Children's Ministry Action Steps: Equipping the Volunteers

Our congregations thrive when there are children among us! Here are some practical and actionable steps to help volunteers feel better prepared and eager to get involved.

Right now, in our nation, we are witnessing a resurgence of young people and young families returning to faithful lives. Parents are recognizing the need to raise their children with a faith and to develop their own faith as well. There is no lifetime achievement more rewarding than watching a younger generation rise to glorify the Lord.

If we are going to lead these precious souls to the Lord, there must be those who are willing to teach, love, and invest in them. Empowering and encouraging young families as they walk the narrow way is a privilege and a joyful act of service. However, we want to be effective at reaching whole families. This requires volunteer servants who love the Lord and are willing to be obedient to His commandment to love the children.

Two verses of scripture make the Lord's admonition to disciple the children quite clear:

Joshua 4:4-7  So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites,  to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’  tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

Matthew 19:13-14 Then people brought little children to Jesus for him to place his hands on them and pray for them. But the disciples rebuked them. Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

Without children, our congregations, denominations, and our faith itself are all dying. Children bring us our purpose, our joy, and life in abundance. It is time to reimagine children's ministry, where we no longer have to beg or bribe our volunteers. Children's ministry in which volunteers faithfully show up every week.

Does this sound like a fantasy? It isn't really. People will step up and serve in this area when these things are present:

1. Support

2. Appreciation

3. Preparation

A children's ministry leader can make sure that the volunteers have all of these. Here are a couple of things you can do to provide them.

1. A plan: A casual glance into a typical children's education hall in a typical church might leave anyone with the impression that chaos is king. Occasionally, this is true, but usually there is a goal. If teachers know what the goal is for each week and for each season, they begin with more confidence. Choose Old Testament or New Testament, choose a list of events and people, and then teach the history of our faith. The expectation should be made clear.

2. Resources: This is the item that people ask me for more than any other. Many people who are willing need some direction. They want a workbook to follow. The publishing world is full of children's Christian discipleship materials, but they are not all created equal. I have some sources that I frequently recommend, and I will post links at the bottom; however, please note that these may not be suitable for your specific situation. Please take some time to review several sources before making a choice. Go to the internet. Check for scriptural accuracy, ease of use, and more realistic illustrations over cartoon animations that are too absurd.

3. More resources: Are your teachers having to buy their own craft supplies? Invent their own games? Does your church have dozens of engaging educational items that are stored in a locked closet? Do your volunteers have any idea about the possibilities? Be informative! Engage with your teachers! Smile at them! Tell them what specific things they are doing well. Ask if they need support. Please give them your phone number.

4. An exit ramp: As much as I encourage volunteers to be faithful every week and make weekly teaching a priority, there are many reasons why a volunteer may need to give it up. Keep a close eye on your volunteers, understand their situations, and respond with compassion.

Here is the bottom line: too many volunteers raise their hand in a moment of weakness or guilt, and then they get thrown in the deep end of the pool with no one to offer a lifeline. They feel unseen, unsupported, and unappreciated. Make the children's discipleship volunteer corps the happiest group to be part of. If you love them, they will come.