As I travel around visiting Awana clubs, one of the most common things I'm asked by Awana Ministry Directors or Club Directors is “How do I get more volunteers?” Usually, these AMD’s are looking for the one silver bullet that will solve their volunteer recruiting problems, ie if they do XYZ, or if they have the perfect recruiting pitch, all will be good. My experience has shown something different. The Awana clubs that are successful with their recruiting strategy take a much more holistic approach to recruiting, training and developing volunteers. Potential volunteers usually are not interested in “helping out”, but are very interested in being part of a winning team. Here are some foundational things to think about related to developing the right kind of culture to attract volunteers to your ministry.
- Is your club well disciplined? Are you successfully using the 5 count, 3 count and positive points to maintain order and discipline? Do potential volunteers view your ministry opportunity as something where they would have to wrangle unruly and troubled children, or would they view your ministry as something where they would be allowed to disciple and build lasting faith with these children. You, as AMD or club director are responsible for maintaining this discipline so that volunteers can thrive in your ministry.
- Are you communicating your ministry successes to your church body, your parents and potential volunteers? You'll be much more likely to recruit new volunteers if they are made aware of how God is using your ministry to reach kids for Christ. A facebook group or club newsletter sent home to parents, and/ or maybe inserted into your church bulletin (with your pastors permission), would be great ways to communicate how God is working in your ministry. An “Awana Sunday”, It would be wise to not only use these communication tools to announce upcoming events and announcements, but also to share testimonies of new salvation decisions, disciple making events, missions opportunities
- Are you clearly communicating what you want you’d want potential volunteers to do? If your volunteers don’t know what’s expected, they are less likely to raise their hand and step up. Having a written “job description” of what you’d like your volunteers to do is a great first step to this communication. Here are some resources Awana has prepared to help you communicate with potential volunteers. https://www.awana.org/you-belong-recruitment-tools
- Are your leaders equipped to have a successful ministry? Do you have a plan for how you will train and equip your new volunteers as well as ongoing training for your existing volunteers, or is your training strategy simply “On the job”? Awana provides many training opportunities that you can use to equip your volunteers. Basic Training, annual Awana Ministry Conferences, leader training meetings, LEAD leadership development trainings are all opportunities provided by your local Awana Missionary. If you prefer to do the training yourself, Awana provides online Getting Started Training, leader role books and a Getting Started Resource binder.
Bottom line, a successful recruiting strategy STARTS with creating an environment where your volunteers can survive and thrive. Serving God is not a burden, it is a discipleship opportunity for your volunteers. Are your volunteers moving closer to God or further away by serving in your ministry?
In my next blog post, I will give some very practical tips on where to look for volunteers for your ministry.
