Once you've recruited volunteers and trained them for each of their positions, your challenge is to form and maintain a strong bond in a group of very diverse people. How? Simple—communicate!

Good communication is an essential component of an effective team. Communicating clearly with the volunteers in your ministry will help things flow smoothly from weekend to weekend and limit the chances for confusion and frustration among team members. Here are some tips to help promote communication in your ministry:

1. Hold a huddle meeting for your volunteers each week. This huddle serves as a way to build community with your team of volunteers.



• Make this a fifteen-minute huddle just before or after each service.



• Provide childcare for the volunteers' children during the meeting.



• Make it fun! Take turns bringing in snacks, give prizes occasionally, etc.



• Go over any information pertinent to the day's lesson. Provide any tips or special instructions for facilitating any part of the lesson. Share any news pertaining to the kids that will be helpful for volunteers to know (for example, Susie's grandmother died yesterday).



• Vision cast! Share a story or two and remind the volunteers that what they're doing matters.



• Give a quick preview of the upcoming week, mentioning any pertinent business items.



• Have a time of prayer. Pray for each other, for the kids, and for the ministry as a whole.



• Periodically invite your pastor(s) to come and be a part of this huddle.


2. Provide a "communication center" within a room or central location:



• Give last minute info and/or daily announcements on a white board or on sheets of paper located in a visible spot.



• Set up a clear process for communicating about weeks people will be gone and for getting people to fill in for each other.


3. Develop a process for everyone to keep in touch throughout the week. How will information be communicated to volunteers during the week? By phone or e-mail? Consider utilizing an intranet system (such as intranets.com) to post pertinent information throughout the week. Another option is to mail a cassette tape to all volunteers that they can listen to in the car or at home.



4. Periodically host vision-casting and encouragement events for your volunteers. Plan a brunch that includes great food, the sharing of stories, and important training for those involved in your ministry. Do your best to make your volunteers feel honored and appreciated.

Being part of a team in children's ministry will be a huge change for many, if not most, of your volunteers. They're going to need help remembering that it doesn't need to be a one-teacher-does-it-all effort, and that each of you is there to play a part and contribute to the ministry as a whole.

Copyright © 2005 Promiseland.

Read more from 'Leadership'

Words Kids Need to Hear To Help Them Be Who God Made Them to Be by David Staal If you could choose just seven statements to share with children, what would they be? Each chapter in this compelling book focuses on a single statement elementary-age kids need to hear from parents, children's workers, and other close adults. These seven statements are simple to share, yet guaranteed to profoundly impact children. They are: I believe in you. You can count on me. I treasure you. I'm sorry, please forgive me. Because. No. I love you. will educate, equip, and motivate parents and children's ministry teams to carefully choose words that building up kids' hearts, to say them frequently, and to do so in creative ways. What children hear from trusted adults significantly influences their self-image, their current relationships, and future relationships—including that all-important relationship with God.