Let's Plan a Volunteer Recruiting Month! - Recruit With Enthusiasm!

As I said yesterday, I personally find recruiting volunteers fun and exciting and while I realize most people think I must be totally nuts to enjoy recruiting; I look at it as a treasure hunt rather than a chore to dread.  After all, treasure hunts are fun!  You see, I believe the church belongs to God and He places people in His church to do all the things which need to be done for genuinely effective ministry to take place.  Now, some people may not realize they are the ones God has placed to be involved in ministry, but I believe the people are there – we just have to find them! Recruiting allows you to look for and find the treasure/unknown volunteers God has given you; and volunteers truly are a treasure; a gift from God!

Recruiting is a necessary part of every church.  It can either be something you dread, or an opportunity to enthusiastically approach people about becoming involved in the ministries of your church.  If you have fun with the recruiting, then it helps communicate to the people you are trying to recruit, children's ministry is a great place to serve!  So, plan your recruitment drives!  Have fun with your recruiting!  Do unexpected and interesting things to get the attention of the people in your church and you will find, even better than filling all the areas you have need for volunteers, you will be helping others find joy in using the gifts and abilities God has given them!  

There are many ways to recruit, but, as I said yesterday, keep in mind the most important part of recruiting is praying! 

• Pray for your Volunteer Recruiting Drive. 
• Pray for the volunteers you have and who are returning to serve again.
• Pray for the volunteers you need and ask God to help you see the people He’s placed in your church to be part of your children’s ministry. 

Involve others by asking them to pray, too! As I already said, God cares more than anyone if we have the volunteers we need for our children’s ministry. Pray the Lord of the harvest to send laborers - He will!

Along with praying, plan your recruiting. 

• Recruit with enthusiasm! Make it exiting and fun because serving in children's ministry is exciting and fun! If you approach recruiting with a genuine enthusiasm, potential volunteers will at least be curious about why you are so excited about children's ministry! 
• Finally, NEVER beg for volunteers. Serving our Lord by being a children's ministry volunteer is a blessing and a privilege. We do not, and should not ever, beg or use "guilt" to get people to volunteer.

I also believe serving should be exciting and fun, so we should reflect this excitement and fun in our recruiting endeavors.  One of the biggest challenges in recruiting is in getting the attention of the people.  When I hold special recruiting drives, I do use bulletin flyers and announcements, but these are generally not very effective as people do not pay much attention to flyers and announcements.  For this reason I love using recruiting videos made by my husband and me because videos are fun, exciting to watch and get the attention of the people in church.  They make lasting impressions on those who see them.  Over the years I have tried many recruiting methods – some more effective than others, but recruiting videos have always been one of the most effective! In future posts this month I'll share some specific recruiting plans and the videos/music which fit with those plans!

Once you have these "bases" covered, it is time to decide what your recruiting drive will look like. Some churches recruit primarily over the phone, some use ministry fairs and others run flyers in their bulletins. I personally have found focusing for a month - preferably the month of May - on recruiting has been the most effective for me. Tomorrow I will talk more about this!