1. Remember that those who volunteer to help you are doing so out of the goodness of their hearts. They are choosing to help you. Make sure you give them reason to want to!

2. Communitcate with your team regularly. Take them along with you as you develop new ideas and strategies, get their input, include them in the decision making, where possible, and listen to their criticisms.

3. Make sure your volunteers have clear outlines of expectations and are aware of procedures.

4. Spend time with the members of your team outside of the groups. Take an interest. Go for coffee, have them round for dinner, do something fun together and build friendship.

5. Acknowledge your team members efforts on a regular basis through gifts, cards and public thanks.

6. Don’t take on all the responsibility yourself. Share the load…that’s what they’re there for. Delegate responsibilities.

7. Acknowldege birthdays and special dates. Include the helpers in photo displays and birthday calenders.

8. Invite helpers to be a part of the planning process for groups. Listen to their ideas and encourage them to lead specific activities where possible.

9. Hold regular fellowship times for the whole team…share food, pray together, ask guest speakers to bring something to the group.

10. Listen to and observe your helpers. Offer help, prayer and a listening ear to encourage and build one another up. Don’t just rely on them as an extra pair of hands but invest in them as precious members of the body.

God is faithful.
That is the only absolute.
God never fails, God never gives up, God is always faithful.

It is so easy for us to get discouraged when our numbers dwindle and our young people become dissinterested in church.
We often take it personally or feel as though we have failed in one way or another. We may start to ask ourselves why we put in so much effort for so few children and why God put us in such a desparate position in the first place.

Don’t give up!

Pray
Pray for those who DO come to your group.
Pray for those who USED to come to your group
Pray for those who DON’T come to your group but might do in the future.
Pray for their families, for their schools, for their communities and for their homes.
Pray that God would create opportunities for you to speak to them, to encourage them and to befriend them.

Most of all don’t give up!

As long as there is one child who comes to church to hear about God, there is work to be done!
Admittedly it is going to be more difficult to run a group with one child than with 5 but God works for the good of those who love Him.

God is faithful.

In our Sunday school group, we create our own material for the children based on the sermon series for that term. This is somewhat challenging to say the least, but has been a great way of bringing consistency to our children’s groups and a deep sense of belonging to the wider church.

This term the series is entitled ‘pray at all times’ and we are looking at various ways of praying centred around the way in which Jesus taught us how to pray through the ‘Lords prayer.’

This last Sunday, we had 8 young children in our group who were each given a section of the Lord’s prayer to look at. They spent time creating a collage and a sentence to present to the congregation.

An ambitious task to give to children, granted, especially young children, however, the outcome was overwhelming.

Jesus, I love God,

God in heaven,

You listen and welcome everyone,

Jesus forgives us

He is King and He is big

I love Jesus

Amen.

As we enter 2012, I am increasingly aware of the need to structure and order both my private life and my work life in order to be more effective and productive.

The two are not separate but are completely integrated with one another. If our private prayer lives are limited and inconsistent, then our ability to apply ourselves in our ministries will be limited and inconsistent. It is essential that we find that time to reflect, to re cooperate and to re focus.

As you can imagine, and are probably more than aware of yourself, the words ‘structure’ and ‘order’ are not commonly used in children’s work and are generally not the most natural gifts for a children’s worker to hold.

Herein lies the challenge.

If we are to be effective in our ministries, we must lay the right foundations.

‘Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.’

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

In those things we love to do and are naturally gifted in, and through those things that we are not so comfortable with, but are necessary, let us immerse ourselves in the presence of God and do everything with a joyful and thankful heart.