RELEVANT CHILDREN'S MINISTRY

You've got a new volunteer on your team.  You're excited.  But you're also wondering if they will stick around and serve long-term.  Will they stay or will they go?  Though there's no guarantee anyone will go the distance with you, there are some key factors that can cause volunteers to stay.

Volunteers who stick around know why they are serving.  We've talked about this before.  If you only shine the spotlight on the what, volunteers either get bored or burned out.  By "what" I mean the tasks of the role like teaching, helping with crafts, greeting, rocking babies, etc.  While the logistics and responsibilities of a role are important, they are not conducive to long-term motivation.  Long-term motivation comes from the why - the big picture purpose.  A purpose such as helping kids know and follow Jesus.  Volunteers stay motivated long-term when they know they are part of something big.  Something worth giving their life to.

Volunteers who stick around have been given the tools they need to succeed.  They have been given clear expectations, gone through an orientation and received hands-on training.  They are put in rooms where ratios are followed and adequate help is provided.  Don't expect a new volunteer, who is shoved in a room of 30 preschoolers with one other helper, to come out alive, much less stick around long-term.

Volunteers who stick around have built relationships with the people they serve with.  Relationships is the super glue that keeps volunteers.  When volunteers feel like they are part of a family, they lock in long-term.  While you can't force relationships to happen, you can create an environment that gives people the opportunity to establish them.  This can be done with ice-breaker activities and team-building games at meetings, sharing prayer requests each week, having get togethers outside of serving, etc.

Volunteers who stick around are serving from the overflow.  If you want volunteers to serve long-term, then you've got to keep their cup full.  Here are some key ways you can pour into them.

• Make sure they are attending the adult worship service. 
• Have a short devotion ready each week to share in the pre-service huddle. 
• Don't ask them to stay over and serve an extra service. 
• Know what's going on in their lives.  If you don't, you can't help them in their time of need.
• Occasionally give them some time extended time off from serving.
• Share with them things you are learning, books you have read, podcasts you are listening to, etc.

Volunteers who stick around are serving in their sweet spot.  They are in a role that lines up with their spiritual gifts, passion and personality.  Help them find their sweet spot by having them take a spiritual gifts test and by asking questions like, "What is your dream job at church?"  Remember, don't place volunteers where you need them, place volunteers where they need to be.

Volunteers who stick around feel valued.  Instead of using volunteers to build the ministry, use the ministry to build volunteers.  Honor them.  Encourage them.  Thank them.  Pray for them.  Believe in them.  Invest in them.  Care for them.

Here's some questions to think through and discuss:

• Are we keeping volunteers long-term?  Why or why not?
• Do our volunteers have a clear understanding of why they are serving?
• Do we set volunteers up for success by setting clear expectations, providing training and following ratios?  How can we improve in this?
• Are we keeping our volunteer's cups full?  How?  What are we missing?  How can we get better at filling their cups?
• Are our volunteers in their sweet spot?  Why or why not?  How can we get them in their sweet spot?
• How are we showing our volunteers we value them?  How can we do a better job at this?

The floor is yours.  What are some other thoughts or ideas you have for keeping volunteers long-term?  Share them with us in the comment section below.

Did you know that 65% of volunteers say they haven't heard the words "thank you" in the last 12 months?  That's sad, isn't it?  When we don't take the time to thank our volunteers, they end up feeling used and taken for granted.

Saying the words "thank you" is important, but if you really want to help your volunteers feel loved and appreciated, here are 3 secrets to bringing depth to those words.

Secret 1 - Thank them for who they are instead of for what they do.  What do we normally say?

"Thanks for all you do."

And that's okay.  But if you really want them to feel appreciated, thank them for who they are.  It will mean so much more to them.  Here are a few practical examples.

"Thank you for your heart for God and for the next generation."

"Thank you for being a person full of compassion and kindness for kids who don't seem to fit in with everyone else."

"Thank you for being a person of character, integrity and faithfulness. 

See the difference?  This shows you value them as a person over what they do for the ministry.

Secret 2 - Thank them for something specific that you've seen them accomplish.  After you've thanked them for who they are, this is the next step.  Here are a few examples.

"It's awesome how you made the new little boy feel welcome last week and helped him make some friends." 

"I noticed last week how you captured the kids' attention while you were teaching.  You are so gifted at communicating with kids."

"You did an amazing job organizing the crafts for the preschool rooms last week.  The teachers loved it and it made the craft time flow so well for the kids."

Secret 3 - Give them a personal gift.  Giving all your volunteers candy or another small gift with a note attached is a good thing.  In fact, here's 50 ideas for this.

But...if you really want to show them how thankful you are for them...give volunteers a gift that is special to them.  Here's how you can do this.  Have each volunteer fill out an information sheet that asks what their favorite food is, what their favorite candy is, what their favorite color is, what their favorite hobby is, etc.  Then go and purchase that unique item and give it to them with a personal, handwritten note.

Here's an example.  You find out one of your volunteers loves Almond Joy candy bars.  So you go and buy him or her that candy bar and attached it to a personal note.  Bam!  The person will feel appreciated as an individual.

My friend, Frank Bealer, shared with me that he found out one of his volunteers loved a special kind of candy bar that couldn't be found in stores in their area.  So he went online and ordered it for her.  It meant so much to her that he would go the second mile to show how much he appreciated her.  That is an awesome example of how to really thank a volunteer.

They say people don't leave a job, they leave a manager.  In many, many cases that is true.  And I think the same could often be said for volunteers in the church world.  They stop volunteering because they feel used instead of valued.  Let's go all out to show them how much we appreciate them.  Without them, there is no children's ministry.  One of the most important things you will do as a leader this week is say the two words "Thank you."

Your turn.  The floor is yours.  How do you express your gratitude to your volunteers?  What are some special things you've done for them?  Share your ideas and thoughts with everyone in the comment section below.