How to Inspire Your Volunteers ~ RELEVANT CHILDREN’S MINISTRY

Volunteers. Without them…there is no children’s ministry.  

I believe that your most important job as a children’s ministry leader is to enlist, equip, empower and encourage a team of volunteers. 

It is amazing to watch volunteers come on board and then grow and impact kids and families as a result of their service. 

Here is something important to remember.  Inspiring your volunteers is not a one and done.  Inspiration leaks.  You must continue to inspire your volunteers on a regular basis.  That being said…here are 3 ways you can inspire your volunteers.

THANK THEM. 

Volunteers get inspired when you thank them for serving.  I make sure every weekend I say these words to the volunteers at my church.

“Thank you for serving and making a difference.”

65% of volunteers say they never hear the words “thank you.”  Don’t be that leader.  Thank them on a regular basis.  

Thank them with a handwritten note.  Thank them with a text.  Thank them with a social media post.  Thank them with a quick phone call.  

When you say “thank you,” it inspires volunteers.  Inspired volunteers will go the distance with you. 

PAY THEM.   

Pay them?  If you pay them, they are no longer volunteers, right?  Volunteers serve for free.  That is true.  But there is another way you can pay them that goes far beyond money.  

You pay volunteers by showing them the stories of children and families whose lives have been changed through their influence.

Volunteers don’t serve for the income.  Rather they serve for the outcome.

Tell them about the 4th grader who got baptized last weekend.

Tell them about the 1st grader who has started reading his or her Bible at home.

Tell them about the 3rd grader who accepted Christ into their life last weekend.

Tell them about the 3-year-old who has started bring her “Jesus money” to church.

Tell them about the parents who have started praying with their 2-year-old at bedtime. 

They will be inspired when they see God at work through their life and ministry. 

TAKE THEM back to the why.

Remind them on a regular basis about why they are doing what they are doing.  

Remind them that the vast majority of people come to Christ before the age of 14. 

Remind them that we only have a short window of time to disciple children.

Remind them that we are doing this to reach kids and parents with the Gospel.

Remind them that they are not baby-sitting. Rather, they are making an impact at the most important time of a person’s life.

The what is important.  But more important is the why behind the what.  

Do you have a copy of my book “The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams?”  It has been called the best book ever written on the subject. Get your copy today in paperback or ebook this link.