{"id":2307,"date":"2023-03-07T09:09:00","date_gmt":"2023-03-07T16:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/?p=2307"},"modified":"2023-10-16T14:18:03","modified_gmt":"2023-10-16T20:18:03","slug":"equipping-volunteers-gods-big-story","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/equipping-volunteers-gods-big-story\/","title":{"rendered":"Equipping Volunteers to Lead Kids in God&#8217;s Big Story"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">As children\u2019s ministry leaders, we have an opportunity to equip and empower volunteers as they journey with the children and families. The faith formation of our volunteers is an important focus, as they hold relationships with kids that are vital to lasting faith formation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We can equip our volunteers with language, discipleship, encouragement, and training so they can help kids connect in relationship with Jesus as they find their place in God\u2019s Big Story. What is God&#8217;s Big Story? It&#8217;s the story-arch of Scripture and what God was and is up to through it all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To help your volunteers lead kids in God\u2019s Big Story, allow them to <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/4-rhythms-volunteers-gods-wonder\/\" data-type=\"post\" data-id=\"2294\" target=\"_blank\">see themselves within God\u2019s Big Story<\/a> so that they can invite kids to be on the journey too. Develop a model of doing ministry <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/gods-wonder-at-every-age\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>with<\/em> kids<\/a> and volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We often focus on doing ministry to and for the people around us, but what would happen if we shifted our gaze to do things <em>with<\/em> God and <em>with<\/em> others?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s important to empower volunteers with the tools and resources they need for ministry and let them take ownership in the ministry. Provide biblical context for volunteers who may not feel equipped or knowledgeable in the Bible, as well as inspiration and encouragement for their heart as they prepare to lead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-pullquote\"><blockquote><p>We often focus on doing ministry to and for the people around us, but what would happen if we shifted our gaze to do things <em>with<\/em> God and <em>with<\/em> others?<\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Equipping Volunteers: Sharing Ownership in Ministry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To help volunteers take ownership in the ministry, <strong>give away real ministry, not just small tasks<\/strong>. Give volunteers opportunities to lead in their calling with significant roles and responsibilities in areas in which they are passionate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Instead of downplaying the role and making it too easy or low-commitment and unimportant, have high expectations and valuable roles for volunteers. Your volunteers need to know they are valuable, and they need to know what they\u2019re doing is valuable and important.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Volunteers don\u2019t burn out from doing ministry\u2014they burn out from not feeling valued, appreciated, and <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/ministryspark.com\/ministry-hub-volunteers\/\" target=\"_blank\">well-cared for<\/a>, or when they aren\u2019t serving in their sweet spot.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t<div data-elementor-type=\"section\" data-elementor-id=\"6836\" class=\"elementor elementor-6836\" data-elementor-post-type=\"elementor_library\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<section class=\"elementor-section elementor-top-section elementor-element elementor-element-44db1a4 elementor-section-boxed elementor-section-height-default elementor-section-height-default\" data-id=\"44db1a4\" data-element_type=\"section\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-container elementor-column-gap-default\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-column elementor-col-100 elementor-top-column elementor-element elementor-element-3fd2177\" data-id=\"3fd2177\" data-element_type=\"column\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-wrap elementor-element-populated\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-44f2d06 elementor-widget__width-auto elementor-widget elementor-widget-button\" data-id=\"44f2d06\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"button.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-button-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"elementor-button elementor-button-link elementor-size-xl\" href=\"https:\/\/app.wonderink.org\/?page=RegisterChurch&#038;_gl=1*1vf7quv*_gcl_au*MTg0ODQ5OTU5Ny4xNjg5Njk5NjI3*_ga*ODkwNTM3NjE0LjE2ODk2OTk2Mjg.*_ga_D2HKCMMJ9V*MTY5Njk2NTE2My41Ni4xLjE2OTY5NjUxODMuMC4wLjA.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-content-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span class=\"elementor-button-text\">Try for Free<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-9dfdb8d elementor-widget__width-auto elementor-widget elementor-widget-image\" data-id=\"9dfdb8d\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"image.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/app.wonderink.org\/?page=RegisterChurch&#038;_gl=1*1vf7quv*_gcl_au*MTg0ODQ5OTU5Ny4xNjg5Njk5NjI3*_ga*ODkwNTM3NjE0LjE2ODk2OTk2Mjg.*_ga_D2HKCMMJ9V*MTY5Njk2NTE2My41Ni4xLjE2OTY5NjUxODMuMC4wLjA.\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img data-opt-id=1573953086  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/mlzai04amy7e.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:80\/f:best\/https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/Wonder-Ink-logo.png\"   decoding=\"async\" width=\"2048\" height=\"311\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-image-6197\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-element elementor-element-0955910 elementor-widget elementor-widget-text-editor\" data-id=\"0955910\" data-element_type=\"widget\" data-widget_type=\"text-editor.default\">\n\t\t\t\t<div class=\"elementor-widget-container\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p style=\"text-align: center; font-size: small;\">Wonder Ink\u2019s 3-year, 52-week children\u2019s ministry curriculum offers kids space to fully find their place in God\u2019s Big Story. Children discover they are Known by God, Loved by Jesus, and Led by the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full is-resized\"><img data-opt-id=315795572  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/mlzai04amy7e.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:80\/f:best\/https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/GettyImages-1180036854.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" alt=\"two women having a conversation\" class=\"wp-image-3050\" style=\"width:840px;height:559px\" width=\"840\" height=\"559\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Credit: Getty Images\/DigitalVision\/Thomas Barwick<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Care for and Shepherd Your Volunteers<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Ensure you have a system and strategy for caring for and discipling your volunteers. If you have more volunteers than you can care for personally, you can recruit care coaches who disciple and invest in a small group of volunteers. Don\u2019t neglect praying with and for your volunteers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can pray and pour into them during pre-service huddles for inspiration and encouragement, as well as sharing wins and celebrating your volunteers. Volunteers who are well shepherded will be <a href=\"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/faith-formation-whole-church-priority\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">empowered as they lead<\/a> and serve in God\u2019s Big Story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Train and model for your volunteers how to disciple kids by modeling and developing a strategy for discipleship. The strategy doesn\u2019t have to be complicated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A strategy for discipleship involves knowing where you\u2019re going and what you\u2019re aiming for. A <a href=\"https:\/\/dcc-marketing.s3.amazonaws.com\/scope-and-sequence\/scope-and-sequence-wonder-ink.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">scope and sequence<\/a> that helps kids and leaders connect the full picture of God\u2019s Big Story and their place in it will lead them into knowing their identity in His Story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Equipping Volunteers: Training<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Equipping volunteers also involves training them. Volunteer training can happen in a variety of ways: virtually or digitally through blog posts, emails, newsletters, text messages, or videos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can also happen in-person in a large group setting or one-on-one conversations, or in small group settings such as group dinners or pre-service meetings. Training can happen through modeling, sharing information, offering feedback and evaluations, and practicing new skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Frequently remind your volunteers of the importance of growing their own intimate relationship with God as they discover their identity in Him and their place in God\u2019s Big Story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Everything we do in ministry is an overflow of our own faith. Encouraging and celebrating your volunteers as they grow in their faith will empower them for kingdom impact.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Equipping volunteers with language, discipleship, encouragement, and training is important for the health of our children&#8217;s ministries as we lead kids. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":3341,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Equipping Volunteers to Lead Kids - Wonder Ink","_seopress_titles_desc":"Equipping volunteers with language, discipleship, encouragement, and training is important for the health of our children&#039;s ministries as we lead kids. ","_seopress_robots_index":"","footnotes":""},"blog_topic":[28],"blog_type":[13],"ppma_author":[34],"class_list":["post-2307","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","blog_topic-volunteers","blog_type-blog"],"authors":[{"term_id":34,"user_id":0,"is_guest":1,"slug":"lynne-howard","display_name":"Lynne Howard","avatar_url":{"url":"https:\/\/mlzai04amy7e.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:80\/f:best\/https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/lynne-howard-updated-bio-photo-2022.png","url2x":"https:\/\/mlzai04amy7e.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:80\/f:best\/https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/lynne-howard-updated-bio-photo-2022.png"},"author_category":"","user_url":"","last_name":"Howard","first_name":"Lynne","job_title":"","description":"Lynne Howard is a children\u2019s ministry leader and the Editor &amp; Developer of Digital Children\u2019 Ministry Resources at David C Cook. She is a mother of two sweet kids and creative thinker. Originally from Indiana, she's a midwestern transplant to the South. She resides in Alabama, where she spends her time leading children's ministry in her church, writing and creating children's ministry resources, playing with her kids, and creating delicious recipes in the kitchen. Lynne has a BA in Children\u2019s Ministry from Indiana Wesleyan University and has been a children's pastor for over 15 years in churches ranging from 60 people, to 600, to 18,000 people. And in case you're wondering, Lynne cheers for the Alabama Crimson Tide."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2307","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2307"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2307\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3341"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2307"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"blog_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_topic?post=2307"},{"taxonomy":"blog_type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/blog_type?post=2307"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wonderink.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=2307"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}