I am sitting in my office on a Monday, and I am flooded with calls and e-mails from people in my congregation begging to be leaders in our children’s Sunday school ministry. Sadly, I tell them the positions have been filled for months, but I can put them on a waiting list for the next year. I mention I do have an opening two years out, and if they would like to go online and complete the application, they may do so. They are disappointed about this year but are excited about the possibilities of being a leader in two years. I hang up the phone, turn off my computer, and think to myself, “If only I had enough volunteer positions for every qualified person. It is so difficult to place the chairperson of the religion department at the local university on a waiting list. I just had to. The leadership for fifth grade has been filled for over a year.” Then I hear a loud tone and realize my alarm just went off, and I wake up. It was just a dream.
We have all had this dream in one form or another. We have this idea that everyone who feels called to children’s ministry knows their calling and acts on it. We tend to think making announcements in church where we beg people to serve or placing a blurb in the Sunday morning bulletin are enough to motivate people to volunteer for positions they know very little about. Save your energy and your paper. Recruiting volunteers is not like searching for a needle in a haystack (which it sometimes feels like). It is about helping people discover their gifts and equipping them to serve. It is actually my second favorite part of my job. I love helping people find their place to serve and then equipping them for the service. The word equipping was new to me until I read the book The Equipping Church by Sue Mallory (Zondervan, 2001). It helped me redefine recruiting and training as helping people find their gifts, then training them to use those gifts.
Looking for Subs in All the Wrong Places
A friend of mine, who is a children’s director, once announced from the pulpit on a Sunday morning that she just needed some warm bodies to be substitute teachers in Sunday school and to help in the nursery. She was later frustrated when the volunteers she ended up with were consistently late and not motivated. When she asked my opinion on what to do, I said, “Well, they were alive, and that is basically all you asked for.” She had set the bar pretty low.
I believe the bar should be set high for volunteers. I have had Dr. Anne Kerr, president of Florida Southern College, teach second grade Sunday school; I have had Reverend Emily Oliver, an ordained Methodist minister who is appointed to our conference office, teach second grade Sunday school; and Bishop Robert Fannin has served as a greeter and leader for several children’s events. Each year several teachers who were voted “teachers of the year” teach vacation Bible school.
I am not afraid to ask anyone I feel has the TIPS needed to make him or her an asset in the children’s ministry program. TIPS is an acronym for “Trainable,” “Inspirational, “Prayerful,” and “Servant-hearted.”
Trainable
Look for people who are open and willing to receive training for the position. If a person has a heart for God and a heart for children, everything else can be learned. I truly believe this. Training is the key. If a person is willing to be trained in child protection and that person’s area of service, then I am willing to provide the best training possible. I love to learn, and I love people who are willing to learn. If a person feels she or he does not need any training and is not willing to be taught our policies and procedures, I do not feel she or he is the right person for our team.
Once, I asked the greeters for our Easter egg hunt to attend a training meeting an hour before the event. One of my volunteer greeters was a retired United Methodist bishop. He came to the training on time and eager to learn. I must admit it was quite presumptuous of me to think I could teach a bishop something new, but I was willing to try. When I explained that we had a different way of greeting at children’s events than we did at regular church events, I could tell I had his attention. I explained that at children’s events we always try to greet children first, then the adults. If the children are small, we will kneel down to speak with them. After the training the bishop said he would have never thought of that. He was and is an amazing advocate for children’s ministry in our church.
Inspirational
Look for people who inspire others with their words and actions.
Children need leaders who have strong relationships with Jesus and are willing to be inspirations to others. These people are well grounded in their faith and have the respect of the congregation. They must also be willing to inspire children to learn and grow in their faith. Inspirational people in your congregation are easy to find. They have attended or led adult Bible studies. They can be motivational but not necessarily outgoing. They can be “gentle giants” who lead quietly and consistently by living their faith or well-respected sports coaches who show their love of Christ though their love of family and friends. My best leaders are people I enjoy being with, and I feel I learn from them.
Prayerful
Look for people who communicate with Jesus.
A woman came to me one afternoon with a request. She asked if she could be involved in the children’s ministry. As I was reaching for my paper with questions for potential volunteers, she told me she did not have children or grandchildren in the program, and she did not really like children or feel comfortable around them. That caught me by surprise. I stopped reaching for my paper and asked why she wanted to help with children’s ministry. She said, “Because children are important o God.” Well, who can argue with that? We continued to talk about what she enjoyed and what she felt were her spiritual gifts. When she listed prayer as one of her gifts, I knew we needed her on the team.
I do not know where I heard the term “prayer warrior,” but I have always wanted a group of prayer warriors to be praying for the children in our church and our community.
Organize a prayer group. Discuss how important confidentiality is and develop a covenant not to speak of prayer requests outside the group. Share concerns from the children, upcoming events, and even personal requests with the group. Knowing there are people who pray for you and the children will give you strength and peace in times of need. It will make a tremendous difference in the ministry. Prayer warriors can also be teachers, helpers, childcare providers in the nursery, and event helpers. Those positions are best for those who like children and enjoy being around them.
Servant-hearted
Look for people who see themselves as serving others, not themselves.
You can avoid dealing with challenging volunteers if you recruit people to be on the ministry team who have the heart of a servant. This means they are willing to see their positions as serving others, not themselves. Some people want to work with children because they want to be children again, some want to play but not have responsibilities some want to make sure the ministry goes the way they want it to go. They usually have their own agendas that are not compatible with the mission of the ministry.
People who have the heart of a servant are willing to give and accept forgiveness and work with a group or team. They are open to new ideas and do not mind if they have a title or receive recognition. The success of the ministry serves as their recognition.
Servant-hearted volunteers are like precious jewels to any leader. They are the most valuable volunteers, and you should cherish them. Surround yourself with these people and consistently let them know how valuable they are. They may not need to hear it but they will appreciate hearing it.
This article is adapted from Nelson’s Children’s Ministry’s Manual by Theresa Plemmons Reiter (Thomas Nelson, 2011). Used with permission.
