Category: KidMin Volunteers

Free and Inexpensive Ideas for Volunteer Appreciation Week

Kathie Phillips 4 Comments

thank you1

If you’re like me, you know how important volunteers are to Children’s Ministry.  It is a true partnership: we cannot accomplish the work of our ministry without our dedicated volunteers; they cannot effectively accomplish the work of our ministry without a leader at the helm.

When I think about the volunteers who serve in my ministry, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for each and every one of them.  In an age when people are busier than ever, the thought that people choose to serve week in and week out humbles me so very much.  Many of my volunteers are parents themselves; that means long nights up with a sick baby or child, carpooling, sports, volunteering at school, extra-curricular activities, and homework.  Some of our volunteers travel for work, sometimes for weeks at a time.  Some of our volunteers have spouses who travel a great deal for work.  Some are single parents who are juggling many, many balls.  Some have health challenges.  Some are caring for elderly or sick parents.  Some are looking for work or have a spouse who is looking for work.

As often as I can, I let my volunteers know how much I appreciate them.  I cherish them.  Next week (April 21 – April 27) is being recognized as “Volunteer Appreciation Week”.  Those who work alongside volunteers – schools, non-profits, etc. – will be expressing their appreciation to people who are the backbone of their organization.

I am one who believes that showing our volunteers how much they mean to us should not be limited to a one-week time frame.  We should let them know how much they mean to us as often as we can.  It doesn’t have to be expensive or over the top but it should be genuine, personal and regular.

If you are in need of creative, inexpensive (and some free!) ideas to show your volunteers how much they mean to you, here are a few ideas to get you going:

  • Pray for you volunteers and follow up with them
  • Donuts and coffee
  • Carnation or rose with a hand-written note attached
  • Video from you, thanking them for their service to your ministry
  • Video from the kids in your ministry, thanking their teachers
  • God-sighting wall that displays ways that kids, families and your ministry have been impacted by their service
  • Favorite candy bar
  • Breakfast or luncheon in their honor (have kids and/or parents serve)
  • Buttons to wear
  • Decorate their classroom with streamers, balloons, noisemakers and party hats
  • Thank you cards from the kids
  • Social media “shout out”
  • “Shout Out” in your church bulletin
  • Note on the windshield of their car
  • Special song or poem
  • Items personalized with your ministry logo (t-shirt, backpack, coffee mug, water bottle, lanyard, hat, etc.)
  • A Saturday or Sunday free of ministry responsibilities
  • Balloon bouquet

You can also find more ideas on my KidMin – Volunteers Pinterest board.

You might also be interested in a previous post, Speak Your Volunteer’s Love Language, that offers additional ideas.  My kidmin blogging friend, Lindsey Whitney, shared a gift idea that she recently blessed her volunteers with.  You can find that here.

Be sure to stop by tomorrow because I’ll share appreciation ideas for each season of the year.  You won’t want to miss it!

Are you doing anything special to honor your volunteers next week?  Share your ideas below!

Celebrate “Write a Thank-You Note Day”

Kathie Phillips 2 Comments
Photograph via Tumblr

My husband and I spent the year before we were married in a long-distance relationship (he lived in Alabama while I attended college in Virginia).  During that year, we exchanged a lot of cards and letters.  Every now and then I read through the notes just for fun.  That’s easy to do because the notes sit in a floral basket next to my bed.  The basket also contains cards that my children made in their preschool and elementary years as well as other keepsakes from special people in my life.

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post encouraging leaders to speak their volunteer’s love language.  Since my love language is words of affirmation, I treasure notes (hand-written and electronic) containing encouragement and thanks.

Yesterday, I received an email from one of my favorite home and garden magazines.  They declared today “Write a Thank-You Note Day”.  What a great idea, I thought.

Hand-written notes have almost become outdated in lieu of e-mail and text messages, but in my opinion, hand-written notes will never go out of style.

So, consider writing a thank-you note to someone you appreciate today.  Make it full of reasons why you appreciate them and how much they mean to you.

Don’t have a clue who you might bless with a hand-written note?  Here are some suggestions to get you started:

If you’re a KidMin leader:

  • Your spouse
  • Your children
  • Your pastor/supervisor
  • Someone who serves in your ministry
  • Someone behind the scenes but serves your ministry (i.e. your janitorial or church office staff)
  • Your mentor

If you’re a KidMin parent:

  • Your spouse
  • Your children
  • Your child’s principal/teacher/school administrator
  • Your child’s coach
  • Your children’s pastor/director

If you’re a KidMin volunteer:

  • Your spouse
  • Your children
  • Your ministry leader
  • Someone who serves alongside you in ministry
  • Parents of a child in your class

Challenge:  Go ahead – write a thank-you note today, but don’t let it stop there.  Take the time to regularly write thank-you notes to people you are thankful for.  You can write one a day, one a week, or one a month.  Just write it – your words and the thought behind it will bless you as well as the recipient.

Related Post:  Speak Your Volunteer’s Love Language

How We Brought Preteen Parents and Leaders Together

Kathie Phillips

This past Sunday, we hosted a Small Group Leader & Parent Breakfast for Route 45, our church’s Preteen Ministry.  I was inspired to plan this after I saw an idea on a great website, Stuff You Can Use.  The website offers a free, editable kit that will help you plan the entire event.  The event was originally designed for Middle School Ministry, but I found it easy to design it for our needs.

I described this event to our parents as the church version of “Back to School Night”.  This type of event is usually held in August or September.  Since things were extremely busy in the fall, we scheduled it for February, the mid-point for our ministry year.

Here’s an overview of our event:

Purpose:  The primary purpose of this event was to bring parents and leaders together for a light breakfast and conversation.  Since our preteens are allowed to check themselves in and out on Sunday mornings, many of our parents and leaders had never met.  I didn’t want the school year to go by without this important face-to-face interaction.

Logistics:  We held our event on a Sunday morning during both of our morning services.  Parents were encouraged to attend during the hour that their child attends Route 45.  I recruited a few teens to help me teach the morning’s lesson and help with crowd control.  Leaders were provided with a timeline for the morning and a copy of conversation starters prior to the event so that they’d be familiar with how things would operate.

Promotion & Registration:  We began promoting the event through our weekly parent email approximately two months before the event.  It started as a “Save the Date” promotion and then moved to actual emails with more details.  We also promoted the event through announcements during our preteen Large Group time, our online church newsletter and the church bulletin.  Invitations were provided for each preteen to take home and give to their parents.  (We wanted to publicize in many different ways.)  Our invitations and other handouts were customized to be blue and white (to complement our color scheme) and include our logo.

Food:  We kept the menu pretty simple.  We served muffins, bagels and cream cheese, protein bars, fresh fruit, juice and bottled water.  We were able to keep the event to less than $60 for food and supplies.

Decor:  We set up three 9-foot tables parallel to each other with space to walk in-between.  We covered the tables with table cloths and placed an acrylic sign holder in the middle.  The sign holder held the names of each small group leader.  At each place setting, we placed a legal-sized place mat (with a section for notes); a two-sided post card – one side shared how we want to partner with parents and the other side listed our leaders and contact information; and a feedback card that parents and leaders could use in telling us if the event was beneficial, if we should offer it again and suggestions to make it better.  We also placed name tags, pens, markers and copies of Reggie Joiner and Carey Nieuwhof’s book, Parenting Beyond Your Capacity, for parents to peruse.

Here are a few pictures:

Flow for the morning:  At the beginning of the morning, I welcomed parents, shared the purpose of the gathering and brief overview for the morning as well as insight into our ministry year.  (We launched Route 45 in September, so the word for the year is “new”…new format, new curriculum, new leaders, new space, new programming, new, new, new!)  Then I turned things over to our leaders and let them facilitate the conversation.  Five minutes before the service ended, I wrapped up the time by giving a few announcements and a heartfelt “thank you” to our parents and leaders.

Overall, I am so glad that we held this event and I look forward to it again in the fall.  It warmed my heart to see parents and leaders talking about how we can best work together to help our precious children in their spiritual journey.

Leaders and volunteers:  How do you encourage a partnership between your ministry and parents?

Parents:  How can your church better partner with you as you guide your children spiritually?

Ideas for Lent and Easter

Kathie Phillips 3 Comments

Lent is upon us and Easter is right around the corner.  If you’re looking for Lent and/or Easter ideas for church, home or school, be sure to visit my Lent & Easter board on my Pinterest page.  You can access the board here: http://pinterest.com/kathierphillips/kidmin-lent-easter/

Have you given up anything for Lent?  What do you have planned to make the Easter season come alive this year?