100 Best Ideas to Turbocharged your Preschool Ministry (20 page)

You can’t get to know someone in 10 minutes on a Sunday morning.
Volunteers are busy teaching; you’re busy leading.
So use Sundays as an opportunity to ask volunteers if they have any available time for lunch the following week.

Meet for lunch.
Lunch works great for one-on-one time or meeting with a couple.
(Special Note: You should never have a lunch appointment where you’re alone with a member of the opposite sex.) Lunch provides a more intimate setting than your office, so you can engage in a deeper, more personal conversation.
These meetings aren’t about you; they’re about the volunteers.
Let them tell you about their lives.
Ask how you can pray for them.
Let them know you appreciate them and are thankful they’re on your team.
And pick up the tab!

Open your home.
My husband and I love to open our home to preschool volunteers.
We sometimes have three or four couples at one time for dinner.
We try to choose couples who might enjoy getting to know each other.
Not only does this help you get to know your volunteers on a more personal level, but it also gives them a sense of being part of a family.

Often in ministry we get so caught up in the unimportant that we overlook what’s most important.
It’s really quite simple...give an hour of your week for a volunteer, and he or she may very well repay your church’s preschool ministry with a lifetime of service.

—Gina

Don’t let the volunteer staff you’ve worked so diligently to gather fade away because of frustration and discouragement.
Every person on the planet wants to feel valued and appreciated, and it’s no different with your preschool ministry volunteers.
Showing your appreciation will help them know they’re making a difference.
Try these ideas.

Hospitality cart
—Offer volunteers a hospitality cart with juices, soft drinks, and doughnuts.
They can stop by, grab a quick snack, and head to their rooms.

Handwritten thanks
—Take time to write handwritten thank you notes.
No email or texting here—just a note to let someone know you’re thankful for the gifts he or she brings to your ministry.

Help at hand
—Enlist a hallway coordinator to check on each room every 15 minutes or so.
Volunteers will appreciate knowing there’s someone close at hand to help them with anything they might need.

Happy affirmations
—My team has a lot of fun expressing appreciation in novel ways.
Here are a few ideas we’ve used:

• Roll of mint-flavored Life Savers candy—“You’re worth a mint to our preschool ministry.”
  
• Package of gum—“It’s
  refreshing
  to see your smiling face each week.”
  
• Sonic Drive-In gift cards—“Every hour is ‘happy hour’ with you on our team.”
  
• Microwave popcorn— “Thanks for popping with excitement over preschool ministry.”
  
• $5 gas cards—“Thanks for going the extra mile.”
  
• Krispy Kreme free doughnut card—“Our volunteers are the ‘Kreme’ of the crop.”
  
• Starburst candy—“You bring a burst of color to preschool ministry.”
  
• Starbucks gift cards—“You’re the ‘caffeine’ in our ministry. Thank you for your energy and enthusiasm.”
  
• Christmas ornament—“You decorate our ministry with goodness and grace.”
  
• Six-pack of Double Stuf Oreo cookies—“You’ve got all the ‘stuff’ that makes our preschool ministry sweet.”
  
• Car wash gift card—“You put the ‘sparkle’ in our preschool ministry.”
  
• Jar candle—“Thank you for sharing the light of God’s Word with our preschoolers.”
  
• Individually wrapped muffin—“There’s ‘muffin’ better than having you on our team.”
  
• Package of hot cocoa—“Your warm heart is a blessing to our preschoolers.”
  

If you haven’t told your preschool volunteers lately how much you appreciate them, get your team together today and come up with your own creative ideas.
Take time to thank people and let them know what a blessing they are to the children and your church’s preschool ministry.

—Gina

I love to cook, but sometimes I’ll be right in the middle of putting together a great recipe only to realize I’m missing a key ingredient, and I’ll make a sound kind of like, “Ughhh!”
My husband recognizes this sound and yells from the living room, “Forget something?”
Then he drives to our local market to pick up the needed ingredient, reminding me that he has his cell phone with him in case I think of anything else.
I’m so thankful for this patient man.

Preparation is the key to success, and success can only happen when you have every needed resource at hand.
In our preschool ministry we understand this principle, and it’s our responsibility as leaders to ensure that our volunteers have everything they need to have a successful teaching experience.

I’ll never forget what happened one Sunday morning after a teacher asked me for crayons.
When I went to the resource room, I couldn’t find any.
It was embarrassing to have to say I didn’t have crayons!
Since then we’ve put practices in place to be sure we’re never short on glue sticks, crayons, construction paper, and other essential preschool supplies.

Here’s how to guarantee that every volunteer and child has what he or she needs.

Make it easy to request supplies.
Provide a means for volunteers to communicate what supplies need to be replaced.
Have request forms and a drop-off basket or tray located where they’re easily accessible; for example, in the resource room, in preschool ministry rooms, or in a central communication location for volunteers—or in all three places.

Honor special requests.
Your volunteers may also ask you for special supplies from time to time.
If it’s within your budget, have these items ready for them when they arrive at their next teaching session.

Recruit a resource coordinator.
In our preschool ministry we have a resource coordinator whose primary job is to get everything ready for the teachers each Sunday.
Every room has a tub that she stocks with all the needed craft supplies and teaching tools.
She even cuts out craft pieces for the younger preschoolers.

Yes, we do a lot for our teachers, but I’ve learned that most of them are so busy with their everyday lives they aren’t able do ahead-of-time preparations each week.
We want them to be successful.
We want them and the children to have what they need, and we’re committed to going the extra mile to make sure this happens.

Preparation brings success.
Do what you can to help your volunteers be prepared.
Remove as much of the burden as possible, so they can do what God has called them to do—put his Word into the hearts of preschoolers.

—Gina

I’m going to totally date myself here, but I grew up watching
Laverne & Shirley
and
Happy Days
every Tuesday night.
I absolutely loved those shows.
Laverne and Shirley were always getting themselves into the stickiest situations.
Oftentimes they’d bicker and fight, but in the end they always came out as best of friends.
Whenever they wanted to make sure the other got what was being said, one would say, “Get it,” and the other would respond, “Got it,” and then together they’d say, “Good.”
They were basically saying, “I’ve communicated some important information to you, and I want to make sure you understand.”
Get it, got it, good!—I still use this line with my children.

The way we communicate with leaders is changing.
Gone are the days of weekly training meetings.
Your leaders are only going to give you a few hours a week and much of that is going to be ministering to preschoolers.
We used to have snail mail, land lines, and long, boring meetings.
Now we have email, texting, and all sorts of social networking websites.
I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty much plugged in most of the time.

As leaders, we need to update our methods of communication.
You might be saying, “But we’ve had training meetings every Sunday night since 1942.”
I say, “If that’s still working for you, press on, brother.”
But if you’re looking around and thinking,
Where is everyone?
maybe it’s time to revamp your method of communication.

Here are a few suggestions that will have your volunteers saying, “Get it, got it, good!”

• Do everything possible to avoid having a meeting. We’re “meeting obsessed,” and most of our volunteer leaders have been in meetings all week at their workplaces. Another meeting is not what they’re looking for. Ask yourself,
  Can I say what I need to say through an email, text, or phone call?
  If the answer is yes, then get to it. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking you’re not a good leader because you never have meetings.
  
• Create attention-grabbing communication pieces. If you want to remind your preschool leaders about an upcoming event, place a few Hershey’s Kisses chocolates in a brown paper bag for each volunteer. Fold it, punch holes, and tie it with a bow. Attach a note card with a reminder about your event and any needs you might have. For example: “Don’t forget, Blessing Bag Assembly Day. It’s this coming Saturday, November 13th from 9:00 to noon. Join the preschool team as we come together to serve the young families in our community.” What have you accomplished here? You’ve avoided meeting with volunteers to communicate information about an event. You’ve communicated effectively with an attention grabber, and you’ve blessed your volunteers with a little chocolate. There are hundreds of different ways you can communicate with your volunteers. Get creative.
  
• Make meetings count. If you absolutely, positively must have a meeting, make it count and make it count big. No one wants to show up for a meeting only to find out they were given information that could’ve been sent in an email. Most will leave thinking,
  What a waste of my time. Note to self: Skip the next meeting.
  

Meetings aren’t the venue for imparting ministry information and key dates.
They are, however, the venue for imparting your dream, vision, and heart for ministry.
It’s impossible to share this in an email.
When you feel it’s necessary to bring your team together and motivate them with the power of a dream, make it the best it can be.
Go big or go home!
You want your leaders leaving inspired, encouraged, and excited about getting back to their preschool ministries on Sunday.

—Gina