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In the world of church and non profit organizations volunteers are the people who make things happen. Although, it’s important that we recruit people based on ability and not just availability. If there is one thing I’ve come to realize (sometimes the hard way) it’s that a high caliber volunteer can add significant value to your ministry, but the wrong volunteer can have a negative impact on the entire team. So, here are a few things to look for when recruiting volunteers.

1. Proven Track Record - Have they been faithful in the small stuff? 

2. Pure Motives - Do they have a hidden agenda or is their heart in the right place?

3. Problem Solver - Do they complain or do they bring solutions to the table?

4. Cool Under Pressure - How do they respond in high stress situations?

5. Good with People - Are they good with people (other volunteers, parents, guests)?

6. Goes the Extra Mile - Do they take ownership of their role and hand it off in better condition than when it was given to them?

What are some things that you look for in volunteers?

Being a part of a rapidly growing church it’s important to realize that some things will never happen, if you don’t realize this you might end up pretty frustrated. It is easy to view most things in ministry as problems to be solved, but the reality is that many things will never be “fixed” and shouldn’t be. Many issues in a thriving organization are actually tensions to be managed not problems to be solved. Here are 4 things you will never do in a growing church (at least not for a long period of time):

1. You will never have enough volunteers. This issue shouldn’t be the result of poor recruiting, but because of increasing ministry opportunities. Develop a culture of “each one recruit one”.
2. You will never have a large enough budget. Be a good manager of the resources that you have and trust God to provide the resources that you need. He is faithful.
3. You will never have enough staff. Pour into the staff that you do have and teach them to lead and equip volunteers to do the work of the ministry.
4. You will never have enough space (especially kids space). If you’re growing rapidly you need to find creative ways to create more space for ministry. Clean out the closet, meet outside, go multi-site, add another experience time.

So, if you are faced with some of the these “tensions” then view them in a positive light because you are on the right track.

Last night I returned home from spending a few days at North Point Community Church attending the Drive Conference. It was amazing, to say the least. I gained a ton of insight and clarity for Kids Ministry and ministry in general. I came back full of vision and direction. I look forward to putting in to practice some of the principles and ideas that I took away. I’ll share some of what I learned in a future post, but in the meantime check out this highlight video below.

DRIVE 2010 Highlight from North Point Media on Vimeo.

One of our rockstar volunteers, Mike Koehler, sent me his Top 10 Reasons to be a Kids Ministry Volunteer at People’s Church. Even if you don’t go to People’s Church I think you will agree with some of these reasons for your church as well.   

10. Who needs caffeine on a Sunday morning when you have a room full of 3-year-olds?

9. Six-year-olds never leave you hanging for a high five.

8. Too rushed to wash your hair? That’s why 2 year old room has a bubble machine.

7. The “Round the World” worship song is a great aerobic workout.

6. Gives you a chance to memorize every Veggietales movie - ever.

5. When the kids aren’t looking, you can sneak into the moon-bounce.

4. Some of the kids are old enough to tell you about the days at the Movie Theatre. (We use to meet at the AMC)

3. We know your secret. You’ve always wanted to dress up like Mary and Martha. (An inside joke for one of our volunteers, Brent.)

2. Hugs!

1. Some adult in the future will look back and remember how you changed their life!

Thank you to Mike and to all of our volunteers that change lives every Sunday. 

I recently listened to a teaching by Reggie Joiner of Orange Leaders on the topic of spiritual growth. This is an important subject for those of us that are ministering to the next generation. It really encouraged me to be more strategic about creating environments that cultivate spiritual growth. We can assume because people are showing up that they are growing. Here is a brief summary of his talk entitled the “Catalyst for Spiritual Growth”.

1. Life-Changing Truth – Teaching applied in context
2. Spiritual Disciplines – Prayer, reading Scripture, giving, fasting
3. Personal Ministry – We gain by giving
4. Significant Relationships – Teachers, coaches, mentors, leaders, church leaders
5. Pivotal Circumstances – Key decisions, discoveries, and experiences

Check out the entire teaching here.