Why the Best Helpers Regularly Return

Once you’ve recruited kidmin assistants, you need to know how to retain volunteers. Discover 5 reasons why the best helpers return to pitch in year after year!

PRO TIP: Although this article deals specifically with how to retain volunteers for a VBS program, the ideas extend to Sunday school, children’s church, nursery, and more!

You worked hard to recruit an amazing team of VBS volunteers. How can you ensure they’ll want to join your VBS teams year after year? Maybe you can even recruit your VBS team to help throughout the year!

5 Tips for How to Retain Volunteers

Invest in people’s hearts! Here’s how to have motivated, equipped, and passionate volunteers year after year.

1. Celebrate success together.

Once VBS is over, take time to marinate in the wonder of what you just pulled off—together. Tell success stories and share God Sightings. Giggle over minor catastrophes and high-five each other over the way you overcame obstacles. The program may not have been perfect. But the fact that your team came together and poured into children is worth celebrating.

2. Rest.

It’s no secret: VBS is a monumental effort of time, energy, and resources. Take a short break to allow your VBS team to recoup, rest, recharge. Don’t think about ministry for a week or two to thrive. You can have volunteers take time off to get space from church responsibilities. Bring them to training and buy their lunch! Investing in them is investing in the longevity of their service.

3. Train together.

“For a team of volunteers, VBS is a little like a CrossFit workout,” says Jody Brolsma, executive editor and VBS champion for Group Publishing. “It’s a new experience every day. VBS pushes them beyond their comfort level. It leaves them exhilarated…and exhausted. But it also leaves them stronger and more unified. A training program keeps those ministry muscles primed and ready. Post-VBS training fuels enthusiasm, giving a team practical tools right while the memory of what God did through VBS is still fresh in their hearts.”