Ask instead of recruit!

[SteelSmitty]

I base my 'recruiting' on Philemon vs. 6. "I pray that you will be active in sharing your faith so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ."
We do people a spiritual favor when we invite them to join us in serving Christ. (Too many to even begin to list.)
People will not fully experience Christ unless they serve and share Him with others.
Therefore, this season, ask those whom you believe and know will be the right people for the positions.
Ask confidently and boldly with full church leadership authority.
Don't take 'no' for an answer. Well, you will if they insist but make sure you explain clearly to them the blessing that they will be missing.
We are all very busy so don't allow that excuse either.
Finally, don't play Holy Spirit with folks by already answering for them as your excuse not to ask in the first place. Leave them alone with the decision to serve between them and their Savior.
Happy recruiting, I mean asking!

[Josh1]

Thank you for the verse and insights into recruiting! I think that as VBS Directors we underestimate the power of just asking people in person to volunteer for VBS.

[jamqueen]

smitty, thanks for your points. In fact, when we ourselves see that it's not "recruiting" as much as it is inviting people into another way to experience the fullness of healthy Christ-following, we're offering a tremendous advantage to them and not asking them to DO anything--but to become conduits of God's love and power!
And when we spend time in prayer ahead of time, list of needs in hand, and invite GOD to begin to lay these jobs on the hearts of His (not our!) people, then we can approach them confident that GOD Is already at work in them to make them WANT TO so that they GET TO and then are delighted by what GOD does through them! :) maybe we need to write up a whole new approach, eh? :)

[kidsmatter]

I agree with this perspective! I never like to beg & plead with people, nor do I like to threaten (The whole "If we don't get enough helpers, there won't be a VBS this summer" approach). But I'm not afraid to approach people and ask them to get involved because I've experienced a lot of amazing blessings in serving God at my local church and I want my fellow church friends to experience them as well.

I love it when I'm able to encourage a Christian friend in finding a ministry fit. A while back I was looking for a helper for my kids club, so I made a brief announcement during the Sunday morning service to explain the type of ministry it would be, and then I said something like:
"I'm not asking every one of you to commit to helping at the club, but I AM asking you to take the time to think & pray about the people in your life, and if you know of someone who might do well in this ministry I want you to approach that person and encourage them to get involved. And I'd love to have you tell me about that person so I can talk with them as well."
I was surprised by the person I ended up with. I never would've seen it in her, and she didn't believe she could do it either, but her husband had seen the right qualities and as it turns out the kids LOVED her!

Guess I'll see if this approach works again this summer. I have about 60 people to recruit...uh, what was the other word you used again? Oh right, ASK :D

[donnalucas@gospellight.co]

I am so inspired by reading these comments! Thanks to all of you. May I quote you. I am writing the VBS countdowns and when I get to recruiting I would like to pass on your wisdom.

Donna Lucas

[kidsmatter]

Donna,
I can't speak for the others, but I'd love it if you use something from this thread to encourage others in what can sometimes be a really difficult, discouraging task.

Blessings!