ROI. Dollar Cost Averaging. Buy Low. Sell High. These words and phrases may not mean much to you unless you’re an investor or someone who is very familiar with the stock market and all things financial. You may not think about the stock market or the financial world when you think of children’s ministry – but here’s why you should.
We have ROI’s (return on investment) in ministry too. What you put in is often what you get out. The most successful ministry leaders invest regularly and consistently in their relationship with God, with the parents they serve, and in their volunteers. Just like investors, leaders make daily, weekly, monthly deposits which are more beneficial than one lump sum investment. As ministry leaders, the to-do lists are often long, the budgets can be tight, and it can feel hard to make time for people when there’s so much on our plate! One investment that’s always worth making is investing in our volunteers.
Successful investment takes serious intentionality.
Jesus taught us to think and act like an investor. Jesus invested his time, energy, and focus on his disciples. He knew them, encouraged them, and inspired them! He invested in his people. Using the common financial phrase of “buy low, sell high” – here are four ways to get you started with an investor mindset in your ministry context:
1. Buy the Gifts
Sometimes we get stuck in the tasks of ministry that we forget that we need some fun too. One way to bring some fun into our ministry world is to surprise your volunteers with gifts. Now, buying gifts does not have to be expensive or even that frequent, but it should be intentional. Building surprises into your ministry calendar is a fun way to bless your people and to invite conversations from others as to why these individuals are getting these gifts!
Try this: Try building a database of information on your volunteers. We’re not talking about their address or their phone number (although those are important details), we’re talking about a database of favorites. Favorite beverage, favorite candy, favorite fast food, and any other fun facts that can be useful. Then throughout the year, usually once a quarter (because you know- budget), grab some of those favorite things and hand them out! Maybe it is $5 gift cards, a box of fruit roll ups, a handwritten card, or giving someone their favorite mints – you do not need to break the budget in order to surprise them with a gift that is tailored to them! Not only does this communicate that you know them as more than just a volunteer but that you also care about them!
2. Lower the Barriers
Our volunteers are busy and so are we! Getting everyone together for trainings and events is a challenge that we all understand. Something we need to ask ourselves is, “Am I making it harder or easier for volunteers to get what they need?” When we overcomplicate processes for volunteers, it sets them up for failure. As ministry leaders, we need to set our volunteers up for success. The answer is not to stop offering training or throwing away our processes, but it’s to make things easier!
Try this: Use technology to benefit you and your volunteers. Need to communicate with your team about important events? Record an audio message giving them the “need to know” details. Edit down your content, keep it short, and make it simple! Time to provide a training? Record a video message with your most important content! Do you hate being in front of the camera? No problem! Utilize one of the many digital resources offered by INCM here or on our YouTube channel. In the age of technology, a little research goes a long way to lowering the barriers between a successful volunteer and a stressed out volunteer.
3. Sell the Product
Leading a team requires a lot of communication between you and your people. Sometimes we have an urgent need to get them information – think Easter prep, summer camp, Fall Kick-Off, or an important procedure change for the next Sunday at church. While information is certainly important, it doesn’t always feel urgent to volunteers as it does to us as ministry leaders. One way you can invest in your team is to sell them on the product. Before communicating, ask yourself, “Why is this important? “What are we offering to kids, to families, to one another?” Think of your team as a customer who has come in looking to buy your product. Are you providing them the most important details that they would need to know in order to purchase your product? Get them on board with the mission, with the vision you are offering!
Try this: Make a cheat sheet of short statements that help you identify your mission and vision clearly. Use this sheet to communicate clearly with your volunteers. Identify the key things you’re trying to achieve through training, child safety, etc. If you need to send out a recorded video giving them the important details for something, put a special ‘key word or phrase’ at the end of the video. When you share that, consider choosing something fun as a reward for the individuals who reply with the key word or phrase! Maybe you say “the 12th person to reply with the key word will win a free coffee!” Adding a dash of friendly competition and a prize always helps motivate volunteers and sell them on the “product” you’re delivering.
4. High Returns
Your volunteers are awesome. They show up consistently and give their time to make a difference in the lives of kids and families. You know their investment in your ministry is yielding a return. Would you believe that some of them doubt that they are making a difference? Maybe you wrestle with it too. A little encouragement sure goes a long way. As a ministry leader, you sit in an incredible and important space where you get the responsibility to encourage your people, to notice them, and when you do – this leads to a higher return on your investment.
Try this: Observe your volunteers during your gatherings or your midweek events and take notes of the ways you see them doing a great job. Notice their patience, notice their grace, notice their joy! After gathering that data, send them a text encouraging and praising their efforts. It will bless them and it will in return bless you. If you’re a forgetful person albeit with good intentions, put reminders in your calendar to send encouragement. “Schedule” a text or an email to ensure you don’t forget to execute the encouragement! It’s worth your time.
Questions to consider:
What are you investing your budget in? Who and what are you investing your time in?
What gets your energy and attention? What is your desired outcome?
How can you invest in your team this week?
