How Is Your Getting?

In our pursuit of recruiting volunteers for our children’s ministries, many explain that they are not getting volunteers. I think we need to look inward before we begin to talk about how people just don’t volunteer in our ministries.

First, I would like to start with the view that volunteers want to be successful. They want to make a difference. They want to be part of a team because that is just how God made us all. I do think there are some steps we can take to help potential volunteers be successful and able to make a difference as they serve on our teams.

What volunteers are able to give depends on what we give to them first.

Let’s start with those you already have as volunteer leaders. Have you established an environment that allows those currently volunteering in your ministry to be good walking billboards for you?

• Can they say you take care of them by having proper child-to-leader ratios?
• Would they say you give them the proper tools to get done what you have asked them to get done, as well as what God has put on their hearts to do with the families?
• Do they feel immersed in and knowledgable about the mission and vision because it is in writing, and it's both taught to everyone and lived out for all levels of volunteer commitment within your children’s ministries?

• Have they have been mentored by a more experienced and seasoned volunteer? This helps address the challenges volunteers experience when they are thrown into a ministry and left alone.

Lastly, let’s look at a few things we should be giving to our new volunteers. Let's start after they sign up and have background checks done (because we all know now that we have to do those steps):

• Do we have a process of getting to know them personally?
• Do we take them through some gift test to place them in the right spot?

• Can we hand them our ministry manual? This will help with a lot of uncertainty about how they order supplies, chain of command, discipline policy, and more.

I believe that if our giving is great, then our getting will be good. How is your getting?