By Dema Kohen
Recruiting children's ministry volunteers is hard, but getting existing volunteers to stick around is harder than ever. If you've been trapped in a revolving door when it comes to keeping volunteers, here's something you can do about it:
Help them see their work's impact.
Your volunteers love what they're doing, but from time to time they all experience the nagging thought, "Does my involvement really matter?" You can protect your volunteers from discouragement by regularly telling them stories that inspire them and remind them that their work truly matters.
Where do you get these stories? Well, if you're leading children's or family ministry, you'll get them from the parents. You can start with a simple email to the parents in your church. Here's what mine looked like (you have my permission to “steal” it):
Hey, LEFC parents!
Can I take a moment and brag on the awesome shepherds who are serving your kids?
Each and every one of them genuinely cares for your children.
These men and women find immense joy in being around them and helping them grow in their faith and understanding of who Jesus is.
They don't hold anything back and do their best to make coming to church on Sunday a highlight of the week for every one of our children.
Now, would you like to know a little secret?
As children’s workers, they rarely see the impact of their investment.
They serve in faith and out of obedience to God’s calling. But it's often hard to know if what they do on Sunday morning really matters.
As parents, though, you have a front-row seat, and you can tell better than anyone what role KidMin plays in your child’s life.
If you have a story of how God has worked in or through your child, even if it’s something small, I would love to hear it and pass it on to our amazing volunteers.
Your stories will fuel their passion, renew their vision, and give them strength for the journey ahead.
So please, don't hold back. Let us know what God is doing in your children's lives so we can rejoice with you and continue to stay encouraged.
Joining you in raising fervent followers of Christ,
Dema
That's it!
Press send and watch what happens.
Better yet, send this very same email four times a year. (You know you can schedule emails in advance, right?) This way, you'll have an ongoing flow of stories that you can retell to nourish the souls of your team players. These stories will do wonders for your volunteers. These stories will:
- protect their hearts from discouragement.
- keep them inspired by giving them real-life proof that their work truly matters.
- keep them fired up in their passion to serve.
Ready to take this idea for a test drive? Copy, paste, edit, and send this email . . . and let the soul-nurturing stories pour in!
Editor’s note: Looking for ways to thank your volunteers? Check these out!
You are welcome to copy this article for one-time use when you include this credit line and receive no monetary benefit from it: © 2022 CTA, Inc. Used with permission.
