It’s a recurring issue: Where will we find enough volunteers to intentionally impact our kids ministry this year? Fresh out of college, I have 6 tips for recruiting those 18 to 24-year-olds full of energy, charisma, and passion for servanthood:
1. GO. Go to a college service, small group, or BCM and get to know your audience.
2. ASK. Stand up in front of this group and ask. Include a number of volunteers needed so they feel challenged. College students won\’t know the need unless you explicitly ask.
3. QUOTE. Name dropping will captivate your audience. John Piper puts it this way… Remember when Platt talked about radical living? Jon Acuff says to be awesome, and THIS is awesome. Seriously, quote these guys. You\’d be surprised how many times David Platt means Open Sesame on someone’s will to serve.
4. SHOW. Every time our preschool ministry at my college church showed pictures of the children, my friends and I would talk about that CUTE headband or those precious eyes!!! The following Sunday found us holding 3 and 4-year-olds at children’s church.
5. SEEK. College’s job is to prepare students for careers, and there’s an abundance of students pursuing degrees in early education and childhood development. Some of these students are in your church. Find them. Most need hours of service to count towards their degrees.
6. APPRECIATE. If you treat your volunteers with love, they\’re going to recruit their friends. Word of mouth marketing can locate plenty of willing hearts.
These tips seem obvious enough, but they aren\’t always utilized. I hope this post has given you the push to go to next week’s Paradigm, Kairos, or The Bridge (wherever your college students are worshiping Christ), and to build up your children’s ministry. After all,
We all get our own oceans, never trade yours for a pond. – Jon Acuff
What’s worked for you? Add your tips in the Comments section! And make training these new leaders easy with Ministry Grid!
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