When I first started out in children's ministry, I thought the secret to success was having great programs that helped reach and disciple kids.
Over time, I realized that this was not the ultimate secret of children's ministry.
One week, when I was trying to run a program by myself, it dawned on me that I needed to enlist volunteers to help reach and disciple children.
Yes...the ultimate secret of children's ministry is having a great volunteer team.
I often say this.
The success of your children's ministry will rise and fall on the strength of the volunteer team you build.
Remember...it's not what you can do...it's what you can empower others to do.
The Bible makes it very clear in Ephesians. Our role is to equip volunteers for the work of the ministry. We must be equippers instead of doers.
You can be the most amazing children's speaker, but without great volunteers your services will fall flat.
You can be the best kids' worship leader in the country, but without great volunteers the worship service will be bland.
You can be the best Bible teacher, but without great volunteers your effectiveness as a leader will be diminished.
You can have the coolest children's ministry building, but without great volunteers kids won't be excited about coming.
You can have the best curriculum ever, but without great volunteers to teach it kids won't grow deeper in their faith.
You get the point. The ultimate secret of children's ministry is VOLUNTEERS.
Volunteers must be your first priority.
Enlist them.
Equip them.
Love them.
Thank them.
Invest in them.
Empower them.
Encourage them.
Take good care of them.
Pray for them.
I love what Walt Disney said as he was preparing to open Disney Land many years ago.
You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But IT TAKES PEOPLE to make the dream a reality.
Want to unlock the greatest secret for your children's ministry? Create an excellent process in place that brings new volunteers on the team. And then ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask, ask people to join your team.
Want to grow your ministry? Make equipping new volunteers your top priority.
You can get more great tips for building and leading a volunteer team in my book "The Formula for Building a Great Volunteer Team." It has been called the best book ever written on the subject. The book is available at this link.
Unlock the power of the ultimate secret of children's ministry and watch what happens.
