Recruiting Like Jesus Recruited-Part 3

Seize opportunities

Jesus went out looking for workers. He didn’t wait for workers to come find him. When Jesus recruited his first disciples, he was walking out by the Sea of Galilee; he wasn’t back in his office behind a desk filling out paperwork. He was out drafting the people he needed.

Here’s my advice for any children’s ministry leader who’s frustrated with not having enough help: Go out and find people. Go where people are. I go to church, to men’s meetings, to women’s meetings…anywhere I might find people who love God and who haven’t found a place to plug into service yet.

And I’ll run databases from the church computer, too. I run a list of all our members, then a list of people who are volunteering already somewhere else. That gives me a list of potential volunteers.

I’m always looking, and guess what? That means I’m always finding, too.

Jesus required commitment, not just sacrifice

Jesus didn’t make it easy for people who were coming to help him. Read  through the Gospels with a highlighter and mark everything Jesus had to say about volunteering. Jesus never once asked someone to sacrifice. Instead, he asked for commitment. The sacrifices followed, but they flowed out of a decision to be a faithful follower—so they weren’t really sacrifices at all. They were simply the cost of discipleship.

When I’m recruiting volunteers, I ask for commitment, too.

I know that cultural trends would say to make every volunteer job something people can do without having to commit much time and effort. And I could do that—but I won’t. Our kids deserve better. They need the consistency, and the volunteers need the time to get better at what they do

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Recruiting Like Jesus Recruited-Part 2

Jesus made everything a matter of prayer—including recruitment

Forty days in the wilderness. Forty days of prayer and fasting. Jesus had plenty of time to talk things through with God.

It’s not recorded what Jesus prayed about, but I believe with all my heart he asked God to lead him to the right people. I believe that because the first thing Jesus did when he walked on out of the wilderness was recruit some help.

You and I have a tendency to do everything but pray.

Are you praying for the Lord to bring you the right people to staff your children’s ministry?

Jesus took his time to fill the roster

Jesus needed twelve disciples…but he recruited in ones and twos. Could Jesus have lined up twelve recruits in a bigger hurry? I think so—but he wouldn’t have gotten the people he wanted.

Take your time getting people placed in your program. You’re building a team and discerning giftedness, not just scribbling names onto an organizational chart. If you want leaders to emerge from your program, and people to stick long term, Take your time recruiting the right people not just whosoever is willing!

Jesus instituted a draft

Jesus wasn’t shy about getting the people he wanted on his team. In fact, he didn’t recruit them as much as he drafted them.

“You come and follow me” doesn’t sound like a question. It’s a command.

I don’t have quite the authority Jesus has, but when it comes to getting people working in children’s ministry, I don’t ask for volunteers either.

Here’s my favorite way to recruit people: I walk up to folks in my church and ask, “What are you doing in this church?” Most of the time they say, “Nothing.”

So I say, “That’s what I thought. Fill out this four-page worker application. I’m going to make a children’s worker out of you.”

And you know what I hear? Most of the time I hear, “OK.”

Now, keep in mind that when I ask someone to work in the Nursery I’m asking them to apply to work in the Nursery. I’m inviting them to enter into a discussion about whether they’re the right person to work in the Nursery. They won’t necessarily end up working with babies; we’ll sort that out through the interview process.  But until we get talking, nothing happens. 
more to come