How to Find VBS Volunteers

Worried about how to get volunteers for a VBS program? If you’re stressing over the best way to recruit volunteers for your children’s ministry event, here are 5 easy and effective tips for how to find VBS volunteers for your church’s program this summer!

What’s the best way to recruit volunteers for VBS?

If you’re planning a VBS program at your church this summer, you might be asking yourself, “How do I find volunteers for my event?”

When you serve in children’s ministry, it seems like you’re ALWAYS asking for volunteers to help–and VBS can be a big ask. But, VBS can be one of the most effective programs of the year for kids’ ministry, so I think it’s worth trying to recruit excellent volunteers for your VBS program! If that feels intimidating to you, keep reading for 5 easy tips for how to find VBS volunteers this year…

1) Start Looking for VBS Volunteers Early!

If you’re doing VBS this summer, start talking right away to anyone you think may be interested in helping!

The sooner you can get VBS on people’s radar, the better. With extra activities like vacations, camping trips, summer camps, sports, etc., folks are busy in the summertime! If you can get a commitment from people to help with VBS first, you’re less likely to run into scheduling conflicts.

Even if time has gotten away from you and you’re planning a last-minute VBS, I still recommend talking to folks ASAP as your first step (maybe even before choosing your VBS theme!). The sooner you get your VBS volunteer team in place, the better!

2) Pray for the Lord to Bring Just the Right VBS Volunteers

This probably should have been number one! Prayer is the BEST way to start recruiting VBS volunteers.

Pray for the Lord to bring you VBS volunteers.

Pray for His guidance regarding who you should talk to and invite to participate.

And then pray for His wisdom in assigning roles to your VBS volunteers.

3) Recruit VBS Volunteers from All Ages and Stages of Life

Ideally, you’re looking for a mixture of genders and ages to volunteer, as the older folks can bring maturity and wisdom, and the youth can bring energy and enthusiasm. Personally, I also think it’s really important to have some guys on your VBS staff, too–little boys need to see that Christianity and the Bible aren’t just for women, in my opinion.

I highly recommend thinking outside the box a bit when it comes to volunteers:

• Do you have older ladies in your church who couldn’t handle managing a classroom of kids, but might be a great help setting out craft materials, or preparing snacks?
• Have you considered doing your VBS program at a time of day when more of your working men would be able to help? We tried this for the first time at our last VBS, and it was so wonderful to have husbands and dads working alongside their wives and kids as VBS staff. Tap into this group of volunteers if you can!
• Don’t overlook the teenagers in your church!! Yes, they probably need to be paired with a more mature older person (and sometimes they need to be separated from other teenagers to prevent distraction). But teenagers can be amazing helpers for children’s ministry! They can bring so much energy and enthusiasm. And giving them the chance to serve in a meaningful way is a fantastic thing, too.

4) Assign Roles that Make People Want to Volunteer for VBS

Try to assign individuals to roles where they’ll shine. And don’t be a micromanager! Instead, let your volunteers invest personally in planning and preparing for their specific areas during VBS. Ideally, you’re looking for a mature adult for each of these jobs:

• Bible Teacher – Perhaps 1 for each age group, if you have enough kids.
• Song Leader – A helper is handy, and sometimes teenage volunteers enjoy assisting with songs.
• Activities Leaders – Commonly a crafts leader and a games leader, and sometimes a memory verse or missions presenter. Teenage volunteers make great helpers for games, especially.
• Snack Coordinator – This can be really simple, or you can even decide to skip it if needed. Alternatively, this can also be an area where older ladies can contribute (even ones that can’t come to the VBS program might still prepare food for it ahead of time!)
• Skits/Drama – This is highly optional, but I’ve seen fun skits pulled together in less than a day’s time, and often the kids do really enjoy them. Plus, this is an area where teenage volunteers sometimes shine!

If you have enough volunteers, it’s also ideal to have people whose only job is simply to hang out with the kids, following along to various activities with them, talking and interacting with them during crafts and games, infusing enthusiasm during the music, and demonstrating good listening (and helping maintain attention) during the Bible lesson.

5) Talk to People Personally about Volunteering for VBS

You can make an announcement asking for volunteers or put out a sign-up sheet, but I find that it’s much more productive to talk personally to the individuals you hope will serve during your VBS.

Even folks who are interesting in volunteering at VBS can too easily walk by a sign-up sheet. When you speak face to face, you can quickly and easily find out if someone wants to help with VBS. And as a bonus, a personal conversation can encourage someone who was on the fence about volunteering to go ahead and commit to it!

And that’s how to get volunteers for a VBS program!

1. Start looking for VBS volunteers early
2. Pray for the Lord to bring just the right volunteers
3. Recruit VBS volunteers from all ages and stages of life
4. Assign roles that make people WANT to volunteer for VBS
5. Talk to people personally about volunteering for VBS

Get commitments from folks as quickly as you can. As long as you have a solid VBS staff, you can easily handle a lot of the other details in planning VBS!

Again, pray for the Lord to bring together just the right team for this year’s VBS. And when you’ve assembled your group of volunteers, pray together, too! Pray for God to give all of you unity and love toward one another as you work together.

And have fun “passing the faith along” to your kiddoes this summer!