RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

At times, all of us lose sight of the long-term impact that we can have by serving in children's ministry.  Why do we lose sight?  Because often we can't see the long-term impact yet.  Much of children's ministry is serving in faith that what we are doing in kids' lives will make a difference not only now, but later in their life as well.

Hebrews 11:1 says that "faith is the confidence that what we hope for will actually happen; it gives us assurance about things we cannot see."

We hope that the Bible lessons we share with preschoolers will come to mind when they are making decisions one day as adults.  We hope that the Bible verses we help elementary kids memorize will guide them when they are in college one day.  We hope that the small group discussions we have with pre-teens will help them walk with Jesus in high school.  We hope that the prayers we pray over babies in the nursery will be heard and help them know Jesus when they are older.  We hope the time we invest in parents will help them guide their children spiritually as they grow up.

As the verse says, we must have faith that God is using our service to make a long-term impact in kids' lives.  It's important to remind yourself and your volunteers of this on a regular basis.  If you are only looking short-term, you can get discouraged.  Especially on those days when it seems the kids are not listening and every take home paper you passed out is blowing across the parking lot.

Here are a few ways you can help volunteers see the long-term impact of serving in children's ministry.

Share stories of long-term impact.  Have volunteers think back about the people who invested in them years ago and the impact it is having in their life now.  If you have volunteers who have been serving for many years, have them share stories of kids they invested in who are now grown up and serving Jesus.  Even better, have some of those "grown up kids" come and share the long-term impact it's had in their life. 

Remind them of God's promises.  Here are some great verses to share with your volunteers about the promise of long-term impact.

It is the same with my Word.  I send it out, and it always produces fruit.  It will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.  Isaiah 55:11

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and bear fruit--fruit that will last--and so that whatever you ask in my name the Father will give you.  John 15:1

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for My name's sake, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.  Matthew 19:29 

With all this going for us, my dear, dear friends, stand your ground. And don’t hold back. Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort.  I Corinthians 15:58
 
Show them the opportunity they have to leave a legacy.  It's important to help volunteers see that serving in children's ministry is an opportunity to leave a true legacy that will outlive them.  People want to know that they made a difference in the world.  Children's ministry is the best place to do this.

You can get lots of more great ideas and insight about leading and encouraging volunteers in my book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams."  It has been called "the best book ever written on the subject of leading volunteers."  It's available now at this link for only $12 paperback and $7 ebook.

Don't give up.  Keep serving.  Keep encouraging.  Believe by faith that it will make a long-term impact.

I was reading the words of Paul this week in 2 Timothy and something jumped out at me.

"As you know, everyone from the province of Asia has deserted me—even Phygelus and Hermogenes.  May the Lord show special kindness to Onesiphorus and all his family because he often visited and encouraged me.  He was never ashamed of me because I was in chains. When he came to Rome, he searched everywhere until he found me.  May the Lord show him special kindness on the day of Christ’s return.  And you know very well how helpful he was in Ephesus."  2 Timothy 1:15-18

Paul wrote these words about a man named Onesiphorus.  He said Onesiphorus was an encourager.  Though Onesiphorus is only mentioned briefly in Scripture, he left a great legacy.  A legacy of encouraging others.  In this passage, we see the marks of an encourager.

An encourager walks in when everyone else walks out.  Paul wrote these words from a prison cell in Rome.  Chained like a common criminal, he sits in a cold dungeon.  He is alone.  It seems everyone else has walked out on him.  He says so in verse 15, lamenting the fact that even those he counted on the most...Phygelus and Hermogenes...had deserted him.  Everyone had walked away from him...except Onesiphorus.  When everyone else left, he stayed.  

Anyone can say nice things when everything is going well.  Anyone can jump on the bandwagon of success.  But it's in someone's darkest hour that a true encourager emerges.  It's when you are in chains, an encourager appears.  Whether it's chains of addiction, affliction or assault, they rally to you.  When everyone else has written you off, an encourager writes your name on their schedule.  An encourager walks in when you are down for the count.  An encourager walks in with hope when you have lost all hope.  An encourager refuses to write you off when everyone else has.  An encourager believes in you when everyone else has lost faith in you.  An encourager cheers for you when everyone else is booing.

An encourager does so with his or her words.  If only we realized just how powerful our words are.  An encourager speaks hope.  An encourager speaks affirmation.  An encourager speaks the truth in love with the intent of helping us become a better person.  An encourager uses his or her words to build up rather than tear down.  An encourager says "you got this" when everyone else is doubting you.

An encourager does so through acts of kindness and service.  Paul also says that Onesiphorus "SHOWED him kindness."  A true encourager not only encourages through words, but through their actions as well.  An encouraging note left on the desk of a co-worker.  A meal brought to someone who's had a rough week.  A tank of gas bought.  A yard mowed for someone who's had surgery and is recovering.  You can encourage with words and make an impact, but when you couple it with an act of encouragement, the impact it makes is exponential.

An encourager looks for opportunities to encourage others.  Paul said that Onesiphorus "searched everywhere until he found me."  Rome was a big city.  I wonder how many jails Onesiphorus had to go to before he found Paul?  It took him awhile, because Paul said he searched everywhere until he found him.  Onesiphorus was intentional about looking for the person he wanted to encourage.

Yes.  Sometimes an opportunity to encourage someone will fall into the lap of an encourager.  But most of the time, the encouragement is the result of the encourager being intentional.  An encourager starts their day by asking God to give them an opportunity to help someone.  An encourager keeps their eyes on the needs of others more than on their own personal needs.  An encourager is led in real time by the Holy Spirit to divine appointments.   

An encourager goes the distance with people.  Paul also says that Onesiphorus "often" visited him.  Many times, when someone is grieving the loss of someone, the hardest time is not immediately after the person passes, but a few weeks later.  Why?  That's normally when people stop calling and supporting them as much.  As life goes on, people get caught back up in the whirlwind and forget to keep encouraging.  

But encouragement like Paul is talking about is not a one and one.  It goes the distance with people.  It says "I'm on this journey with you all the way to the end."  Onesiphorus encouraged Paul through his time in prison and even to his execution.  

An encourager commits to staying with someone for the long haul.  It says "no matter what happens, no matter how rough things may get, no matter what we face,  no matter where the road takes us, I will be by your side."

An encourager does so just by being there.  The verse also says Onesiphorus often "visited" Paul.  He came and spent time with Paul.  There will be times as an encourager, when you won't know what to say.  There will be times when the situation the person is facing is so overwhelming that it will overwhelm you as well and will leave you speechless.  There will be times when your words will seem so empty and shallow when compared to the gravity of the problem the person is facing.  When that happens, its okay.  Sometimes the only encouragement you can offer people is your presence.  The person won't remember what you said anyways.  But they will remember that you were there.  They will remember that you cried with them.  They will remember that you held their hand.  They will remember that you hugged them.  They will remember that you held them up as they were overwhelmed and knocked down by grief and pain.  

At times, this is just what God does for us as well, isn't it.  Remember what He says in Psalm 23?

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not fear, for you are with me."

Notice that God doesn't promise to give us all the answers in the moment.  He doesn't promise that we will understand everything at the time.  He doesn't promise to take the hurt and pain away in the moment.  But what He does promise is to be with us.  And as an encourager, you can be God's arms of love and support wrapping around the person...even when you have no answers or words that are adequate enough to share.  Notice, Paul doesn't say exactly what Onesiphorus said.  Perhaps he didn't remember.  But he did remember that he came and was with him.  

I take comfort in this, because I have often been in situations where I didn't know what to say.  I'll never forget what happened two years ago.  I was on my way home, when my cell phone rang.  A girl in our church, who was a senior in high school, had just been killed in a car wreck.  She was on her way home from school, when a reckless driver had run a stop sign and hit her at a high rate of speed.  She had been killed instantly.  Her family had just received the news at their home.  I was to go and try to comfort them.  I walked into that house not knowing what to say and feeling so inadequate.   All I could do was hug them, cry with them and pray with them.  I didn't try to use any cute "Christian sayings" like "All things work together for good" or "she's in a better place" or "God called her home."  I don't remember what I prayed and I'm sure they don't either.  It was all a blur at the time.  But one thing for sure.  I was there.  

I want to be an encourager, don't you?  I want to be like Onesiphorus and leave a legacy of encouragement, don't you?  Let's start looking for opportunities to be an encouragement.  Everyone you meet needs encouragement.  Everyone you meet has fears, insecurities, problems and struggles beneath the surface.

Lets start being intentional about doing acts of encouragement.  Let's walk in and start encouraging the person whom everyone else has forsaken.  Let's go the distance with those we are encouraging.  Let's encourage with our presence even when we don't know what to say.   

Encourage someone today! 

If you want volunteers to go the distance with you, then you've got to consistently encourage them.  I think the following quote is so true.

“Be an encourager: When you encourage others, you boost their self-esteem, enhance their self-confidence, make them work harder, lift their spirits and make them successful in their endeavors.  Encouragement goes straight to the heart and is always available.  Be an encourager.  Always.”
Roy Bennett

One easy way to encourage your volunteers is to give them a small gift.  But not just any gift.  Make it a personal gift.  Here's how you can do this.  Have each volunteer fill out an information sheet that asks what their favorites are.  Favorite candy bar, favorite food, favorite song, favorite color, favorite ice cream, favorite dessert, favorite coffee, etc.

Then when you want to give them a personal gift, take out the list and use it to purchase something.  The fact that you took the time to get something unique to them will make the gift extra special.  I have a ministry friend who went the second mile to do this for one of his volunteers.  She had listed a candy that wasn't available locally.  So he went online and found it, purchased it and had it shipped to give to her.  It was such an encouragement to her.

And the cherry on top is adding a personal note to the gift for your volunteer.  Share with them how much you appreciate them and the value they add to the ministry.  

This is a small way to bring BIG encouragement to your volunteers.

Join me, Frank Bealer and Gina McClain for other great ideas like this at our Live Webinar "Building Great Volunteer Teams" on Saturday, Feb.18th from 12 noon - 3 pm EST.  When you register you will also get an ecopy of my new 150 page book "The Formula for Building Great Volunteer Teams."  You can register at this link.

Many years ago, I wanted to say thank you to our children's ministry volunteers in a special way.

I had a dinner for them and at the end of the dinner, suddenly the door opened and in came many of the kids that they ministered to.  I had arranged for the kids to come and surprise them.  The kids shared about the impact the volunteers were making in their lives.  There was not a dry eye in the house.

I wish I had videotaped it so I could show it to you now.  But recently, I came across a similar video which reminded me of that night with the volunteers.

As you watch the video below, think about how you could do something like this for your volunteers.  All of our volunteers wonder at times if it's really worth it.  They wonder if they are really making a difference.  They wonder if they should throw in the towel and step away from serving.  They wonder if the kids and parents really appreciate what they do.

Show them it's worth it.  Let them see and hear the difference they are making.  Inspire them to keep serving faithfully.  Encourage them with a reminder that they are loved and appreciated.

One of our staff members is doing an amazing job of building her team.  She oversees guest services and has grown a thriving team of leaders.

This past weekend, during their pre-service huddle time,  she gave all the volunteers Post-It notes.  She challenged them to use the Post-It notes to write words of love and encouragement to other people on the team and then stick them to each person's back.

At one of the services, the team loved the activity so much, they decided to go through the church and do the same thing for people who were serving in other areas.  They began "Post-It Bombing" volunteers throughout the church.

One of the people they gave an encouragement note to was Rachel.  Rachel is a police officer who helps keep our hallways safe on Sundays.  Rachel was so encouraged that she sent us a text thanking us for the Post-It's she received.  She also sent 2 pictures (see below) of the notes.  She has laminated them and put them up at her desk at the police department. 

This is a simple but powerful way to encourage your volunteers...and have them encourage one another.  Try it out! 

This past weekend, I was walking around encouraging our volunteers.

I stopped and spent a few minutes with Lamont.  Lamont is a big guy.  A man's man.  He serves on our volunteer security team and helps keep the kids safe while they are here.  This includes locking and unlocking doors, helping walk kids to the bathroom, blocking the people traffic flow when our preschoolers are crossing into the park for chapel, and much more.

As a talked with Lamont, God reminded me to tell him something.  Here's what it was.

"Lamont, I want you to know that what you do makes a huge impact on families.  New families are usually nervous when they walk in here for the very first time.  One of the things they are wandering about is if their kids are going to be safe.  When they see you, it helps them feel at ease.  They are able to go to the service and listen to the message without being worried about the safety of their child.  As a result, many of them come to Christ.  And you play a significant part in that.  That's WHY you're here."

"You also help kids transition to chapel time where they hear God's Word taught.  You make it possible for them to transition safely and you have a part in every child who is impacted by God's Word during chapel time.  That's WHY you're here."

Your smiles and "welcomes" to families makes them feel at home.  Many of them come back because you helped make feel welcome.  As a result, many of them begin a relationship with Jesus.  That's WHY you do what you do.

Lamont's eyes lit up.  He looked at me, smiled, and said, "thank you."  I could tell it meant a lot to him to be reminded of why he is serving.

Don't just thank your volunteers for serving.  Take it to the next level by reminding them of "why" they are serving.

Example - "Thank you for teaching the 2nd graders today."  (that's the what)  This is good, but take it to the next level by reminding the volunteer of why they served today.

"Wow...I so appreciate your heart for God and the kids.  Because you served today, many of those kids will find Christ as their Savior.  And the truths you taught them will impact their lives."  (that's the why)

See the difference?  Don't just stop with the what - remind them of the why.  It will bring encouragement and energy to your volunteers.