Please review our inclement weather guidelines

Volunteer Info

Welcome to the volunteer orientation resource page, where volunteers can find important information they need to know to come out and be part of a Worship Wagon service.

Several different roles are needed at each service. As you prepare to participate, remember why we do what we do: Jesus took his message throughout the cities and villages. He did not construct a building and ask people to come to him; he took the Gospel message to the people.

Volunteer Guidelines

Values Statement

As volunteers for the Worship Wagon program, we start from a Christian foundation. We remember that we are serving and worshiping God with those on the street, not preaching to them. We treat each individual and their situation with respect, and we desire to initiate and foster long-lasting personal relationships with those in the homeless community.

  • Homeless individuals are people, just like you.
  • Homeless folks appreciate friendship, understanding, and love.
  • The church is not a building; it is the people.
  • We serve with, not to, the homeless community.
  • If you would like to bring items to pass out, please coordinate ahead of time.
General Considerations
  • Homeless individuals were not always homeless.
  • Some event or decision made them homeless.
  • But for the Grace of God, we/you could be homeless too.
  • Homeless folks appreciate friendship, understanding and love.
  • Homeless individuals are people, just like you.
  • The "Church" isn't a building, it's the people.
  • We serve with, not to, the homeless - "be" the church.
  • If you would like to bring things to pass out during service, please arrange with the Vittle Van ahead of time. The Vittle Van volunteers can then bring your items on the van to be passed out when the van arrives, but we don't want those attending service to think or expect that the Worship Wagon is going to be providing food, handouts, or items of value to them.
Inclement Weather

We strive to be consistent and reliable, generally always trying to find a way to hold services each and every scheduled night. We have endured blistering heat, thunderstorms, snow, gusty winds, and bitter cold. We have found that the number of times we needed to cancel services has been 1 or 2 days each year at most.

That being said, we also believe that certain weather conditions might create an unnecessary risk for either our volunteers, our homeless friends, or both. We will use the following rules of thumb to determine if, when, and how we will hold services when the weather isn't looking great:

  • If the temperature is forecast to be less than 30 degrees, we will hold a shortened service and will not include a live music portion.
  • If the temperature is forecast to be less than 10 degrees, we will cancel all services.
  • If there is a winter storm warning in effect for the time of our service, we will cancel all services.
  • If there is a severe thunderstorm warning in effect for the time of our service, we will cancel all services.
  • If there is a tornado warning in effect for the time of our service, we will cancel all services.

In addition, for locations that aren't protected from rain and snow, such as the Washington Park location, services will be canceled for moderate or heavy rain, snow or ice covering the ground, or single digit wind chill temps.

Things To Do
  • Come prepared to make new friends.
  • Shake hands and introduce yourself.
  • Talk to people before and after the service.
  • Make an effort to remember the names of those you meet.
  • Dress casually, modestly, and appropriately for the weather.
  • Leave valuables at home and use the buddy system.
  • Ask before giving someone a hug.
  • Help with setup and tear-down.
Things Not To Do
  • Do not offer items or financial assistance during service.
  • Do not be pushy or overwhelming.
  • If an attendee wants to worship by themselves, let them be.
  • Be sensitive to those who prefer not to be physically touched.
  • Do not go off alone with anyone; stay with a buddy.
How to get to the Worship Wagon site(s)

Please visit our Site Locations page for directions and maps for our two Worship Wagon locations.

Key Roles & Responsibilities

Partner Churches

Partner churches sign up to be fully responsible for one weekly session each month. We count on these faith communities to rally behind and support Worship Wagon by bringing volunteers to be the crew for their service night.

A Partner Church doesn't have to be a church, per se, but it does need to be a Christian group of adults who desire to reach out with the Gospel in our city and be a long-standing partner with the Worship Wagon.

Partner Church Ambassador

Each partner church identifies an ambassador to serve as the key point of contact and make sure their night has a worship music leader, gospel message presenter, prayer warriors, and possibly personal testimonies.

Worship Music Leader

The worship music leader plans and sings the music portion of the service, usually two or three songs at the beginning, and one or two songs to finish. Worship Wagon provides the sound system, mic stands, and music stands and will be fully setup and ready to go for your worship team. Printed copies of lyrics (20 or so) for the selected songs are a nice bonus, but not required.

Gospel Message Speaker

The gospel message presenter prepares and delivers a short message, typically ten to fifteen minutes long. We have monthly themes to guide the content of the message.

It's important to keep in mind that we are worshiping "with" the homeless community. We aren't preaching "to them", so tailor your message as you would for any community of believers and non-believers.

Prayer Warrior

Prayer warriors make themselves available to pray with anyone in attendance before, during, or after each service. Keep safety in mind, remain within eyesight of the rest of the crowd, and pray in small groups when possible.

Here are some general guidelines for praying with our attendees:

Do ...

  • pray for God to lead you
  • get to know a little about the person you are praying with
  • ask the person if they have any specific prayer requests
  • ask permission before putting your hand on the person's shoulder
  • pray in small groups of at least 2 or 3 (for your own safety)
  • pray with your eyes open (again, for your safety)
  • allow for moments of silence
  • incorporate scripture in you prayer whenever possible
  • when praying about something you perceive - ask about it, don't proclaim it
  • end with a prayer of thanks, and have them pray if appropriate)
  • encourage them to come back for more prayer if needed
  • be aware of ministry still going on around you

Don't ...

  • project your own issues and problems on the person you are praying with
  • preach or be judgmental
  • let feelings or emotions distract you from the essence of the prayer
  • distract others or draw attention to yourself
  • pray with an attendee of the opposite gender by yourself