Volunteer Recruitment

We’re kicking off Admin April 2019 by talking about Volunteer Recruitment. Don’t you wish a million hands would shoot excitedly into the air when you ask if anyone wants to volunteer with your children’s ministry? Me too! But that’s not quite how reality works, so here are some tips for recruiting volunteers and inviting them to join your kidmin team. (And here are the email templates I used to recruit volunteers to my team!)

Start with prayer. Just as with everything else in ministry, we should start with prayer: acknowledging God’s ownership of our ministry and asking Him to “send laborers into the His harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38, NIV). Begin by praying about your ministry as it currently is, where you feel God is calling your ministry to go, and who can help you get there.

Identify the needs. Prepare a list of needed positions within the ministry and create job descriptions for each position. We have to know what we’re looking for if we want the recruitment process to be effective and successful. Look ahead to the future of the children’s ministry and determine any current or new positions that are needed for reaching your goals.

Share the vision. We also have to communicate the vision of the ministry rather than merely talking about the people we need to help us. Recruiting from an individual viewpoint (how can this individual use their gifts to support the ministry) rather than an institutional approach will help people catch the purpose and the passion behind children’s ministry, encouraging them to join the team. You could even go deeper and use a spiritual gifts test to help each member within the congregation find their strengths, then place them in positions that meet their passions and abilities. We must adopt a kingdom focus when recruiting volunteers, seeing the bigger picture rather than just holes that need filling.

Build relationships. Announcements from the stage and inserts in the bulletin asking for volunteers are a good place to start, but effective volunteer recruitment requires much more than an up-front call. We have to get out from behind our desks and talk to people in the congregation, learning about their unique gifts, passions, and strengths. Use a spiritual gifts test to help each member within the congregation find their strengths, then place them in positions that meet their passions and abilities. Recruiting volunteers that stick demands recruitment like Jesus, who built disciples first, then asked them to step up and lead.

Be excited. When you communicate the need for volunteers in your children’s ministry, show your own enthusiasm and excitement for serving. The way you talk about serving in your ministry will directly influence how people think about serving in your ministry. Use your gifts of inspiration to not only share the vision of your ministry but to help people see the important role they play on your team. Leaders are called to inspire those around them by communicating the vision with enthusiasm and capturing the hearts of their followers.

Wait patiently. Sometimes your volunteer roster takes time to fill with the right people. Be patient with the recruitment process, and don’t be afraid to wait for the right person to fill the right position at the right time.

Keep going. Even when you feel as if you have all needs filled, keep sharing the vision of your ministry and inviting people to join your team. Recruiting volunteers is a never-ending task and should be part of your ministry strategy at all times. You never know who God is going to place on your team!

Need a jumpstart? Download our Volunteer Recruitment Email Templates!

This post is part of our Admin April: Volunteers series, a month full of resources, strategies, and tips for leading your volunteer team well. See the full month’s offerings and ideas here.