has new target – his church
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By DERON SNYDER
Making money quickly became second nature to Jahi Davis, when he started his first business as a 12-year-old. He trained for a year, borrowed funds from a cousin, bought some supplies and soon was pulling in $1,500 per week as a barber. “Money was not an issue,” he says.
But a near-fatal car accident changed his outlook on life as high school graduation neared. Davis was in critical condition for a month, suffering from a broken jaw, cracked back, collapsed lung and multiple cuts on his face. That brush with death caused him to re-evaluate his life’s trajectory. “It was like, ‘God kept me on this earth for something,’” he says.
He found his purpose in serving and giving back, through volunteer and non-profit organizations. Davis won a national service award – presented by former Presidents Bill Clinton and George H.W. Bush – for his work with AmeriCorps in 1997. In 2010, a volunteer program he created for a nonprofit in D.C. became the national model for Operation Hope.
Now he’s turning his attention to another pressing need, assisting First Baptist Church of Glenarden in launching its Volunteer Ministry. Davis wasn’t looking for a leadership position when he responded to an announcement in the bulletin last summer. He just wanted an opportunity to “stop being a leech” and start giving back at his church.The new ministry was perfect.
“I was one of those people with a lot of different interests, but a work schedule that’s so combustible I really didn’t have time to give to the church in a meaningful way,” says Davis, who has 17 years of experience with nonprofits. “Short-term assignments sounded good to me, whatever was needed. I was really hoping to have various assignments throughout the year that I can jump in and jump out.”
Elder William Jones, who’s spearheading the ministry, had a different idea when he looked at Davis’ email. “I said, ‘This guy should be running this thing.’ That’s what he’s been doing. I feel like God sent him my way at the right time. Even when I started, I didn’t intend to be the head forever.”
Unlike FBCG’s other 100-plus ministries, the Volunteer Ministry was created to serve the church’s business operations staff. “It’s really put in place to help the people who work at First Baptist,” Elder Jones says. “It’s not about going out to nursing homes and things like that, but to assist those people who run things at the church. It keeps us from having to hire all the time.”
He says more than 80 members responded by year’s end. Many saw the ministry as a way to give of their skills and time and not be tied down with attending regular meetings, rehearsals, etc. Volunteers are entered into a database based on their skill sets. When a FBCG manager or department head has a need, the database is screened for possible matches. Assignments or specific and short-term, after which volunteers go back into the database.
Elder Jones said the Ministry Support department accounted for 20 percent of the referrals in December and Reverend Annie Darden, the department head, raved about the difference volunteers made. Elder Jones said such success stories will help encourage other departments that have been slower to utilize the Volunteer Ministry.
Another concern is the number of men who volunteer, only eight through December. Elder Jones believes Davis can help in that area.
“We always have more women volunteers then men, but men play a significant role,” Davis says. “You have to be strategic with men. In my former organization, once they got involved and we had specific roles for them, they were involved. We have to do the same thing at church.”
Davis believes he has found a home with the Volunteer Ministry and others can use it to “engage, get off the bench and really just give generously, whether in church or outside the church.
Just use the opportunity while you have it,” he says.
