Ministry volunteers have really been on my heart this past week. I know quite often when we talk about volunteers, especially in children’s ministry, we tend to lean more on…
1. How can we get more people to serve in our children’s ministries?
and
2. How can we keep the people we get?
Volunteer recruitment and retainment has always been a hot topic in children’s ministry and while I agree all that is important which is why I have prided myself on providing resources through written and digital content to help the leader who feels stuck in that area, there’s another type of volunteer that I think we often neglect.
I like to call these people side-liners. You don’t have to twist their arm to serve in the children’s ministry because they are already there. Even though they appreciate it, they’re not impressed by your “cheesy” play-on-words candy bar they get seasonally for serving in the department. (Come on, admit it! They are a little cheesy). But they are there because they want to be there, sitting on the bench, waiting for you to ask them to do more. Sitting on God given gifts and abilities unbeknownst to you with hearts screaming, “Put me in coach!”
So this blog post may honestly be the shortest one I’ve ever written. No, I’m not going to give you a 7 step process on how to get and keep volunteers, nor am I going to tell you 5 reasons why you don’t have them. But what I am going to do is challenge you to do one simple thing, ASK. Consider your sideline volunteers. Think about those faithful volunteers who sit on the sidelines of your ministry week after week, program after program, rooting for you to win.
ASK THEM - Is there more that you would like to be doing in our children’s ministry?
ASK THEM - What gifts do you believe God has given you that you would like for us to help cultivate while you serve in the children’s ministry?
You never know. That missing piece you’ve been looking for may have been right in front of you the entire time. Praying for you.
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