Perhaps you lead a children’s ministry at a megachurch, with hundreds of volunteers in your care. Or perhaps you oversee kids’ ministry at a small church, where you can count the number of volunteers on two hands—or even one.

Regardless of the size and scope of your ministry, the goal remains the same. As Psalm 78:4 says, we are to “tell a future generation the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, his might, and the wondrous works he has performed.”

But isn’t there a secondary goal in ministry, as well? Throughout the New Testament, the apostle Paul makes it clear that God’s heart is for all believers to use their spiritual gifts “to build up the body of Christ, until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness” (Ephesians 4:12-13).

This, then, begs the question: Is your children’s ministry providing ample opportunities for people of varying gifts to serve?

Sure, we all know that every kids’ ministry needs teachers, just like all fish need water. But not everyone is inclined this way (as teachers, that is, not fish). What other opportunities are you providing for people in your church—regardless of their gifts and interests—to bless, and be blessed by?

The apostle Paul makes it clear that God’s heart is for all believers to use their spiritual gifts.

Here are some ways to create more opportunities for people to serve with you.

Creating Volunteer Opportunities

Cast a Clear Vision

Like anything in life, most people naturally gravitate toward things they understand and believe in. So, make sure your congregation knows the “why” behind what you’re doing in kidmin.

Work with your church’s leaders to find ways to share the vision and mission of the ministry. The more people hear about the ministry’s heartbeat, the more likely they will be to join it.

Acknowledge You Can’t Do It All

Let’s face it: Part of any kids’ ministry leadership job description involves having superpowers! But superheroes need backup too. Superman has the Justice League. Captain America has the Avengers. Even Batman—the Dark Loner himself—has Robin.

As you tackle the momentous task of children’s ministry each week, find tasks to delegate. If you’re not a techie, recruit some folks who are. If organization isn’t your thing, find someone to manage your craft and supplies closet.

And if you’re not musically inclined, for goodness’ sake, put down the acoustic guitar!

As people notice you serving faithfully while humbly acknowledging your limitations, they will be more willing to walk alongside you in ministry.

Friends having coffee and smiling

Talk about “Opportunities” More Than “Needs”

In creating more serving roles, presentation is important. If you portray kids’ ministry each year as a listing ship that is in danger of sinking without more help, your S.O.S. calls will eventually fall on deaf ears.

However, if you present serving roles as amazing opportunities to reach the next generation for Christ—which they are—then you’ll begin to build a church culture where kids’ ministry is seen as a gift and privilege, not a duty.

As people notice you serving faithfully while humbly acknowledging your limitations, they will be more willing to walk alongside you in ministry.

Create Roles That Celebrate Diversity in God’s Kingdom

When I came on staff at one previous church, I found a children’s ministry that was stuck in the past. So, I formed a leadership team, and we got to work on planning and implementing a new large group/small group format.

In addition to being a far better setup for kids to thrive in, it created opportunities for people whose skills and interests didn’t have a place in the old Sunday school format of one grade per classroom. The new format, though, opened exciting opportunities for large group teachers, song leaders, musicians, actors, and tech board operators.

When we installed an electronic check-in system and started a child safety team, this created more roles for folks to get involved in the ministry without actually having to step foot inside classrooms (because, as we all know, not everyone is cut out to hold babies, wipe noses, and use glitter glue). It was incredibly rewarding to see many people excitedly join kidmin and thrive in these new roles!

God made us with beautiful diversity, and this should be celebrated in ministry. Where can you expand your children’s ministry to create new roles for more people to put their interests and spiritual gifts to work?

Consider Diversifying Broad Roles

When we upgraded my previous church’s old Sunday morning format, it was also freeing for many existing volunteers. No longer was each age group leader responsible for every . . . single . . . element of a 90-minute service—check-in, teaching, crafts, snacks, games and other activities, etc.

After the change, those responsibilities were divvied out to more people whose gifts and interests matched each component.

thank-you-volunteer-cards
volunteer thank you cards

Create a Workable Serving Calendar

The more flexibility your serving rotations provide for volunteers, the more success you’ll have creating more serving opportunities. This decision, of course, will be partly based on your church’s overall Sunday format. The kids’ ministry serving schedule at a one-Sunday-service church will look different than one at a church offering multiple services.

Either way, find a way to make it work within your context. But make sure your serving rotation prioritizes and protects people’s time in the main worship service!

Do a Year-End Assessment

An annual review of where your ministry is and where you want it to go is a great way to create more serving roles.

Where are there holes? Where could you use more help? Are there things you want to do but haven’t been able to pull off yet because of time, money, or personnel needs? Dream big and see where God leads you!

People > Programs

As you dream big, though, remember to prioritize people over programs.

Of course! we respond. That goes without saying. But sometimes in practice, our programs start to trump people.

It’s easy to get excited about the next big idea. This will revolutionize the way churches do children’s ministry! we think as we pat ourselves on the back. Then we go about trying to staff our ingenious initiative, only to find a lackluster response. Unfazed, we press forward—perhaps even guilt-tripping a few innocent bystanders along the way who haven’t signed up yet.

Oops. We just prioritized programs over people.

In your zeal to do great things for God’s kingdom this year (a good zeal!), remember that people are always the priority, and it’s okay to scale back if the manpower simply isn’t there.

As you dream big, though, remember to prioritize people over programs.

Many Parts, One Body

Jesus’ church is a beautifully diverse and highly gifted entity. As Romans 12:4-5 says, “Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another.”

Few places can so extensively highlight the wonderful diversity found in Jesus’ church like kids’ ministry. So look for ways to celebrate this, creating ways for people to use their spiritual gifts for the future generation’s good and God’s glory!

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