Recruiting volunteers can be challenging, but as we begin a new year, Children’s Ministry Deals has some fresh ideas to help pique the interest of our congregations and spread the word about our need for help. After we’ve put the announcement in the bulletin, the church website, and Sunday morning slides, it may seem like we’ve done everything we can. However, we often get the best positive response when we ask in person. Personal invitations are an excellent way to get someone interested in helping, so don’t miss the opportunity to talk to people one-on-one in your church when you can.
Sharing what it is like to serve in the ministry, commenting on how you think they would be an asset to the team, and giving a brief description of what they would be doing is a great way to get people connected. Since it is impossible to talk to everyone in person, we have created some ways that you can reach your congregation as a whole on a more personal level.
1. Present the Need in Person through the Kids
The first idea provides children an opportunity to be involved in asking for help and puts our congregation in a place where they can see the need firsthand. Sometimes, putting a face to a name can make all the difference.
Ask students to pair up in twos and threes and hand out flyers between services at the doors of your sanctuary and the church's entrance/exit doors with information on how to sign up to help with student ministry. Include a list of ways people can help, from the weekly commitment of teaching to the bare minimum, such as donating items or helping with seasonal events. Encourage kids to greet the people and to say, “Welcome. Our student ministry needs help. Here’s a flyer all about it. Hope you will consider helping us out this year!” Include more detailed information at the welcome center so that anyone interested in signing up can ask questions.
At the welcome center, have a sign-up where those interested can leave their contact information. This allows us to follow up with potential volunteers and gets the ball rolling. When we mention a need but don’t ask for people to sign up right then and there, we can lose about half the people. This is because people forget about it by the time they get home. Getting contact information is crucial so we can reach out to them and begin the process immediately before they lose interest or become distracted. Finally, announce the same day during the service and say something like, “You may have seen some kiddos handing out flyers about children’s ministry. We are so thankful for their help today, and we hope you will get the opportunity to work with some of these kids in children’s ministry this year!”
2. Serve One Another
The next idea is all about service! Sharing the heart of service with our children may spread throughout our church. It’s all about allowing the children to let their light shine.
An innovative way to recruit more volunteers is by having a Kid’s Serve Sunday. It is a once-a-year event where the kids serve alongside the grown-ups because the adults usually serve the kids the rest of the year. Have children sign up to help in all areas possible, from helping to prepare and serve communion to handing out bulletins, singing in a choir during worship, or helping in the nursery. There will still need to be adult supervision, of course, but this will give kids a chance to serve and see where they might want to sign up to continue to help. You might just find that the church ends up with some new weekly kid volunteers in more areas of the church due to this Kid’s Serve Sunday.
At the same time, you can create a slideshow of all the wonderful things your KidMin has done this year, and share it during the adult service! Share with the congregation that “it is Kid’s Serve Sunday”; they will see kids everywhere, helping to serve. Have kids who aren’t serving in the nursery join the adult service, and ask them to stand when you announce a need for fresh volunteers this coming year. “Just as these kids were excited to serve this Sunday, we hope you will be excited to serve in our Children’s Ministry, too. It’s a chance to share the love of Jesus with the next generation!”
3. Discover Gifts and How to Use them
The final idea has been tried and tested by many churches. As the church grows, conversing with each member and inviting them to serve becomes impossible. When the opportunities are being announced, but only some are reaching out and signing up, it might be time to help individuals evaluate what areas they have the gift to serve.
Sometimes, people aren’t serving in the church because they don’t know what areas they SHOULD serve. Create a webpage attached to your church’s website that allows people to take a test and see how they can best serve the church. You can include questions about spiritual gifts in the test to help people begin to see what areas God has gifted them. Design a test similar to this example on the Harvest church’s website https://harvest.church/where-to-serve-quiz/. Link all the answers to possible services your church congregation can be involved in. Be sure to include the children’s ministry service opportunities in this test. This will help your children’s ministry and the entire church. This is a church-wide project where you can partner with other church leaders to help organize, put it into action, and follow up with your church members in emails and phone calls.
Whatever we decide is best for our ministries, there are tangible ways to engage more people in the church to be part of the church family and serve one another. Taking things further than merely giving announcements upfront and in the bulletin will help reach more people. Involving the children in your ministry to ask for help can get the word out. Providing tools for your congregation to discover their gifts and ways to share them can benefit everyone.
We at Children Ministry Deals hope that you try a few of these fresh ideas during the new year. Our prayer is that it helps your church to grow! God bless you and your entire church community in 2024!
Related Resources:
10 Best Strategies For Recruiting Children's Ministry Volunteers
How To Retain Sunday School Volunteers
Christmas Gift Ideas For Your Volunteers
Children's Church Volunteer Resources
3 Devotions To Encourage Volunteers In Your Children's Ministry
How To Train Children's Ministry Volunteers - 12 Essential Tips
