5 Tips for Lining Up Summer Volunteers

Summer is here! How is your summer Sunday schedule looking? Do you have all the volunteers you will need or are you struggling? Here are 5 tips to help you line up volunteers for your Sunday programming this summer.

1. Resist the temptation to call on your year-long volunteers.

I can understand the temptation to ask your regular volunteers to serve for one week over the summer in order to help you fill out your schedule. But in filling out your summer schedule, you may be making it more difficult to fill out your fall schedule.  Your regular volunteers may feel worn-out or put-upon.

Give your regular volunteers a deserved break over the summer. This is a great way to support them, encourage them, and retain them!

2. Consider approaching parents, grandparents, and teenagers.

Ask parents to serve for one week over the summer. Create a culture where parents are expected to help in their children’s classrooms. Also, don’t forget that grandparents are a wonderful resource! Talk with the senior citizens in your church and ask if they would serve for one week over the summer. Finally, get the teenagers in your congregation involved!

3. Provide your summer volunteers with no-prep materials.

Those who don’t normally volunteer for children’s ministry will be worried about being able to teach the material. They may also worry about the amount of preparation time. Take those worries away by providing a routine that everyone will use; provide snack, toys, coloring pages, and a lesson that your volunteer can pick up the morning of. The best way to do this is to use picture books. Find a series of books that follow a particular theme for the summer. That way your volunteers can grab the book and read it to the class (anyone can do that!) Provide a Bible verse to go with each book and if you’re ambitious some activity ideas related to the theme. Remember to have everything necessary available so that your volunteers can simply show up and serve!

4. Offer your summer volunteers the option of serving for one week.

Summers are difficult to schedule. That is just the way it is. People are away on holidays or spend their weekends at the cottage. People may not be able or willing to commit to a month of children’s ministry programming. But, most people can commit to one week. Design a schedule with volunteers who serve for one week.  It requires more people, but if you also implement tip #3, you will more easily find people willing to serve for one week over the summer.

5. Be realistic about the programs you offer over the summer.

I was out recently with a friend and she was telling me about her struggles as a volunteer Sunday School leader. She is part of a team of 3 people who voluntarily lead Sunday School. The pastor is relatively new and was putting some pressure on her to provide preschool and elementary programs for Sundays in the summer. Her church has only provided preschool programs in the summer in the past and had a hard time filling the schedule!! Her pastor was not being realistic about the programs they could provide for children over the summer.
Look at previous summers – what is the attendance like? How many families are away for most of the summer? Can you find volunteers for programming without making it difficult to run your regular fall programming?

Don’t worry if you have to cut down on children’s programming in the summer. You know your church and what is possible. Be realistic about what you offer for kids in the summer.