How to (Actually) Train Sunday School Volunteers
"Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms." - 1 Peter 4:10
We know that those who teach in Sunday school are helpers and volunteers, serving the children. Of course. But if you're leading a kids ministry, God is also calling you to serve those who serve the kids. How to develop volunteers who have a heart for children & understand why kids ministry matters:
This article is for the Sunday School leader who realized they need to train their volunteers to develop a heart for God's children. Of all the aspects of what it takes to lead a kids ministry, this is probably the most crucial element, but it may be the most difficult to teach.
May you find space here to pause, reflect, and abide.
Having a heart for children truly encountering God can be unexpectedly lonely. Sure, no one will say outright, "No, kids are not real Christians" - but that's often what it feels like to those of us who get it.
When I first started working in youth ministry and later in kids church, I spent those first few years praying fervently that God would send us people who have a heart for kids ministry. But I was surprised that God sent me people who were willing to serve; not necessarily people who understood why or what they were doing this for. That's when it dawned on me:
Oh no, I have to train them.
The first thing I did next was pray - again. Surely, I got it wrong. Couldn't God somehow equip and empower the volunteers BEFORE they came my way? That would be so much easier...
But no. I felt in my heart - I had to train them.
And honestly, that did not give me feelings of excitement.
I want to work with the kids. Pray with them. Help them see You.
Can't somebody else train the volunteers?
I learned pretty soon that 'somebody' was me. Chances are, if God made you the leader of a kids ministry or youth group, He also made you the leader of a group of helpers and volunteers.
It's inevitable that children's ministry and youth leaders learn how to lead people - it's non-negotiable.
Maybe this is actually how ministry has always worked. Moses had to learn that he couldn't carry the work alone — he had to teach and equip others. Paul told Timothy to entrust what he had learned to faithful people who could teach others too.
Maybe training volunteers isn't something that gets in the way of ministry to children.
Maybe it is part of the ministry.
I'm not a naturally charismatic person. I often jokingly say I'm better with kids than I am with people my own age - but I learned that God would guide me every step of the way.
And He'll do the same for you.
God is always interested in working in and through people primarily.
So, even if all the systems are in place, the decor is perfect, the curriculum is flawless...
it's the person bringing the lesson that will make or break it.
What does it take to become someone who can lead kids to Jesus?
You don't have to be the best speaker, the loudest person in the room, or the one in the clown costume. Please - don't get me started on why kids ministry is not entertainment. What you actually need is way more surprising than that:
You need a heart for kids.
An understanding of who they are in the Kingdom. A way to see them through God's eyes. A passion that they too can have real encounters with Him.
The good news is that can be taught - or caught.
When I realized what was needed, I did a few things:
I intentionally built relationships with the people already serving in the ministry.
I recruited people who did not necessarily have a heart for kids ministry (yet).
And I created a training resource to ignite the spark that could be fanned into flame.
1) relationship → 2) modelling → 3) intentional training
1) Intentionally build relationships
How does someone develop a heart for God's children? Is it something some people are just born with and others without? It's easier to model a heart for kids than it is to teach it.
It happens in God's favorite place: relationship.
Building a team is not just carrying the same role description and showing up on a Sunday. It includes building a team culture, spending time together, developing a mission statement, discovering individual and group strengths and weaknesses, and lots of time spent together in prayer and worship.
This is not a post about how to convince people to serve in Sunday school, but coincidentally, more people want to be part of a close team than a random huddle of volunteers...
It helps to put up photos of the volunteer team in the Sunday school classroom. Build that family-feel.
Be a friend.
It's nearly impossible to lead someone you do not know. That's also just not the way of Jesus - He came low, walked our dusty roads, and became like us in order to lead us to freedom.
From the place of realtionship, you can pray for God to grow a heart for serving kids. Talk about what's holding them back. Discover together how you both can grow and minister more effectively next to each other.
2) Recruit wider
The thing I realized next was that if ministering to kids can be caught that means there ARE people in our church who could serve in this ministry. They did not have to be "the child whisperer" in order to be allowed in.
By the grace of God, He can grow this passion in someone. I did not have to do it FOR them. I just had to plant the seeds and with enough patience, they would surely grow.
It was no longer only about training the people who knew they wanted to be Sunday school volunteers - it became about unearthing that desire in basically anyone else.
What this looks like practically:
I started sharing with the big church what the kids were learning about (in announcements)
I shared kids church prayer requests and testimonies widely
I talked to people about the ministry as if it was fun - because it was :)
I lowered the bar and invited people in: Come pray with us for 5 minutes. Come share your testimony with the kids. Come do a guest appearance for a lesson. Come help facilitate this game.
With these people, I'd just go about the normal program. Without realizing it, I'd modeled how to do it: How to lead kids to know Jesus.
Many people have simply never seen what it's like and they responded: "Oh that's not so hard. I can do that." To which I'd say: "Absolutely you can. I suspected you might say that..."
Relationship came first. Then modelling (showing how).
3) Train them
Just modeling was not enough. Some things fall through the cracks when it is never pinned down. Volunteers need to understand not only what they are doing on a Sunday, but why children matter to God, what it means to disciple them, and what their role actually is in that process.
Many volunteer training resources out there will talk about things like getting kids to sit still, how to use your voice well, the value of an object lesson. And all of that is good and well.
But what matters way more is developing the heart for kids.
That's why I also made a devotional booklet / training manual for my volunteer team (more on that later).
This is the kind of training that can't be covered by a five-minute volunteer briefing before Sunday. It takes time, conversation, Scripture, prayer, and intentional formation.
Intentional training means helping volunteers… | Not just… |
Understand why children matter to God | Knowing where to stand or what to do on a Sunday |
See children as people who can genuinely know and respond to God | Thinking of them mainly as a group to keep busy |
Understand their role in discipling children | Seeing themselves as helpers who simply assist the teacher |
Know what good kids ministry is actually for | Assuming a fun programme automatically makes a good ministry |
Learn how to communicate biblical truth to children | Relying on a curriculum to do all the teaching for them |
Reflect on their own relationship with God | Learning a list of rules for serving |
Pray for and with the children they serve | Showing up, teaching the lesson, and going home |
Develop confidence to notice and respond to individual children | Treating every child exactly the same |
It's seven years later now.
Life happened. My husband and I moved. We're in a new church.
And yet I find myself with a team of kids church volunteers needing the exact same thing.
That's why I decided to make the (slightly adapted) original youth ministry volunteer training resource available in my shop after all these years.
You don't need more detached advice about the mechanics of the program. You don't need another motivational talk about getting your volunteers to love children. You need to give them space to encounter God's Word and think deeply about what it means to serve children in His Kingdom. That's what this printable workbook is built around.
Helping them discover WHY they are volunteering here in the first place...
Workbook elements / page descriptions:
Cover (option to color in)
Introduction
Poem about Sunday school
Fill in: What is kids ministry to me?
Devotional with reflection, prayer, and writing space: When God meets a child (1 Kings 3:1-12)
Guided brainstorming page: What is the role of the kids ministry volunteer?
Devotional with reflection, prayer, and writing space: Why? The Love (Luke 9:47-48)
Short story and question: Why should we be intentional when working with kids?
Blank brainstorming page: Our mission (why we do this)
Scale to rate how someone engages with kids
Devotional with reflection, prayer, and writing space: From the Well (Psalm 62:1-12)
My strengths in kids ministry self-evaluation
My response to disorder self-evaluation
Devotional with reflection, prayer, and writing space: Sacred Moments (Mark 10:13-16)
Prayer Guide - Monday to Sunday, with prompts
Blank Doodle space: Jesus and the children
How I serve naturally? 6styles - group work
Prayer / Coloring
Reflection question:
When you think about training your kids ministry volunteers - what is your biggest concern?
In my experience, it might be the heart but maybe it's something else for you.
Read this article next for a diagnostic tool to find out your volunteers' Sunday School type and what you can do to help them flourish.
P.S. If you enjoyed this post or feel curious to go deeper, I want to invite you to sign up for my newsletter (sent once a month). Be the first to hear about new resources to lead kids in faith.
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