National Friendship Week - Commit to Help Volunteers, Children and Families Connect!

This week is National Friendship Week - so, as you think about friendship, stop and consider how your church does at encouraging friendships and connections between volunteers, between children and between families.

For the volunteers, does your church encourage a team atmosphere? Do you act quickly to stop any gossip, any isolating of a volunteer and instead help your volunteers get to know each other so they are able to encourage and support each other? Consider the following -

• Start the year by teaming up volunteers as prayer partners
• Plan events all year - even if it is simply a potluck - where volunteers can get together to fellowship and get to know one another
• Consider going to a team teaching plan where all classes for an age level combine and the teachers work together to teach the kids

For the children, is your church intentional about noticing if a child is by themselves and has trouble making friends? Do you do all you can to stop cliques? Do you help children get to know one another so they are able to develop friendships? Consider the following -

• Start the year by teaming up kids and encourage them to be prayer partners
• Plan events where kids are able to just get to know one another and build their friendships
• Consider challenging the more outgoing kids to be "ambassadors" who engage the more quiet and shy kids

For the families, is your church intentional about noticing if a family has not connected with other families? Do you do all you can to stop cliques? Do you help families get to know one another so they are able to develop friendships? Consider the following,

• Consider challenging church families to be watching for visitors and invite them to their classes, possibly even home for lunch after church
• Plan events where families are just able to get to know one another and build friendships
• Start the year by teaming up families and encourage them to be prayer partners

Whatever you do, do whatever you can to help your volunteers, children and families connect and build friendships!