10 Simple Secrets to Building a Great Volunteer Team The success of your ministry depends on the strength of the volunteer

team you build. Great players win games. Great teams win championships. Michael Jordan Its not what you can doits what you can empower others to do. As a childrens leader irony is that is just as much about adults as it is children. Must be able to build a team of volunteers 10 principles that you can apply to any church, no matter the size or situation. 1. Its about more than serving. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Matthew 28:19 You are called first and foremost to make disciplesnot volunteers. A key component of being a disciple and growing in your faith is serving. When we equip people to serve, we are helping them become disciples.

Ephesians 4:11-16 Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. 12 Their responsibility is to equip Gods people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. 13 This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of Gods Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We wont be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. 15 Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. 16 He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.
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You cant be a growing disciple without serving. Must realize that serving is a vital part of spiritual growth. Everyone is called to serve For we are Gods handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. Ephesians 2:10 (NLT) 100% of believers are called to serve Get right mindset not bothering them, you are blessing them Helping them grow in their faith Faith without works is dead!

Wont get to next level spiritually until start serving. Keep stuffing knowledge in head and if not serving, will get puffed up. Be doers of the word and not hearers only. Its important that they serve not just for the kids, but also so they can grow in their faith. Never more like Jesus than when you are serving came not to be served, but to serve. Everyone can be great, because everyone can serve. Dr. ML King Jr. Serving animates faith, serving grows faith We are helping them grow and mature in their faith. When equipping, you are coming alongside them in their spiritual journey. You are helping them grow to the next level spiritually. Dont just see getting them in a classroom to fill a spot. See equipping them and helping them become closer followers of Christ. 2. Why not what Invite to the why not the what

People will line up to be a part of something bigger than themselves. People wont line up to change a diaper, but they will line up to change a life! People wont line up to corral 3rd grade boys, but they will line up to impact the next generation People wont line up to stand at the door and say hi 100 times but will line up when you tell them people decide in 8 minutes if going to return. The what comes after the why. Make sure inviting to the why. 3. 1-1. Most effective way. Thats how Jesus did it. Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collectors booth. Follow Me, He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him. Matthew 9:9 (NLT) Pray for divine appointments. Think about how many volunteers you need? You know how you will get them? One at a time. The Journey of 1000 miles begins with one step. The journey of _______ volunteers begins with 1 volunteer.
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Make a dream list of volunteers. Hold yourself and your team responsible for asking people each week. Dont depend primarily on big pushes, ministry fairs, stage announcements twice a year. Its about asking people week in and week out. 52 weeks a year. We make excuses many times when we are simply not asking. When was the last time you personally asked someone to join your team? Write down the name of one person you can ask to join your team. _________________________ Ask them this week. Put your arm around someone, ask them if they are serving anywhere, and then invite them to join you in making a difference for Christ. Have not because you ask not. 4. Duck in water -may be desperate but dont appear desperate Titanic or Carnival Cruise Ship? Titanic Signs You place ads in the worship guide that uses the word need. You guilt people into serving. The only time you connect with parents is when you are asking them to serve.

 You ask the Pastor to beg for volunteers for you from the pulpit. Carnival Cruise Ship Signs People are joining your team because a friend who loves serving invited them. People are joining your team because they see an opportunity to make an impact with their life. There are lots of smiles and laughter. Volunteers are forming small groups and meeting together for Bible study and prayer during the week. Volunteers go home energized and excited 5. 1 time = full time Latch onto the momentum of the entire church when there is an ask for volunteers for Christmas, Easter, Fall Festival, etc. encourage your volunteers to come alongside them and encourage them as they serve follow up with them and ask them how they enjoyed the experience ask to come back got 60% back 6. Know where the fish are biting. Places like new members class, new converts, etc. 7. Sweet spot. Place people in their sweet spot.

Ill. of baseball bat Dont place them where you need them. Place them where they need to be. Gift tests, personality tests, help them discover their talents -ask them, check back with them in a month -you will keep them if they are in their sweet spot. Move them up and give more responsibility, ministry career 8. Students Kids look up to teenagers! Thats whom they want to be like. They can make a huge impact on kids! Some of best cm volunteers are students. Students are one of the greatest places to find childrens ministry volunteers. Not the church of tomorrowthey are the church of today. Not just the childrens ministry leaders of tomorrow. They are the childrens ministry leaders of today! Teen Choice Awards Honored four Millennials who are making a difference: Chad Bullock: This 19-year-old from North Carolina is fighting tobacco one butt at a time. After losing family members to lung cancer, Chad got involved in anti-tobacco activism. He works in politics (convincing the attorney general to take action against tobacco ads aimed at kids), with corporations, and with 15,000

peers. He even turned the Durham Bulls Arena into a smokefree facility. Kathryn Cunningham: This Pennsylvania girl actually volunteered at a hospital in Gambia. She helped perform an emergency medical procedure by candlelight. She became active in helping the people in Gambia after seeing a newborn die due to the lack of electricity. Her company, Power Up Gambia, provides solar panels to Gambia. Dallas Jessup: This Tae Kwon Do black belt may only be 16, but shes a lot more powerful than her petite figure. After multiple attacks in her neighborhood, she taught teens how to defend themselves. Her video has been distributed 750,000 times. Pat Pedraja: Our younger contestant, 13, was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 10. Being in a minority, there were no donors in the National Marrow Donor Program Registry that matched him. He watched many other people die due to the lack of donors. Pat drove cross-country (32 cities) with his mom to get attention to this problem. He raised $140,000 and added 7,000 donors. Pretty impressive at 13. How to partner with student ministries: Build a relationship with student ministry staff and volunteers. Share with them the vision of students growing through serving. Go to them. Be yourself. They want authentic relationships. Dont try to be cool. Share the vision.

 Challenge students who are currently serving to share the vision with their peers. Students usually come to serve in groups. Make sure they stay connected to student ministry. Set clear expectations, structure, and guidelines. Involve their parents. Students want to serve and make a difference in the lives of kids. Just waiting for you to give them the opportunity. 9. More opportunities = more volunteers. Not everyone is going to stand up and teach Not everyone is going to sing Entry level positions Will move up as grow 10. Relationships. Ministry is one of the best places to connect people. Serving together. Its about doing life and ministry together. They will come and stay because of the relationships they have with those they serve with. Value them in the relationship. Shouldnt feel used but highly valued. How? 1. Give them a title that conveys ownership.

What you call people means a lot. 2. Make training easy for them 3. Communicate with them, FB, Text, Email (story about shirts) 3. Thank them for who they are not just what they do. Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Matthew 9:35-38 (NLT)