In Today's Better Together Newsletter:
- 3 Step Process to caring for your Volunteers.
- Take the KMC Survey: We want to hear from you!
- KMC Collective Podcast:
- Volunteer Recruitment & Onboarding Toolkits
- Volunteer Training & Team Culture
- FREE Lessons & Curriculum
- Set up a Clarity Call with a KMC Coach
3 Step Process to caring for your Volunteers.
Welcome to the KMC Better Together Newsletter. We have kicked off season three. We are excited and ready to bring our community more encouragement, laughter, training, and coaching . We believe we are better together as we continue to do the important work of reaching the next generation with the gospel, equipping them to become lifelong followers of Christ.
We also know that we all deal with the weekly volunteer grind. Recruit, Schedule, Train, Communicate, Execute - REPEAT! We recently talked about the fact that retaining volunteers is the key to recruiting. I have been in the children's ministry world long enough to realize, I will always need to look out for future volunteers and those who I want to invite into serving on my team. I also believe that if I take care of my current volunteers, I will retain them. They serve with joy, stay on the team longer and understand the mission. By retaining volunteers, I ultimately need less recruiting.
I care for my volunteers by using a simple 3 step process.
Send 3 thank you notes each monday, send 2 personal text messages on Tuesday and 1 coffee or lunch conversation on Wednesday or Thursday. If you do this consistently, after only one month you will have send 12 notes, encouraged 8 through text and sat down and built relationships with 4 volunteers. Imagine what could happen over the course of a year. What will you choose to do this week?
We want you in the conversation!
Fill our our survey | Win a Coffee
We want to hear from you! As we build the KMC, we know we are better together. That means that your opinion and voice matters. Fill out the survey for a channce to win this week’s coffee giftcard. Who doesn’t like free coffee from one of your coaches?
Barna Group research has found volunteer burnout cited as a leading concern by 60–70% of church leaders, and many churches report volunteer rosters still running at only 60–75% of pre-pandemic levels even where attendance has recovered further .
Reflection and Newsletter Challenge:
- Retention starts before recruiting — it's built into how you treat people once they say yes.
- Is there a volunteer on your team right now showing early signs of quiet burnout?
- Challenge | action step: This week, have one honest check-in conversation with a volunteer you haven't checked on in a while.
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KMC COLLECTIVE PODCAST
KMC Collective Podcast S3 - E2
Why Volunteers Are Quitting Kids Ministry (And What Actually Gets Them to Stay)
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Volunteer Recruitment & Onboarding Toolkits
Equip your leadership team with practical, ready-to-use systems to find, vet, and onboard new volunteers smoothly.
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Kidmin.com Free Resources & Kits
- What you get: A robust collection of practical leadership tools including a Pre-Service Huddle Kit (for team alignment), a Volunteer Application & Screening Kit, Volunteer Role Descriptions Kit, and 5 Volunteer Onboarding Hacks to move helpers from "yes" to serving quickly.
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GO! Curriculum Shared Resources Database
- What you get: A massive library of user-submitted and professionally designed documents specifically for recruitment, handbooks, and policies. Highlights include Volunteer Recruiting Strategies, Volunteer Covenants, Job Descriptions for Large Group/Small Group Leaders, and New Volunteer Training Manuals.
Volunteer Training & Team Culture
Great retention starts with great training. These resources help build confidence and community among your Sunday teams.
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ServeHQ Free Church Volunteer Training
- What you get: Free, high-quality video training courses designed explicitly for church teams.Their Children’s Ministry Training module is built to encourage and equip volunteers who are shaping the faith of the next generation.
FREE Lessons & Curriculum
Taking the weight of finding the right curriculum is one of the best ways to keep volunteers from burning out filling like they have to find a lesson to teach each week.
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Ministry-To-Children Free Curriculum Hub
- What you get: Entirely free, downloadable multi-week series (such as studies on the Ten Commandments, the Armor of God, the Psalms, and the Parables of Jesus).These are broadly graded and easy for volunteers to pick up and teach with minimal prep time.
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Free Children's Ministry Lessons (Chronological Bible Survey)
- What you get: Over 300 scriptural lessons complete with games, crafts, and teaching aids.Formatted cleanly in two columns so teachers can easily slide them into their Bibles, validating God's Word directly to the kids.
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Kids in Ministry Curriculum Free Resources
- What you get: In-depth children's church lessons complete with leader overviews, object lessons, drama skits, and review questions. Excellent for giving volunteers creative options to engage different learning styles.
Every leader has questions. Every leader faces hard choices.
Where do children’s ministry leaders go when you have questions that you need to not only get answers to but, to help you contextualize and implement in your context?
Facebook groups? Webinars? Video courses? Those aren’t bad options, and I’ve used all of them. But is that really where you’ll find the best answers for you in your ministry context?
An experienced ministry coach can ask questions to clarify and dig deeper into what you’re really looking for. They won’t tell you how to do it, but they will help you find the answer that is right before you.
