Top 3 Problems in Kids’ Ministry (and Ways to Solve Them)

How to Improve Your Ministry

Most church leaders never stop searching for new ways to improve their kids’ ministry. But the truth is that the answers are much closer than you think! If you are wondering how to improve your ministry, keep reading for the three most common problems in kids’ ministry and easy ways to get around them.

1. Are New Volunteers in Short Supply?

Churches rely heavily on the hard work of enthusiastic volunteers, but what happens when these numbers begin to dwindle? Research by Gallup shows that volunteer rates in the United States are still not back to their pre-pandemic numbers – instead, they continue to decline. Ministry leaders must change their angle to attract more volunteers and church workers.

Make potential volunteers excited to join your church by catering to their specific needs. Public speaking is the most prevalent phobia in the States, and social anxieties have only increased following the isolation brought by COVID.

How to overcome a fear of public speaking? Removing the fear with the appropriate software helps them feel at ease while working at your kids’ ministry. Software that is from their home and everyday use, like an Apple TV running TVOS.

You can create an environment where all age groups are eager to join your volunteer team as soon as possible. Using an Apple TV to share class content takes the pressure off, as your new volunteers can rely on dynamic videos and eye-catching content to keep the students’ attention. Making teaching more accessible also opens the door to older kids at your church.

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If you really can’t find new volunteers, don’t feel disheartened. Just take a step back to analyze how you attract new church volunteers, and interact with them. What teaching tools do they have to get started? What technology are you using at your church to help volunteers present? Taking a close look at the answers to these questions and trying something as easy as an Apple TV in your Kids Ministry will open up ways for you to streamline your system and improve how it functions.

Check out our blog for essential guidance on cultivating a healthy workplace culture for your volunteers.

 2. Are Workers on the Edge of Burnout?

Burnout is something that will affect everyone at some point in their lives. Long working hours and a lack of worker or volunteer appreciation are significant causes of this, and it can manifest itself as feelings of exhaustion, irritability, and a pessimistic outlook on life. Forbes highlights that this negativity is directed towards their job in particular.

Giving workplace and volunteer appreciation gifts is one of the most effective ways of boosting job satisfaction, as it gives people a sense of importance. Writing thank you cards for your workers is a cost-effective way of sharing a heartfelt moment of gratitude. Give back to your volunteers by remembering to say thank you often, helping them feel valued and cared for in their role.

Church workers living on the cusp of burnout will not give their all to your ministry. As people need to take care of themselves before they can redirect their efforts elsewhere, offering support to your workers is an essential practice. Direct them to helpful resources if they are struggling mentally or emotionally and prevent extreme feelings of burnout.

Want to know how to recover from burnout? Read our blog on how to identify and treat burnout.

Another way to reduce workplace frustration is by conducting a time audit during the weekly prep to identify and combat bottlenecks. Bottlenecks occur when a team or person can’t complete their work, preventing others from moving ahead and frustratingly pushing everyone’s efforts to a standstill. A time audit is relatively simple to complete; all you have to do is measure the time it takes to complete regular tasks and adjust your goals accordingly. 

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In my experience with Kids Ministry, there is often a large chunk of time going into preparing the curriculum for the week ahead. This time is often several hours or even a full day's worth of work, including downloading videos, printing worksheets, loading Flash Drives, and walking around to every classroom to load curriculum into laptops. All of these tasks are tedious and can lead to burnout. Understanding the time allocation for curriculum preparation can lead to discovering new processes that will help your staff immensely (like removing Flash Drives entirely and using an Apple TV).

 3. Is the Check-in Process Smooth and Safe?

Regarding kids’ ministry, few things are as important as safety. Parents entrust their little ones to your church workers, expecting them to be protected and well looked after. Streamlining your check-in services will boost parents’ faith in your ministry while making life much easier for your workers.

Tithely’s church management software features a smooth and efficient check-in system for children and volunteers. It functions across multiple rooms and locations, making it ideal for more extensive church networks and smaller sites. Keep track of who is in attendance, who is late, and when people leave with a sophisticated check-in system.

If needed, connect it with barcode scanners or printed label printers to help staff correctly identify parents and children. Customize the labels to display information about safety concerns like allergies and medical requirements, so your volunteers can have instant access to the essential details they need.

Boost safety when you utilize Playlister’s messaging feature that lets you send messages directly to connected Apple TVs in any classroom. Keep your students in the loop with an instant message or video(s) to their screen, whether you need to remind them to head outside for a fire drill, tell them of an important announcement, or even just say hi!

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Want to dive deeper into this topic? Join us for a free webinar on November 1st where we’ll discuss solutions for these three challenging areas in kids’ ministry. Sign Up for free Webinar.

Conclusion

Despite the problems we all face in kids’ ministry, a few simple tweaks could completely change your trajectory. The question “how to run a successful ministry?” has no clear answer, but prioritizing your volunteers, staff, and safety will solve the three most common kids’ ministry pain points.

Say goodbye to Flash Drives and lost files. Save your valued workers time, anxiety, and stress with Playlister, the top-rated church presentation software that works on an Apple TV and allows you to prepare your curriculum in 5 minutes. With Playlister, your content or curriculum will be where you need it when you need it.

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