In the most recent Children's Ministry magazine there was an article about being Volunteer Poor. What a timely article. IslandJAM is in a serious downfall and we're having a hard time getting in the black. However, with these principles stated in the article, I believe that we can find a way back to the black.
If we're understaffed, we're in debt. But this debt isn't money, it's far more serious- it's a lack of competent teachers, volunteers, or staff equipped to connect kids to Christ - real assets. So where do we start?
- Track your spending (or expending)- We need to decide to make some drastic decisions about our volunteer shortfall - put a halt on all future goals and programming that isn't absolutely essential to Sunday mornings. Programming like spending, is addictive but gives us short-term gratification - like buying a new dress or set of golf clubs. When facing a volunteer shortage, we have to put all our resources, people, energy, time, and funds into our most critical efforts. It's more powerful and manageable to have one solid Sunday morning investment than several half-baked, poorly resourced programs.
- Don't use credit (or, stop asking for favors) - Recruiting on credit (guilt trips, begging, personal favors) offers no solid return and ultimately can bankrupt you and wreck your credit history. Stop bartering in favors and guilt - like credit, they offer only bandage fixes for a deeper problem.
- Create a cash cushion - Ministry needs a reserve to draw from when we're broke. So we must come up with a business plan (our business is bringing kids to Jesus). We need to plan for what it will take to get us out of debt, how long the process will take, and the key players we need to help us create this cash investment. Our biggest assets are our pastoral staff, leadership, and community group leaders. We need them on board for vision casting, scouting, prayer, and support for parent involvement-we need them to set an example by supporting the children's ministry. If we win the hearts of our pastors, leadership, and community group leaders, the congregation will follow.
- Prioritize our debts - The basic, most important foundations of our ministry are our highest interest areas. Focus there. If we don't have a volunteer application and screening process and we recruit someone to begin next week, we're setting our ministry up for failure. The position is filled on paper, but we spend more time cleaning up the mess of having recruited a poorly equipped or uncommitted volunteer.
- Simplify and systemize our assets - It's natural to want to focus on things that add value and make our ministries more attractive - craft projects, special events, and so on. We must reconsider this urge. If our car looks good but doesn't run, no one’s going to ride with us. We need to spend more time, energy, and resources in areas that aren't aesthetically pleasing, creating a volunteer manual, creating a more effective rotation, selecting a curriculum that fosters parent involvement, developing a volunteer pool that could lead to long-term positions.
- Plan a budget - Once we've trimmed the fat - we must determine realistic goals for the ministry, figure out how we'll reach them and write them on paper. The only way to stick to a budget is to be able to refer to it and track our progress. We must personally encourage each family to have a parent join their child's class one week per month for a year. Not based on the need for teachers but on the need for a partnership between parents and the church in building their kid's spiritual lives.
- Refinance high-interest debt - If you can lower your mortgage rate and the number of years you'll be paying, it's only smart to refinance. We may not be getting a good return of volunteers because our current program is flawed. Seeing our weaknesses and changing them will only make our ministry stronger.
- Seek debt-management advice - Find people who've lived through volunteer shortfalls and ask them about their successes and failures. It's incredibly helpful to hear what others did to adapt to or learn from their struggles.
Getting out of volunteer bankruptcy won't happen overnight. It'll take cutbacks, change, discipline, organization, buy in, systemization, strategy, and most of all, prayer and trust that God will bless our faithfulness.
