As I interact with various leaders in children’s ministry, listen to what they say, and the links that are clicked on the most in the weekly e-mail, the most common concern from those in children’s ministry is that they need volunteers. Whether it is recruiting, or retaining, volunteers seems to be the number one, or at least top 3, concerns.
As it says in Ecclesiastes, there is nothing new under the sun. Getting people to join in with God was doing, to serve, has always been a problem for those in ministry. Jesus even addressed it saying that the harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
But then Jesus tells us the first step…. “pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send laborers…”
There is no “magic phrase” to get people to serve. There are many methods discussed, and I’ve taught about getting and retaining volunteers and what “we” should be doing. Ultimately it is a matter of the heart for people you are seeking.
Only God can change the heart, so the first thing we need to do, is to pray to the Lord of the Harvest (God) to send laborers, to change their heart, leading them into the fields to plant, to sow, and to reap.