Administration – Page 3 – The Well Equipped Volunteer

How to Create a Sign-up Form Using Google Drive

VBS is coming up and with that comes registration forms!! Are you curious about online registration forms? Wondering how easy it is to create an online registration form? Here is a step by step guide to creating a sign-up form on google docs. Don’t worry! It’s pretty easy and there are pictures! Here we go!

(NOTE: I do my very best to keep this up-to-date. However, Google updates their interface sometimes and I don’t always know about it, plus every computer may display some of these things differently, depending on the internet browser you use. So, these pictures may not always match exactly to what you are see but they should be pretty close. If you find the pictures are very different, feel free to get in touch and met me know so I can update them. Thank you!)

1. Sign in and go to https://drive.google.com/

2. Click the blue New button.

3. A little window will open with a few options.

4. Click Google Sheets.

5. A blank spreadsheet will open.

6. In the menu above the spreadsheet, click Tools.

7. A menu will open.

8. Click Create Form.

9. A form template displays.

10. Give your spreadsheet a title.

11. Click Add Item to add as many questions as you want. If you hover over the little arrow to the right of Add Item, you’ll get some different question-type options. You’ll probably use the Text one a lot but some of the others are helpful, too.

12. When we created a form for VBS registration, we included some of the following questions:

Text questions:
- Name
- Parents’ names
- Age

Paragraph text questions:
- Allergies

Check boxes
- How the parent heard of the program
- Permission to contact the parents about other programs

13. When you’re done, click View Live Form.

14. To share the form…

Copy the URL when you are viewing the live form and put it into emails that you send out to parents.
Or, if you want to embed the form, click File and then select Embed and it will give you some HTML to copy and paste into your church’s website.

15. When you want to review responses, you can sign in to Google Drive and open the Sheet. If it opens in a spreadsheet, you’ll see a list of the responses sorted into columns according to the questions you asked. Or, if it takes you to this form-builder page then just click View Responses.

You’re done! That’s all there is to it! If you want a larger view of any of the pictures in this article, simply click on them.

A big thank you to my husband, Aaron! He put this together for me and now I’m sharing it with you. I hope you find it helpful.

Leave a comment online registration, registration forms, VBS

Your Step-by-Step Guide to Writing Job Descriptions for Current Children’s Ministry Programs

Administration, Volunteers and Recruiting

17 Steps to Writing Job Descriptions for Current Children’s Ministry Programs

1. Download the job description template available here. You will be using it so keep it nearby! This step-by-step guide was designed to be used in conjunction with the job description template. It will not make much sense without it so don’t skip this step!

2. Download the job description instruction guide available here. It contains hints and tips for completing the template that you may find helpful.

3. List all current children’s ministry programs at your church. (You may find it helpful to use one page for each program.)

4. For each program you have written down, list all volunteer positions for that program. For example, if one of your current programs is Sunday School, list every volunteer role for Sunday School – teacher, helper, registration, sub, etc.

5. You will be writing job descriptions for every volunteer position in children’s ministry – but don’t worry – we are going to do it one step at a time. So look at the list you created in step 3 and choose one program to start with.

6. Grab a blank job description template and get ready to start filling it in!

7. The first blank space is titled Ministry. Write the program you have chosen to start with here. For example, “Sunday School teacher.”

8. In the blank space beside Ministry Leader write the name and contact information of the person who is in charge of this program. This will be the person that a volunteer will contact with questions, concerns, etc.

9. The last area to fill out in this first box of information is ministry area. Here you want to provide detail about the specific department, for example, “Preschool Sunday School.” If you are a small children’s ministry this may not be pertinent. If this part of the template is not something you will use, delete it. The great thing about this job description template is that is it customizable. Tailor it to fit your situation!

10. Once you have filled in the basic information about the volunteer position, it’s time to provide more detailed information. A good job description tells a volunteer how long they are committing to a position. Since this is a current program, you will need to find out from the program leader or current volunteers how long they have committed to this particular position. If a length of commitment hasn’t been clearly stated now is the time to figure it out.

11. Fill in the amount of time each week the volunteer role requires. This part of the job description template is called “Time Commitment.” Be specific about how much time each week this role requires. Include the time at the program, any preparation time, and any before and/or after program expectations. Talk with the volunteers in this role. How long do they spend every week preparing for their volunteer position? How long do they spend at their volunteer position, including setup and cleanup?

12. The next section of the job description is where you will specify the qualifications volunteers need to have in this volunteer position. 2 or 3 requirements should be enough. What do you require of your volunteers? If a background check is required for this position, add it to this section.

13. A good job description will include the training offered to volunteers in this position. Be specific. What training is currently provided for volunteers in this position?

14. Finally, describe the specific responsibilities of volunteers for this position. In order to be as specific as possible, record the responsibilities during the week (these would include preparation time, for example) and responsibilities the day of (including set up and clean up).

15. Once the job description is complete, send a copy to the program leader or a volunteer who has been serving in the program for a while. Ask them to look it over and let you know if it is accurate. Their input is valuable, so listen carefully and make changes as suggested.

16. Repeat all the steps for each volunteer position in your children’s ministry.

17. Give a job description to every volunteer who is currently working in children’s ministry. Let them know that you appreciate what they do and wanted to get down on paper what their role is so that there is no confusion and so that new or potential volunteers can see what would be expected of them.

Leave a comment children's ministry, job description, volunteer position description, volunteers

Worship Service Booklet for Kids

Administration, Programming

Having kids in the service is great, but it’s easy to lose their interest fast because the service was not designed for them.

Sermons are usually 20-30 minutes long (some a lot longer!!) The songs we sing contain a lot of symbolic and abstract language. Baptism and communion are symbolic acts that kids have a hard time understanding.

But these are only reasons for us to try harder to include children in our worship services!

I have created a worship service booklet for kids to help them focus and become active participants.

I have created it as a booklet. Page one is focused on singing, offering, etc. and page four is focused on the sermon. The inside pages are for drawing pictures.

Here are a couple of things I kept in mind when designing this resource:

This resource is for kids from Grades 1-6 so I kept reading to a minimum and left it open to each child to choose how much they wanted to write.
I tried to include as many aspects of the service as possible so the kids are encouraged to actively participate during the whole service.

Page 1

On page one, kids are encouraged to sing as well as listen carefully to the words of the songs. Singing is a form of worship so the kids are asked to circle which attributes of God were highlighted in the singing. Also on page one, active listening during the whole service is encouraged as kids are to mark down whenever they hear these four words – God, Jesus (or Christ), Holy Spirit, and Bible (or Scripture).

Pages 2 and 3

On pages two and three, kids are invited to draw pictures of the Bible story they heard during the Scripture reading and to draw a picture of their favorite part of the service.

Page 4

On page four, the focus turns to Scripture and the sermon. Kids are asked to make a note of the Bible passage that was read and are encouraged listen for keywords from that passage. Again this encourages actively listening as well as following along in their Bibles (it’s easier to pick out the keyword(s) when reading along. As kids listen to the sermon, they are encouraged to write down words they hear that they don’t know. Then they are told to look up those words when they get home. This encourages investigation during the week as well as family conversations. Finally, kids are asked to record what they though was the most important thing they learned from the sermon. Again, this encourages active listening, but it also provides great opportunity for parents to have conversations with their children at home.

Download your copy of “My Worship Service Booklet” and start using it this weekend!

Encourage kids to be actively involved in the worship service with these worship service booklets for kids! Having a resource like this available shows kids and parents that kids are welcome in the worship service!

Leave a comment Bible, kids bulletins, worship, worship service

New Year Resolutions

Administration, Curriculum

It’s a New Year! Have you made any resolutions?

People make personal resolutions at the beginning of a new year.

Children’s ministry leaders can take the opportunity to make ministry resolutions as well.

Do you have goals for the kids in your ministry? Now is the time to start planning. It is so important to take some time and plan out what you want kids to learn this year and in the years to come. Without a plan you end up with haphazard learning.

Take a few hours and look at the curriculum you are using for this year and the next few years. Does it have a clear scope and sequence?

Does it clearly show what is going to be taught and what order it’s going to be taught in?

Scope is the extent of content to be covered in a curriculum at any one time. That could mean one week, one year, or the whole of a child’s life. Sequence means the order in which this content will be presented over time.

How easy is it for you to see what the kids will be learning over the next months and years? Is there order and context?

Whatever format your curriculum takes, it’s important for you to have a plan for using it. Any good plan will include goals.

Goals are important because they give you something to work towards and a means of measuring success.

The ultimate goal in children’s ministry is to make disciples. In order to reach that goal, you need to take some time now to plan out the year and the next few years. What are the kids going to be taught and when are the kids going to be taught it?

Take some time at the beginning of the year to plan out your curriculum.

Leave a comment children's ministry, goals, making disciples, planning, scope and sequence

Christmas Conundrum – Sunday School Teachers & Gifts

Administration, Programming

When the Christmas season arrives, Sunday School teachers face a particular conundrum – whether or not to give gifts to their Sunday School class.

This can be a tricky situation for Sunday School teachers. They want to be generous and show their students that they care about them, but some classes are large and the teacher may not be able to afford gifts for everyone. Or maybe they are stuck in a situation where some of their students have siblings in other classes. Will those teachers give gifts? Is it fair for one child in a family to receive a gift from their teacher and another does not?

Situations

There are a number of situations possible. Maybe you can relate to one of these.

The children’s ministry department has a budget for gifts for the children but the leader has not communicated this to the volunteers. Or the children’s ministry department expects the teachers to give gifts to their own classes but have not communicated this to the volunteers.

A Sunday School teacher has the desire to give gifts to the class but cannot afford to, while other teachers have the capability to give gifts to their class no matter how large. As a result, some children in the Sunday School receive gifts, while others do not.

Some Sunday School teachers give big gifts to their classes while others give small gifts. Children may end up thinking Sunday School is unfair because a sibling or friend got a much bigger gift then they did.

Whichever situation you find yourself in, it can be hard to figure out what to do.

Solution

The solution to all of these situations is the same – communication.

Leaders, communicate with your volunteers! Let them know if there is a budget for gifts at Christmas or if you plan to give out treat bags. Let them know what the policy is for gift-giving at Christmas.

Teachers, communicate with each other! Talk freely about what you have done in the past and what you plan to do this year. This is especially important for new teachers who may not know how this issue has been handled in the past.

In the end, it’s not imperative that teachers give gifts to their students. What is imperative is that you love them and share the good news that Jesus came to save His people from their sins. Jesus is the best gift anyone can receive!