By Rick Chromey
Children”s ministry in the smaller church has the same amazing potential to grow and thrive as a mustard seed. It”s all in how you cultivate it.
This practical guide provides insights that will encourage you in your children”s ministry, along with ready-to-use tools for evaluation, budgeting, and teacher training. Energize your children”s ministry! Use these innovative strategies for mega-impact with limited resources, people, and money.
Energizing Children”s Ministry in the Smaller Church (item 42311) is available from your local supplier or at www.standardpub.com.
“”˜Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “˜and I will make you fishers of men”” (Matthew 4:19).
I”ve never been much of a fisherman. The patience, persistence, and practice of fishing have never appealed to me. Hot, sweaty, and sunburned. Cold, numb, and frostbitten. Stinky, long hours, exhausted for little return. The frustrations of snags, lost tackle, or a nagging spouse (who can”t understand your passion for trolling, bait shops, and rods) only adds to the woes.
No, for me fishing is a pastime I entertain only occasionally.
But my brother lives to fish. Randy is a master angler who could have a PhD in ichthyology. He purposely moved near Portland, Oregon, to fish even more. He has a specially designed boat that”s able to get him into the ocean waters. He owns countless lures, poles, and gadgets (like a GPS fish finder) to improve his chances of catching the lunker. Randy knows the waters and the fish he seeks, and he is willing to sacrifice to make it happen.
Recently I was in Portland, and Randy invited me on a fishing expedition. The coho salmon were running and the weather was perfect for “crossing the bar” into the Pacific. I quickly learned the cost to cast isn”t cheap. Fishing license. Motion sickness medication. And a 3 AM departure (in order to make high tide).
Despite a short night and a long ride to Astoria, the Columbia River soon washed away any reservations. I realized this was something special. On board was a former commercial fisherman who probably forgot more about these waters than I”ll ever know. After sailing nine miles past the mouth of the Columbia into the open Pacific, we finally dropped our lines baited with fresh herring.
“Fish on!” someone yelled immediately. The pole was bending in a wild dance as I jumped to reel in the prize. The 10-pound coho fought hard, but I won the war.
Within two hours, we had caught our limit and had thrown back several more. At times, we couldn”t bait more than one line because as soon as it hit the water, another silver salmon was hooked.
Which made me wonder.
Wouldn”t it be nice to have the same luck finding volunteers?
The primary frustrations of most churches, but especially smaller ones, focus upon finding, training, retaining, and motivating volunteers. Finding the right ones can be tough. Those who are willing aren”t always skilled. And it seems as though those who would really shine in ministry often say no.
The phrase most discouraging to those in children”s ministry may be, “Get someone else.”
When trolling for volunteers, it takes patience, persistence, and right practices. There”s also a cost to catching a volunteer and keeping him or her on line. Getting someone to initially “hit” on your program need is the easy part; keeping that person hooked is something different.
The good news is you can learn what lures volunteers and respond appropriately to reel in individuals you never imagined were possible catches.
FEED THE NEED
The secret to fishing is the bait. An empty hook does nothing. It”s also important to know the fish and what they crave. You don”t use worms with walleyes, and perch don”t go for plugs. Nevertheless, every living thing has a need to ingest and digest. For humans, our stomachs growl when we”re hungry. Inner hungers will drive a person to extreme solutions, extraordinary opportunities, and exhilarating experiences.
What are those inner needs? What drives someone to bite? Just think about the G-R-O-W-L-S. Grace. Relationships. Ownership. Worth. Laughter. Safety/Security.
I guarantee if you feed these inner hungers, you”ll do very little recruiting. In fact, you”ll have people jumping into your ministry boat!
“¢ The first need is for grace. This is the divine need that”s often missed by secular psychologists, such as Abraham Maslow and William Glasser (who have created similar hierarchies of human needs). Grace is unconditional, amazing, wild, extreme, and wholly unfair. Grace recognizes justice should be served, but covers it with forgiveness. Grace allows for mistakes, mishaps, and messes.
Volunteers hunger to work in an environment where grace abounds. Does that mean there are no consequences? Certainly not. But a natural consequence is different than an executed punishment. For example, my volunteer staff is expected to attend one training event every year (at my expense) or they cannot serve. But my “grace” is offering four to five training opportunities so busy calendars can freely adjust.
“¢ A second inner need is a desire for relationships. Humans are relational beings. We love to connect, converse, and collect shared experiences. Too many volunteers feel like a lone ranger trapped on an island: nowhere to ride and no Tonto in sight.
A relational volunteer ministry will regularly join the team together for sharing, prayer, training, news, and policies. A monthly e-newsletter to all volunteers can serve this purpose. Or a monthly (brief) staff meeting. Or an annual all-expense-paid volunteer retreat. Regular correspondence (affirmations, instructions) and recognition (birthdays, anniversaries) also reveal connection.
Smaller churches might feel these relational moments will backfire (who has the time?), but if these meetings, retreats, and correspondence create connection, volunteers will positively respond. In my experience with children”s and youth ministries, most volunteers quit not because they don”t like the work but because they feel they”re doing it alone.
“¢ Ownership is a third need. Every individual wants to contribute and have a sense of power. I have a photo of a youth meeting I led during my college years. The kids are having fun. I”m having a ball. It”s a great picture . . . until you look closely and notice the volunteer staff lined up against the wall with arms folded. It”s no wonder shortly after that photo was snapped I lost half my team. I thought they didn”t feel called, but the photo reveals they didn”t have ownership.
A common misperception is that ownership is doing assigned work, but that”s not true. Ownership allows a volunteer to be released within his own power, talent, and desires to create work. If I (as the leader) tell a volunteer to bring games for the next children”s event, that”s assigned work. But if I share a need for someone to bring a game or allow a volunteer to suggest “games would be great” for this event, I create an option and choice for involvement.
Too many smaller churches get their work done via “assignments.” Instead, step back and let your volunteers choose their parts to sing. You”ll soon hear a far different tune.
“¢ A fourth inner need is worth. It”s not enough to merely have contribution and control (power), but also recognition. Think of it this way: every volunteer has a value gas tank that requires continual refueling and topping off. When a worker drives on fumes alone, he”ll become a casualty. Everyone yearns to be noticed, featured, awarded, valued, recognized, acknowledged, thanked, appreciated, and respected. It”s what keeps us going when nothing else is working.
A smaller-church children”s ministry can easily create an environment where workers feel valued. Volunteer spotlights. Volunteer appreciation months. My language of love is gifts, and so I enjoy giving volunteers tokens of my appreciation. The key is to listen to what they like and hopefully to include yourself in the moment (to key in on the relationship need).
For example, a male volunteer who enjoys baseball would feel valued if I purchased two tickets (one for him and one for me) to a game. A female volunteer who has young children would freely welcome a gift certificate and a night of complimentary babysitting. It means you hear their angst and respect their desires.
One caveat: any gifting is a matter of grace, not reward. It”s freely given and always from within a relational perspective (“I know you would like this pleasure”). It also avoids competition. When we award a team member, there should be celebratory applause and not divisive disapproval (“Why didn”t I get that accolade?”). Awarding is natural and consequential. Rewarding taps into human greed and makes the prize more important than the job.
Personally, I prefer to award in private and appreciate in public. That is, I will recognize a team member”s contributions publicly, but will privately and personally share a treat for a job well done.
“¢ Laughter is a fifth need of volunteers. Girls just want to have fun, but boys do too! Think about something you love doing. Something you”d spend money to enjoy. Something that makes you relax and have a good time. You”re probably smiling just thinking about it.
Exactly. When we smile and laugh, we tap into an inner need. I don”t understand marathon runners, golfers, or soccer players. I get no special enjoyment from even watching them, but I have friends who smile as they run, drive, and kick the ball.
A smaller-church children”s ministry will attract more volunteers if it concentrates on creating a fun ministry. And let”s face it: working with children is fun! They”re cute. They say strange things (especially preteens). And they like to laugh. What cripples a children”s ministry is when we focus on the frowns.
An effective leader will make working with kids a hoot. He will design a learning environment that”s enjoyable for both teacher and student. She will create programs (like VBS) that feature so much fun you must volunteer again (and again and again).
“¢ The final need is for safety/security. Every person must feel safe””emotionally, physically, mentally, and spiritually. Leaders must carefully construct sanctuaries and safe zones.
The last place a person should be hurt is at church. In fact, a safe program will attract the hurting. As you consider the need for safety and security, think about these four areas of safety:
Physical Safety. How safe are your classrooms? When was the last time you inspected space, toys, and activities for dangers? Is your nursery sanitized and deodorized? Do you feed children healthy snacks on Sunday mornings? Do you feed them at all (many come to church hungry)? Do you allow fighting, biting, hitting, and other physical abuse? Do your volunteers feel physically safe?
Emotional Safety. Are your classes, activities, and events free of negative emotions (anger, apathy, anxiety) by both volunteers and participants? Are your teachers trained to help kids unpack the emotional baggage they bring to class or church?
Mental Safety. Can a volunteer freely ask any question without fear of embarrassment or punishment? Are volunteers encouraged to be learners? Is your children”s ministry a place rich in learning opportunity?
Spiritual Safety. Do volunteers feel safe to express their spirituality, even if it”s different from yours? Is doctrinal conformity a value or vice grip to which volunteers must bow? Are volunteers given encouragement and opportunities for spiritual growth? How well do you know the backgrounds, journeys, and present conditions of your volunteers” spirituality?
Ultimately, if you dedicate your energies to baiting and feeding the needs of volunteers, you will not only recruit a better volunteer but you”ll also do it less often (because satisfied volunteers stay put).
Rick Chromey of Boise, Idaho, is a writer, speaker, and trainer for churches, schools, and businesses. His Web site is www.rickchromey.com.
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