resources for effective children's ministry

Teacher Recruiting Month

• 3 Months before:
  1. Pray. Pray. Pray! Ask your staff, deacons, elders, & teachers/helpers to begin to pray for teachers that are committed to showing - not just teaching - Jesus' love.

  2. Find out who among your current teachers are planning on teaching/helping in the Fall. Based on this prepare a list of your needs.

  3. Plan each week's event. I like to show a video of our kids and teachers in their classes and have someone sing a special song to go along with it one week, have teachers give their testimony as to why they want to serve as teachers another week, use a skit yet another week and end it all up by having the senior Pastor talk about the value of serving in the children's ministry.

  4. Develop a "slogan" - "Let the Children come to Jesus", "Join our Team!", "Children's Ministry, THE place to be!", etc.

  5. If you have a video camera, have someone film short clips from each class for the next two months to give you lots of footage to make a recruiting video to show in church.

  6. Ask someone from your church to sing while the video plays.

  7. Decide what song you want to go along with your video. Some great ones would include:
     • Geoff Moore & the Distance - "Tell Me Again"
     • 4 Him - "Future Generations"
     • Ray Boltz - "Thank you", "Heaven is counting on you"
     • Christine Wyrtzn - "Let the children come to Jesus"
     • Acappella - "Everybody Said"

• 2 Months before:
  1. Sit down with the video and determine what classes you need additional footage of and concentrate on filming there.

  2. Make "buttons" with your slogan to give to all teachers/helpers and staff to wear each Sunday during your recruitment month.

  3. The Sunday School Promo Pages, published by Gospel Light Publishing has several great skits designed to get your church's attention to your children's depart. staffing needs. Select a skit and ask specific people to participate. Get their parts to them and schedule a practice time.

  4. Make sure you have specific written job descriptions to give interested people so they will know exactly what they are committing to.

  5. Also, have available copies of your commitment to your teachers/helpers so they know what they can count on you for.

• 1 Month before:
  1. Ask two teachers to give a brief testimony in church as to why they teach and what they enjoy most about it.

  2. Edit your video together to go along with your song.

  3. Have children from your church make posters along the theme/slogan to hang all around the church with lots of balloons.

  4. Have plenty of extra buttons to give to those who join your team.

  5. Choose your flyers for the bulletin - use a different one each week. The Sunday School Promo Pages, have an abundance of excellent reproducible flyers perfect for recruiting.

• The Month of:
  1. Have a flyer in each weeks bulletin.

  2. Have everyone wear their buttons.

  3. Be enthusiastic - it is a fabulous honor to serve in the children's ministry . . . act like it!
     • Week 1 - play the music video.
     • Week 2 - teacher's testimony
     • Week 3 - skit
     • Week 4 - Sr. Pastor promotes children's ministry.