I remember a busy Sunday morning in my first job of as a children's pastor. I was rushing around trying to do check-in, greet new families, set up the media for children's church, and clean up a mess in the preschool room. A woman came up to me and told me she'd love to volunteer in the nursery, and I said "That's awesome! I'll get back to you." Months went by... I never got back to her. And that wasn't the first time that happened. I had every intention of following up. I missed out on several good volunteers because I didn't follow up with them. 

The biggest mistake children's pastors make that costs volunteers is not following up with them. Someone might tell you in passing on a busy Sunday that they're interested in serving, or they might fill out a connection card during the service, or they might tell a current volunteer, who tells you, they're interested in learning more. And you might have good intentions of following up with them, but it's easy to forget or even intentionally put off assimilating a new volunteer when you're not prepared with easy systems for assimilating and training new volunteers. Here are some tips to help:

1. Make a 24 hour policy for yourself. 
Many people in sales are trained to follow up with potential clients within 24 hours of the potential client showing interest. Set a rule for yourself to follow up with new potential volunteers within 24 hours, and give them a concrete next step in that follow-up. It can be setting a meeting for an interview, inviting them to a volunteer orientation, sending them an application or information with a deadline, or scheduling a time to talk more. Any time someone shows any indication of interest in serving, write it down with a 24 hour deadline for follow-up, and make yourself stick to it. If you wait too long, not only is there an opportunity for someone to change their mind or decide to serve somewhere else, but they also might feel you're not prepared/organized or don't really want them. 

2. Use reminder programs. Choose a system for reminders and task management that works for you to help you organize tasks, and keep it all in one place. I've learned that over time, I've had planners, digital calendars, sticky notes, and time management/task management  apps - ALL at the same time! Having that many task lists actually makes life more difficult, not easier. Choose one system that works for you, and stick with it. You could use an app such as Wunderlist, Things, Trello, Reminders, or Clear. You could use a written notebook or planner, sticky notes, or a list on your phone. If possible, use something that allows you to set deadlines for yourself. 

3. Tell people to email you. When someone asks you a question on a busy Sunday that you know you'll need to follow-up with later, instead of telling them you'll get back with them about it, tell them to email you. Then make a note to yourself so you still remember to follow up. 

4. Write it down immediately. Whenever someone shows interest in serving, write it down immediately. I used to carry little cards on Sunday mornings, and whenever someone showed an interest in serving, I would get their name and contact info right away, and give them a card with my information on it. 

5. Host a monthly new volunteer orientation. It's easier to invite a potential new volunteer to a specific event than to a role. Instead of saying "Would you like to volunteer sometime?" (vague); you can say "Would you be interested in coming to our new volunteer orientation next Sunday to learn more about serving in our ministry?" (specific, concrete). Host a regular, recurring (monthly is optimal) volunteer orientation to give potential new volunteers an overview and vision of your ministry, a quick tour of the ministry area and information about the volunteer roles. It doesn't have to be fancy or in-depth. It can be a simple donut and coffee meeting before or after the church service. You might have some months where you have one person show up (or zero!), but you'll have some months with a lot more. Having it the same time each month gives an easy way for other volunteers to help "recruit" all year long too. They'll have something to invite potential volunteers to attend to learn more. 

6. Have a system and a plan for new volunteers. The best way to integrate new volunteers onto your team is to be prepared with a simple plan for assimilating, training, screening, and welcoming them onto your team. Set up a system for volunteer assimilation and training. Then you won't be scrambling to figure out what to do when a potential new volunteer shows interest in serving. If you're looking for resources and tools to help you assimilate new volunteers, check out my newest resource in my store: my volunteer bundle! It includes volunteer interest forms, applications, interview forms, evaluations, volunteer training guides, volunteer meeting guides, volunteer policies and a handbook, volunteer job descriptions and roles - ALL EDITABLE in Word doc format. Click here to see this resource!

What do you do to help yourself remember to follow up with potential volunteers? Have you ever missed out on a volunteer due to not following up, or had someone not follow up with YOU after you showed interest? 

When you work with kids of any age, you'll always have to make considerations for potty time. It's just a part of life with kids. And in a fallen world where predators are out there, it's important for churches to take safety seriously and have policies in place to be proactive about protecting kids. A megachurch was in the headlines a year ago when one of their preschool volunteers was arrested for molesting young kids in the bathroom at church during their children's ministry time. The church did have bathroom policies, but they weren't being enforced, and it was tragic for at least seven kids. 

Many times, bathroom policies can be overlooked in children's ministry, but we have a responsibility to protect the kids in our ministry, and it is vital for a church to have and enforce bathroom policies and procedures every time. 

The main point of a bathroom policy is this: there should never be an adult alone in a bathroom with kids at any time. 

Every church has different setups for their bathrooms, and that can make it challenging to know how to deal with different bathroom scenarios, but no matter what your space looks like, you need to have bathroom safety policies. They need to be written down, clear to parents and volunteers, be communicated frequently, and be enforced at all times. 

Here are some children's ministry bathroom policies and procedures:

• The best option is to have single stall bathrooms kids can access from within each ministry classroom without having to leave the room. 
• When a child has to go to the bathroom and it's in the classroom, they should let a leader know, and the leader should make sure the bathroom is empty, watch the child go in, and wait for the child to come out. That leader should also have another leader in the room who can see what is happening at all times. 
• All bathrooms for your kids should be kids-only bathrooms. Let your adult volunteers know where the adult bathrooms are in your church. 
• You can also have a family bathroom near your children's ministry area for parents to take their own kids before or after church. 
• If possible, best practices are for kids to go into the bathroom one at a time.
• If you don't have bathrooms accessible from your classrooms, you can designate children's ministry bathrooms for each age group, and have a security monitor or hall monitor guarding the bathrooms. 
• If you don't have any other volunteer available and don't have hall monitors, and your bathrooms are in the hall outside your classroom, you can watch (from your classroom) them walk to the bathroom and walk back. 
• When a child has to go to the bathroom, they should go into the bathroom alone (have someone knock first and make sure the bathroom is empty). 
• Two adults should accompany the child to the bathroom and wait outside the door (one can be a children's ministry leader/teacher, and one can be a hall monitor or security volunteer). They should never go into the bathroom with the child. 
• If possible, you should have video cameras in all the hallways and classrooms, and designate someone to view the footage regularly. 
• If a child needs assistance in the bathroom (especially preschool ages), have the child come to the door where the adult is waiting, keep the door open (the adult should not enter the bathroom), and the adult can help with zippers and buttons only (the child needs to be able to pull up their own pants. If they can't, then parents must be contacted to help their own child.). There should always be two adults present when an adult is helping a child, and the adult should say aloud what they are doing to help: Example "I'm helping you zip your pants right now." If possible, they should do it in view of the security camera. 
• If a child uses the bathroom and needs help wiping, or has an accident and needs to be cleaned up, the child's parents should be contacted. 
• *Tip: Keep a bin of new, clean clothes in all ranges of sizes from 2T - Child Small (underwear, shirts, pants) in both genders, to be prepared in cases of accidents. 
• *Tip: Especially when bathrooms are in the classroom, and kids see other kids going to the bathroom, they may just want to all go at once. When a kid asks if they have to go (especially if it's during the Bible story), I always like to ask if it's an emergency or if they can wait until after the Bible story. Usually, they will say they can wait, then they forget all about it. 
• For diaper changes: all diaper changes must be done by a screened, trained volunteer, with another adult in the room. 
• If your church doesn't have a bathroom close by, and doesn't have enough volunteers to take them, encourage parents to always take their kids to the bathroom before church, and have a way to contact parents if needed during the service, to take their own kids. 

Something else to consider: Some churches include in their bathroom/diaper policies that only women may take kids to the bathroom or change diapers. The reason behind this policy:  men are statistically more likely to be abusers/predators (80% of all reported cases of sexual abuse to children involve men as the perpetrators). If your church doesn't feel comfortable including this in your policy, I recommend same gender bathroom trips: men take boys and women take girls. 

I know these seem extreme, but the safety of kids is too important to be lenient in this area. I've created a resource for kidmin leaders that includes an entire volunteer pack (all editable) with a full volunteer handbook and all the policies, as well as volunteer applications, interviews, training guides, evaluations, and more! For a free except from the volunteer handbook, which includes full bathroom and diaper changing policies, click this link.

In addition to bathroom policies, it's important for every volunteer to be screened, background checked, and properly trained. 

Does your church have bathroom policies? Is there anything you would add to the policy?