Recruiting. What feelings rise up when you read that word? For many leaders, they are not overwhelmingly positive feelings. I get it. Recruiting never really ends and it can feel frustrating when your team can’t adequately meet the needs of your ministry. Recruiting doesn’t have to be hard. In fact, it can feel invigorating once you apply these 8 strategies to recruit more volunteers.
Before we can jump into recruiting mode, it’s important to answer the question, what is the current status of your team?
Volunteer teams all over the nation have been impacted by this past year (2020). Some teams have been dismantled, while others have returned with a solid core. This season has revealed that in some instances, we need to work on strengthening the core foundation/culture of our team. If we recruit and add new volunteers onto a team that is not being built on a healthy foundation, we will experience a ‘revolving door’ of volunteers.
No one wants to have a cycle of volunteers streaming out the door, while new ones are walking in. It is exhausting as a leader, but even more than that, consistent volunteers have the biggest impact on kids and families.
Recruiting volunteers is very different than retaining volunteers. Make sure to spend some time reading through the following articles, HERE, HERE, and HERE, prior to jumping into the recruiting phase of building your team.
8 Strategies to Recruit More Volunteers
1. Pray
Too often, our default is to try to fix what we can, in our own strength. Pray as a first line response. Not after, you have tried everything you can think of, but BEFORE you have tried anything. Pray for wisdom, discernment and that God will bring the right people at the right time to join your team.
2. Senior Leader Support
The language that senior leaders use when they talk about kids ministry carries weight. Have grace-filled conversations with your leadership regarding their influence in potential volunteers. When the show support and understanding of the importance of kids ministry, others will come alongside. Barna did a study that indicates that the majority of people who WILL have a relationship with Jesus during their lifetime, will begin that relationship before the age of 12. (That means…GULP…the opportunity for people to meet Jesus in our churches is the greatest in KIDS MINISTRY!)
When our senior leadership echos the vision of kids ministry, when they walk-though to thank the volunteers, when they celebrate publicly what God is doing through the kids ministry team, that encourages people on the sidelines, to want to be involved!
3. Video Walk Through
Over the years, I have heard SO MANY people say, ‘I had no idea that’s what happens back in kids ministry.’ There is a general misunderstanding among people who do not have direct experience or connection to kids ministry. Think about it…in many instances, only parents are allowed back to drop-off/pick-up. So unless a potential volunteer has kids in your ministry, they may have never laid eyes on your ministry in action. How could they know what opportunities there are to serve if they have no idea what happens behind the doors to kids min?
Creating a video walk-through of your ministry in action can be a great way to give a peek into what your team does each week. From check-in, to security, snack helpers, worship leaders, tech roles, small group leaders, teachers; show it all! Run this video on the TVs or screens before services, and push it out social media and your email list on a consistent basis. Sometimes people just need to see with their eyes, that there is a place for them (and that any misconceptions they may have had, are not accurate!)
*As a side note: THIS is a great tool in this season where new families may have found your church while worshipping online during 2020. Giving them a glimpse into ministry may help them feel encouraged to come visit in person.
4. Personal Asks
I have never found a better strategy than making a personal ask. Lead the ask with the gift you see and how that gift equips that individual to be a generation-shaper. Think through who is dropping off kids, engaging online or attending mid-week programming? This strategy can be intimidating to jump-start, but yields big results once you gain confidence. I dive into more detail on this strategy HERE.
5. Say ‘YES’ Campaign
Host a ‘Say Yes’ volunteer campaign where you print (for in person) and provide a digital version of your roles in each ministry area. The premise is that we point out to potential volunteers what a ‘YES’ for serving equals. “When you say yes to elementary students, you say yes to homework, selfies, questions and FUN.”
If you have never heard of a Say YES campaign, check out THIS Pinterest board. It is full of creative ideas to execute a Say YES campaign at your church.
6. Initiate Role Swaps
Kids ministry roles afford a different level of influence than a serving role on a different ministry team. Often times, it feels ‘safe’ for new volunteers to jump on the greeting team, or parking team when they first begin to serve. Perhaps now is a good time to consider what volunteers may have been serving for awhile and demonstrated some gifts that would make them a great fit for the kids team.
Find time to connect with other staff leaders on your team. Who has demonstrated leadership, influence and the capacity for FUN that you can ask to ‘swap’ teams and increase their influence?
7. Engage Your Team
Engage your current volunteers one-by-one asking, ‘Who do you know that would be a great fit for our team?’ A happy, engaged volunteer is going to be a great asset towards recruiting for your team. Also, don’t miss the opportunity to include middle school and high school students. Ask some of your student leaders to recommend students who would be a great fit to serve alongside your team.
8. Recruiting Culture
Some churches doing an annual push for volunteers. Recruiting annually is great, but often a better strategy is to have a culture that is constantly recruiting. The following are some questions to ask as you move towards a recruiting culture:
- What is our onboard process for new members? Do we include serving inside those conversations
- How do we follow-up with volunteers we haven’t seen for awhile?
- Do we have precise language to share the vision of our ministry and do we use it OFTEN? (Does our team know and use vision language?
- Is our onboard process cleary and concise?
- Can we add additional roles to offer opportunities for a wider gift-set? (Sometimes we just need to make it easier for people to initially say YES and then they get excited to try positions that carry more influence as their comfort level and confidence increases!)
- How can we engage people who want to volunteer but are attending services online only?
Mandatory Volunteers – Should parents be required to serve?
One of the questions that often comes up around the top of recruiting volunteers is “Do you make it mandatory for parents in your ministry to volunteer?” The short answer is ‘no.’
I have never personally seen this to be an effective, long-term strategy. What it can do, is to push away families who aren’t able/ready to volunteer. It also can undermine the culture we want to build that it is a ‘privilege’ to serve on the kids’ ministry team. I will dive into this in greater detail in the coming weeks, so make sure to subscribe below so you don’t miss it.
I also have a few videos on my You Tube channel, where I share some additional ideas and strategies regarding recruiting volunteers. You can watch them HERE and HERE.
Never feel ‘bad’ about inviting someone to use their gifts. We are called to use our life to point people to Jesus and it is EXCITING when people realize they can live out their calling by serving in kids ministry. We get to be generation shapers and plant seeds that can have influence for generations. When our language, excitement in our voice
Model that in how you speak, the excitement in your voice and the excellence in which you plan, prepare and equip your team and your team, will grow!