Category: KidMin Leadership

Freebie Friday: Recruiting and Training New Nursery Volunteers

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

Church nurseries are often the first place where parents leave their babies for the first time, so it’s very important to ensure that this ministry area is particularly top notch.  As a kidmin leader, you have the responsibility of recruiting the right people and thoroughly training them to serve in your Nursery.  Where do you start?

Earlier this fall, I wrote a training piece for Sparkhouse’s Frolic Online to assist kidmin leaders with this task.

Recruiting and Training New Kidmin Nursery Volunteers

You can download the free guide here.  Happy Friday!

Volunteer Appreciation Ideas That Won’t Break the Bank (CPC 2017 Breakout Notes)

Kathie Phillips

Free and Low-Cost Volunteer Appreciation Ideas

A few weeks ago, I attended my very first Children’s Pastors Conference (CPC) in Orlando, Florida.  I was invited to lead a few one-on-one coaching sessions (which I absolutely loved!), participate in a Women in Leadership panel and lead a breakout about free and low-cost volunteer appreciation ideas.

Here are a few highlights from that breakout session:

4 P’s of Volunteer Appreciation

Volunteer appreciation should be:

Purposeful

This is the ‘why’ – we should have a purpose or reason for appreciating our volunteers.  Knowing the ‘why’ sets the course for the other 3 P’s, so it’s important to establish this first.

Questions to consider:

  • What is your appreciation strategy?
  • What is your budget and time allotment?
  • What do you want them to feel or know?
  • Who can help you brainstorm ideas and implement the plan?

Personal

This is the ‘what’ – what speaks their love language?  What do they like?

Questions to consider:

  • Do you know your volunteers’ favorite things?
  • If not, how can you find out this information?
  • Do you know their special days, like birthdays, anniversaries, volunteer anniversaries, etc.?

Plentiful

This is the ‘when’ – show them appreciation regularly!

Question to consider:

  • When can your team recognize volunteers?

Practical

This is the ‘how’ – how will show them you appreciate them?

Question to consider:

  • What can you do in the next week to appreciate at least one volunteer?

Free Volunteer Appreciation Ideas

My breakout attendees shared their favorite free volunteer appreciation ideas (I threw in a few, too).  Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Ask the congregation to share how a volunteer impacted them and share the story on your church’s website
  • Thank you cards (written by kids)
  • Thank you cards (written by email)
  • Thank you notes (written by your or your team)
  • Praise them for handling difficult situations
  • Hold a brunch where parents sign up to bring food items
  • Brag to your senior leadership about them
  • Coordinate a group outing for them and their families
  • Shout them out on social media (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram)
  • Praise them in front of their peers
  • Present them with flowers from someone’s garden
  • Acknowledge them during a worship service
  • Fill a bulletin board in your volunteer lounge with quotes, notes, pictures, etc.
  • Highlight them in your bulletin
  • Ask their opinion – this makes them feel ownership and value
  • Text them a picture of them in action with a thank you note

Low-Cost Appreciation Ideas

My breakout attendees also shared their favorite low-cost volunteer appreciation ideas (I threw in a few here , too).  Here are some ideas to get you started:

  • Gloves with lotion
  • Free item from church cafe
  • CM swag items such as personalized mugs, t-shirt, buttons, lanyards, pens, tote bags, hats and water bottles
  • Redbox movie/code with popcorn
  • Gift cards to restaurants or coffee shops
  • Homemade baked goods
  • Bagels or donuts
  • Potted plants or bouquets of flowers
  • Bags of candy
  • Framed picture of class/group
  • Candy gifts such as:
    • Dove chocolates: “You are the heart of the ministry.”
    • Tootsie Rolls: “Thank you for your role at our church.”
    • Charm Pops: “I am charmed to have you join us!”
    • Life Savers: “Thanks for being a life saver!”
    • Gummy Bears: “I appreciate you beary much!”
    • Extra Gum: “Thanks for always going the extra mile for our kids!”
  • Mason jars filled with cookies, soup mix, or hot chocolate mix

Appreciating those who’ve said YES to serving doesn’t have to break the bank.  A little creativity and heartfelt gratitude go a long, long way.

Appreciating those who’ve said YES to serving doesn’t have to break the bank. A little creativity and heartfelt gratitude go a long, long way. #kidmin #volunteers

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Find even more ideas on my Volunteer Appreciation Pinterest board.  If you’re looking for last-minute Valentine’s Day ideas, check out my Valentine’s Day Pinterest board.

What are some of your favorite free or low-cost volunteer appreciation ideas? Share them with me below!

Children’s Ministry and Race

Kathie Phillips

Here's Why We Must Start Talking About Race in Children's Ministry

Recent events have precipitated the many conversations happening around the issue of race in America right now.  I’m glad that these conversations are also happening in the area of Children’s Ministry.  As uncomfortable and sometimes difficult it is for these conversations to occur, these conversations are so important to have.

A few months ago, I wrote about this very thing (you can find that post here).  Shortly after that post, I came across a post in a Facebook group that caught my eye. A kidmin leader mentioned that she had transformed a puppet that she found from being a ‘thug’ to being more appropriate for church.  To say that I was mortified would be a huge understatement, primarily because I didn’t know that a gold chain could classify a puppet a ‘thug’.  When I responded (after praying about how to use the right words to respond appropriately), some said that I was over-reacting.  Some said that the leader was not being racist and didn’t mean anything by it.  I was even told to ‘lighten up’.

While I don’t know the woman’s intention, the point I wanted to make to the group was that we have to be careful in the language we use and how we view people (even puppets) who look different from us.  My heart was grieved. What we say – and don’t say – says a lot.

My friend, Henry Zonio, reached out to me after my original posts to continue the conversation regarding race and Children’s Ministry.  I wanted to share his article here with you so that you, too, can be part of the conversation.

You can access Henry’s article here: http://childrensministry.com/articles/race-today-red-and-yellow-black-and-white/

Special thanks to my friend Christine Yount Jones and the team at Children’s Ministry Magazine for running this article.

Keep the conversation going! What are your thoughts around this topic?