Your Highly Relational Summer Volunteer Recruitment Guide

By: Crystal Mazzuca

Summer Volunteer Recruitment in Kids Ministry

It’s summer. The sun is shining, kids are playing, and your regular volunteers are ready for a much-deserved break! So, when it comes to recruiting summer volunteers, where can a leader like you start?

Consider how relationships—rather than announcements—can drive volunteer recruitment. This strategy not only helps staff your ministry for the summer, but it can also lead to growing your volunteer roster throughout the year.

Invite Your Core Community

You already have relational connections with church leaders, parents, and former volunteers. Start by reaching out to these people who may serve in other places or have not served for a season.

Cast vision about how one or two weeks serving in kids ministry in the summer can make a big impact both in the lives of kids and in the lives of the regular volunteers who are taking a break. Allow your connections to see that you are not just trying to fill a hole; you are inviting them to support and encourage your ministry as a whole.

Inspire Volunteers to Recruit

While you have connections outside your regular volunteers, so do those same volunteers! Inspire your leaders to be a part of the recruitment process, too. Challenge them to invite three friends to serve this summer. As a bonus, they can even serve together.

Your regular volunteers have incredible stories and first-hand experience serving in kids ministry. They are the perfect people to share passion and enthusiasm with others, providing opportunities for recruitment that go beyond just you as the kids ministry leader.

Incorporate Preview

Potential recruits can be hesitant to try something new or step into the unknown. Rather than expecting people to say yes blindly, provide a preview of your ministry and what they can expect.

Plan a Sunday Preview

Plan for a Sunday or two where interested people can observe your ministry. Allow them space and time to see your ministry in action, ask questions, and get hands-on experience of what they are being asked to lead. Plan for them to observe in different areas, talk with leaders, and even interact with kids.

This simple act can make a big difference for anyone feeling hesitant, unsure, or overwhelmed at the thought of serving.

Include Intentional Follow-Up

After inviting your community, inspiring volunteers, and incorporating a preview, include intentional follow-up. For every person that has been asked and invited, follow-up rather than waiting for people to respond to you.

Follow Up with Specific Next Steps

Have a clear plan for when, where, and how many volunteers you need to serve. Follow up with specific questions and opportunities to connect. If serving during the summer doesn’t work, invite them to serve during the school year or to join your substitute team.

A Relational Volunteer Recruitment Strategy for All Year

This highly relational approach allows you to invest in your ministry, your regular volunteers, and those who have not joined your team (yet!) in a way that shows you care about people. Summer doesn’t have to be stressful. Taking time for personal conversations not only helps staff your ministry for the summer—it can also grow a strong, thriving volunteer team all year long.

Author Bio

Crystal Mazzuca is the Kids Content Editor and Resource Specialist for Hyfi. Crystal is a graduate of Regent University and has been working in NextGen ministry for over 25 years. She loves witnessing the power of the gospel in kids who grow into adults that genuinely love Him. In her free time, she loves to read (between 80 and 100 books every year—WILD!), spend time with her sons, eat good food, and play board games. Crystal resides in Olympia, WA with one of her three sons at home and her two cats.