Recruiting (Part 3): How People Actually Say Yes (And Why Announcements Rarely Work)
- Tony Kensinger
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
If recruiting volunteers has ever felt awkward or uncomfortable, you’re not alone.
Most kids ministry leaders have stood on a stage, read an announcement, and hoped something magical would happen. We smile, cast vision, mention the need... and then wait.
...And wait.
...And nothing changes.
The problem isn’t that people don’t hear the announcement.The problem is that announcements rarely remove obstacles.
A few years ago, my wife and I were walking through a home show. I was between ministry positions at the time, and this was a cheap way to spend a Saturday afternoon. As we walked past booth after booth, a salesman stopped us to show us an adjustable bed.
He did everything right.
He invited us to lie down on it. He showed us the features. He connected personally. He told us about his kids and grandkids, even mentioned that he had once been a youth pastor. I liked him. I liked the bed. I could absolutely see myself owning it.
Then he went in for the close.
I stopped him and said, “I love it but I’m unemployed, and I don’t even know where we’ll be moving next.”
That should’ve been the end of the conversation.
Instead, he smiled and said, “If I could remove all of that risk, you’d be crazy not to get it.”
He offered a simple solution: a small deposit, no contract, no commitment. If I moved and wanted it later, great. If not, I got my money back.
That bed is still in my house today.
Why does that matter for recruiting?
Because most people don’t say no to serving in kids ministry -they say no to uncertainty.
They’re wondering:
What exactly will I be asked to do?
How much time will this take?
What if I’m bad at it?
What if I get stuck forever?
Announcements don’t answer those questions.
That’s why telling people “we need volunteers” rarely works. It creates pressure, not clarity. It communicates urgency without removing fear.
Here’s a truth leaders need to hear:People don’t volunteer because of need. They volunteer when the opportunity feels safe, clear, and meaningful.
This is where recruiting shifts from desperation to invitation.
When leaders recruit well, they don’t just cast vision, they lower barriers. They create on-ramps. They give people permission to try before they commit.
That might look like:
Shadowing for a few weeks
Short-term serving opportunities
Clear expectations with a defined “out”
Personal conversations instead of public begging
When obstacles are removed, interest turns into action.
This is why face-to-face recruiting is always more effective than announcements. When you talk with someone personally, you can listen. You can respond to their concerns. You can help them imagine themselves serving -not someday, but soon.
And here’s the mindset shift that changes everything: Stop telling people you need volunteers. Start sharing the opportunity.
Kids ministry isn’t a gap to fill. It’s a mission to join.
When leaders communicate opportunity—impact, purpose, belonging—people lean in. When leaders communicate desperation, people back away.
Recruiting works best when it feels relational, not transactional.
Over the years, I’ve watched churches double their volunteer base. Not because they had better announcements, but because they had a clearer process. They knew who to invite, how to invite them, and how to walk them forward without pressure.
If recruiting feels harder than it should, chances are you’re not missing passion—you’re missing a pathway.
That’s exactly why we built the Recruiting Lab. It’s designed to help kids and family ministry leaders move people from interest to involvement by removing fear, clarifying expectations, and creating a recruiting process that actually works.
In the next post, we’ll talk about what to do after someone says yes—and why that moment determines whether you build a team or just fill a slot.
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