As many leaders in children’s ministry know, it can be hard to maintain the volunteers needed to keep a children’s ministry running. Between people moving on or simply getting burned out, a lot of kids’ ministry is a treadmill of finding new people to get involved.
This can be exhausting, and that’s in large part because we end up looking for people to fill positions instead of investing in the people we have and helping them catch our vision for ministry. We have to constantly be casting a wide net, and working to overcome people’s objections to working with kids.
But what if we, as ministry leaders, focused on replicating ourselves in the lives of volunteers? What if we poured ourselves into the work of creating leaders who could replace us? The enthusiasm of a team who has caught the vision of its leader is incredibly contagious and draws more leaders to it.
Here are some tips for replicating yourself.
1. Find the right people for the right positions
This is definitely a case of “easier said than done.” If you’re a member of a church of less than 400 people, you’re often too busy looking for people to fill roles to be finding and cultivating leaders. But as is the case with so much in life, what is most important is seldom what feels most urgent.
Don’t just look for people who are good with kids (or have kids for that matter). Obviously being good with the age group you’re ministering to is important, but it’s not the only element you want. Keep an eye on people who:
- Exhibit a genuine relationship with Jesus
- Seem to naturally influence others
- Exude an easy-going and approachable nature
- Demonstrate a willingness to serve without needing to be in the spotlight
Your ultimate desire is for people who carry the same inspiration you have for what your kids’ ministry should be. You want people who you can imagine will bring initiative and creativity to kids ministry, and not just fill in for their spot on the calendar.
2. Share your vision
This is one of your most critical jobs—and it starts with having a vision. If you’re not able to articulate why you’re involved in children’s ministry beyond enjoying kids, it’s time to put some thought into why children’s ministry is important to you.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself to help you articulate your vision:
- Why is teaching children important to the kingdom of God?
- What is the significance of reaching children with the gospel?
- What do I hope to instill in the kids who come through my ministry?
- What would daily success look like for me?
- What would long-term success look like?
Once you have a defined vision for your ministry, start building out processes to facilitate your vision. (The key is to reverse engineer your ministry from your idea of what success is.)
Then invite your volunteers to watch you work. Talk to them about the vision behind the things you do. Talk about your vision so much that you’re tired of hearing it. Be enthusiastic and excited about what drives you.
3. Allow people to make mistakes
Have an idea what people are doing, but give them enough autonomy to make mistakes. We often make kids’ ministry as simple as possible and there’s no room for creativity. Part of the reason we do that is because we feel it will be easier to hold on to volunteers if they don’t have that much to do. They can just pick up the lesson book and facilitate the class—easy-peasy.
But making it as easy as possible might be a counterproductive move because genuine leaders thrive on being able to put more of themselves into their ministry. There needs to be room for them to lead from their strengths and not simply color-by-numbers.
Give them some room to work with the curriculum. If you have a curriculum that you’re sold on and fits with your vision, give them resources like free Sunday school lessons they can use to augment the ideas in the curriculum you use.
Sit in on their classes, not to criticize, but to encourage them and keep them aligned with the vision for the ministry.
4. Don’t fear their success
This is a hard one to talk about, but it’s important to wrap our minds around. We don’t want to admit that we’re territorial, but we often are. And bringing in people with leadership potential means bringing in people who could possibly show us up in some areas. Maybe the kids will like them more. Maybe they’re better teachers. Maybe they’re more organized.
Don’t be afraid to be outshined.
The simple truth is that having people who are just as good as (if not better than) us in some areas keeps us sharp. And the stronger the people we surround ourselves with, the better we look—and the better we are at doing our job.
5. Celebrate them often
One of the things that burns people out the fastest is lack of recognition. That feeling that you’re doing things that go completely unnoticed. No one should be doing ministry for appreciation, but no one that’s doing ministry should be doing it void of appreciation, either.
Negotiate time during services to publicly thank them by name. Hold gatherings at your home to communicate gratefulness. Not only will it mean a lot to them, but it will encourage even more enthusiasm for the ministry.
Creating leaders takes work
It’s not easy to develop leaders. In fact, it’s a lot of extra work. But the effort you pour into creating leaders pays off in time spent on ministry. It may seem like it’s taking focus off the ministry, but the more time you spend equipping and empowering your volunteers, the more you turn them from helpers into leaders.
As that process gets going, you’re going to find that your kids’ ministry becomes infinitely more productive. And your team will be able to achieve more than you dreamed of.
