Observing a church parking lot can tell you plenty about the church—even before you’ve entered its doors.
Are there families? Are the kids eager to go in?
When kids are rushing to the front doors, it tells you that there is a team of volunteers on the other side who understand their calling.
Volunteers who know they are serving with a higher calling are not there just because they were scheduled. These are the teachers and leaders who are excited and well trained—volunteers who expect to make a difference in the next generation.
Doesn’t that describe the team you’d like to work with every week?
When kids are rushing to the front doors, it tells you that there is a team of volunteers on the other side who understand their calling.
Here are three Es to remember when partnering with your volunteers to help spread that priceless trait … enthusiasm.
Excite
Want to hear a secret? The absolute BEST way to spread contagious excitement is to tell people what God is doing.
Every ministry could use more people serving in them.
But when a ministry is desperate for people, you will find that others will sense that desperation and be hesitant to volunteer.
The volunteers who stick will be those who sign up to serve because of the vision and excitement they sensed when they were first asked and continue to experience as they serve.
And in turn, those volunteers will pass that excitement on to others—they won’t be able to help themselves!
Equip
Once you have teachers and leaders, give them the tools they need to succeed.
When volunteers are properly trained, they enjoy their roles much more and want to continue to invest in the kids at your church.
A misconception is that volunteer training only needs to happen once or twice a year or when a new volunteer signs up to serve.
But in reality, a person who is a lifelong learner will continue to reach kids in new and unique ways.
Try approaching training in different ways. One month you may want to try e-mailing a training article to all the teachers on your team. Another month you may schedule a church lunch and training session for your entire children’s ministry.
Training shouldn’t always look the same, but it does need to provide information volunteers can easily put into practice.
Discover what works best for your team and have fun with it!
Discover the Enneagram’s Surprisingly Simple Approach to Engaging Volunteers
Discover the Enneagram’s Surprisingly Simple Approach to Engaging Volunteers
Discover the Enneagram’s Surprisingly Simple Approach to Engaging Volunteers
Encourage
Check in with your volunteers and find out what is working best for them and how you can be more supportive.
Sending a teacher a text or e-mail during the week to let them know you care about them might be just what they needed that day.
Children’s ministry volunteers have a high calling—they get to introduce who God is and share His love with the kids they teach every week.
As leaders, we have a high calling as well. Our calling is to love and encourage the volunteers who then reach the kids in the classes.
“You might-not remember me, but you were my Sunday school teacher in kindergarten. I am here attending Bible college because you were my teacher.”
As a mom was visiting her daughter in Bible college, another girl ran up to her. This second girl looked vaguely familiar, but the mom didn’t know who she was.
Then the girl said, “You might-not remember me, but you were my Sunday school teacher in kindergarten. I am here attending Bible college because you were my teacher.”
It was in that moment that the volunteer who had devoted her Sundays to teaching children realized how God had used her.
Share this teacher’s story to encourage the teachers on your team, and watch the excitement spread.
