If you're in need of more KidMin volunteers, then you can count yourself among the other 99.9% of KidMin leaders! If there were a universal KidMin Bible verse, Luke 10:2 might be a strong candidate. "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few." It doesn't have to be like that, though. With a few adjustments, you could be pulling in new recruits faster than ever before. Here's how: Make volunteer recruiting a priority. You might say that volunteer recruiting is among the most important parts of your job, but your calendar would disagree. If you don't make recruiting a priority by carving out time for it, then it just won't happen. So block off a consistent part of your weekly schedule and devote it toward recruiting efforts. Create a recruiting goal. Make a list of action steps that will help you achieve that goal. Prioritize the action steps and get started. When you finish something on the list, check it off! Let your needs be know. It sounds simple, but very few KidMin leaders do it.If you don't tell the people in your congregation that you have volunteer needs, they'll assume that everything is just fine. So make it known! Maybe you could place a large sign at the entrance to your KidMin space that gives a "menu" of open volunteer positions. Maybe you can periodically use the church bulletin or announcements to make your needs known. Maybe you could use your church's social media platforms to get the message out. Create a volunteering on-ramp. Often times people like to kick the tires before they buy the car. They like to get a taste of what volunteering in your KidMin is like before committing to something bigger and more ongoing. Do you have a way for them to do that? If you do, here's what can happen: Instead of asking potential team members, "Would you like to commit your life to serving every weekend until you die," you can now say, "Do you want to be a part of our team this weekend? We could really use your help with XYZ!" That gives them a small taste of what it's like. Then, when they fall in love with it, you can begin a conversation about being part of an ongoing serving team. Utilize the Recruiter-in-Chief. There's probably no one better at shaking volunteer apples from the tree than your head pastor. Among the many hats they wear, they're the Recruiter-in-Chief. If they cast a little bit of vision to the congregation, they can have a profound impact on your recruiting efforts. When I worked at Willow Creek, Bill Hybels was the master of this. A few times a year, he would drop some vision for serving kids and students in his message. Without fail, our volunteer numbers in Promiseland would jump! Let your head pastor know about your volunteer challenges. Invite them to be a part of the solution. Ask them what they could do to help. Empower volunteers to recruit volunteers. Question: How big of a reach do you alone have in your congregation? Answer: Not big enough! And certainly not as big as your volunteer team has. So organize and empower your volunteers to talk to their family and friends. Allow volunteers to invite potential recruits to shadow them. And when a volunteer recruits another volunteer, share their success with the rest of the team and come up with a way to thank them.
