Blog | Finding a Children’s Ministry Director for Your Church
Finding a Children’s Ministry Director for Your Church
Almost every church needs a children’s ministry. Whether you’re an established church or a fresh new church planter – there will, without a doubt, be children in your congregation. Unfortunately, a lot of church planters and new ministries don’t view it as a top priority when starting out, so before we dive into the how, we’d like to quickly highlight why it’s important to have a children’s ministry in your church right off the get-go for the overall health and growth of the congregation:
Importance of Having a Children’s Ministry at Your Church
The children’s ministry is not just about the children attending your church. By now you likely understand that no ministry or department operates in isolation of the entire organization. The same is true for children’s ministries.
Having a children’s ministry doesn’t just benefit the kids who attend your church. It’s a key factor in parents’ decision regarding the church they’re going to attend. They want a church that can properly pastor, educate, grow, and include their children in a way that benefits their experience at church and their home.
If your fundamental goal as a church planter and pastor is to grow your congregation, you won’t be able to earn the attention of parents without a solid children’s ministry. But you won’t build a children’s ministry without a great volunteer children’s ministry director.
Finding a Volunteer Children’s Ministry Director
There are tons of opinions on this matter, but the truth is it’s often smart to bring in a volunteer children’s ministry director that is already plugged into your church. Every church plant is in a different location with different age ranges and demographics, and the best place to find someone who understands the needs of your children’s ministry is in your own congregation or through others who are closely connected to or aware of your church plant. Here are a few tips:
1) Occupation and Career
Someone who’s going to lead a children’s ministry needs to understand what kids want and need to hear. They also need to understand what parents of the children are expecting from the ministry. Often times, the best volunteer children’s ministry directors have worked in education in one way or another – having worked closely with kids of a variety of ages throughout their career.
If you haven’t found a volunteer for the position yet, start meeting with congregation members to find who has already (or is currently) working with kids on a frequent basis.
2) Make a List 3-Deep
We hope everything pans out as planned when you find the right person for a volunteer position, but it doesn’t always work that way. Depending on the number of children in church, you may need much more than one person, and if that’s the case, here’s what we recommend:
When building a list of needed children’s ministry volunteer roles, double or triple the size of the list, as you’ll most likely need the additional volunteers shortly as the church grows. Also, when scoping out candidates, make a list 3-deep of people you’d like to ask to fill the role. In the off chance the first person you ask doesn’t take the role (or backs out shortly after), it’s smart to have a list of 3 people deep prepared for having someone immediately available.
3) Delegating and Empowering Leaders
Chances are, you at least have a few solid, rockstar leaders and volunteers at your church. Remember – it’s not always smart to lead the volunteer search by yourself entirely. Many of your solid leaders may have recommendations for other congregation members, friends, or family who may be a perfect fit for the children’s ministry coordinator position.
Empower your current ministry leaders and volunteers by delegating some of the search to them. Have them use their own networks to help find the right person!
In Summary
There’s no single “formula” for finding the right volunteers. You of all people know that the right volunteers and ministry leaders come as a result of prayer, relationships, time, and community. The same applies for finding a children’s ministry director.
If you want to find a children’s ministry director at your church, start by looking at the members in your congregation who already have experience working with kids in their careers. It’s likely that those who work with kids in their jobs understand the necessary aspects of what kids and parents expect from such a ministry. Build your lists of needed positions and potential candidates at least 3 deep, and delegate some of the searching responsibility to other leaders and volunteers at your church. It widens your network and establishes new opportunities for connections!
About the Author
Chris Fleming is a professional musician from Minneapolis, MN who has played with artists such as TAYA, Big Daddy Weave, and Jason Gray. He is actively involved with the worship music scene and has contributed as a drummer, music director, song writer, and producer for various worship artists and churches locally and nationally. Chris is the Motion Designer at Motion Worship, helping to create motion background collections and countdowns for our subscribers.