It’s hard to believe how quickly a new school year is approaching. Many churches have been and are continuing to prepare for their fall startup of Sunday school and midweek programs. Ministry leaders have been busy recruiting volunteers to fill various classroom positions. But have your volunteers been inspired with a grand and glorious biblical vision for what they will be doing? Have they been thoroughly equipped and trained for their specific roles? Is there a plan to officially and prayerfully “launch” them into their ministry? Here are some suggestions to facilitate this in your church:
Inspire
- Gather your volunteers together. Ask your pastor to address them with a message about the importance of what they are doing in the coming year. Imagine being inspired by something like this:
O, never, never underestimate the power of truth. We handle glorious things every Sunday. We are in a great battle for liberation. Do not be deceived that you hear no bombshells. Do not be discouraged that your medals are few. The Last Day will reveal that the greatest centers of power and of lasting liberation were not in Washington or London or Bonn or Geneva, but in classrooms where truth was taught and young people were “freed from the snare of the devil.” This is no exaggeration. It is absolutely true. (John Piper, "Sunday School as Liberation”)
- Watch the short, four-part series, “Foundations for God-Centered Children’s Ministry.” After each segment, talk about specific ways in which you are going to be fostering each commitment in the classrooms and other ministry programs.
Equip
- Provide specific, applicable, in-person training for the various classroom roles (i.e., teacher, worship leaders, small group leader, etc.). See our Core Training Series.
- Clearly communicate to your volunteers child check-in/check-out policies, behavioral guidelines for students, getting substitutes, classroom schedule, etc.
- Make sure your teachers and students have all the necessary components of the curricula (i.e., visual resources, parent pages, workbooks, etc.).
- Prepare the classrooms.
- Configure them in a way that is most conducive for learning, being both teacher- and student-friendly.
- Have all necessary supplies fully stocked and easily accessible (i.e., crayons, markers, tape, glue, paper, etc.).
Launch
- Ask your pastor/elders if they could officially commission—“launch”—children’s ministry volunteers. This could be as simple as having them stand during the corporate worship time and praying for them and the students. This would be a great way to highlight the importance and responsibility of the whole body of Christ in telling “the coming generation the glorious deeds of the LORD, and his might, and the wonders that he has done” (Psalm 78:4).
The year ahead is full of unknowns, but we do KNOW with unshakable confidence that God is on His sovereign throne, and He will be at work, through His Spirit, bringing children to faith in Christ and giving them spiritual growth. Therefore, let’s inspire, equip, and launch our volunteers with hope-filled joy!
Visit our Discipleship page for more help in the year ahead.
