Article
“I wish I had more time!”
I’m sure you’ve uttered these words before. Ministry moves like a toddler who’s just begun to walk — it never stops. From lesson prep to event planning, your checklist is always full (and rarely ever completed).
Tasks rush over you like waves, and you’re constantly fighting the pull of burnout’s tide. You want to run your ministry with excellence and know training is a key part of its success, but your schedule seems to be working against you.
After organizing supplies, connecting with parents and recruiting volunteers, your calendar is spent. Allotting time to train and develop your team seems not only unlikely, but impossible.
But what if you didn’t need more time to train your team? What if you could manipulate time to work in your favor? It may sound like magic, but it’s more about leverage. It requires making the best use of the time you already have rather than conjuring time you don’t (which would be magic).
Here are three time-leveraging techniques you can use to add volunteer development to your schedule without breaking your calendar.
Addition through Stacking
It’s easy to associate volunteer training with lengthy seminars and multi-day conferences, but training can happen in smaller, more sustainable ways. In fact, tiny habits often yield greater results than elaborate events. But how do you add habits without adding more stress and time along with them? This is where the art of habit stacking comes into play.
Habit stacking is a concept popularized by James Clear in his book Atomic Habits. Instead of trying to find another time or place to begin a new habit, he suggests pairing it with habits you already perform. The habit stacking formula as illustrated in the book looks like this:
After/Before [CURRENT HABIT], I will [NEW HABIT].
The formula is simple, but the genius is found in its endless applications. For example, if you run a children’s discipleship program during your Sunday morning services, you could attach a 5-to-10-minute volunteer huddle before or after the program to equip your leaders. You could spend those few minutes praying together, sharing important updates and evaluating how things are going.
A short huddle may not seem substantial, but the power of this habit is found in its consistency, not its size. Vision tends to leak, so the more often you can gather your team around your ministry’s vision, the more likely it is to stick.
Consider the daily and weekly rhythms of your schedule. What actions do you already perform regularly that could support another habit? Do you sit in the pickup line at your children’s school? Stack the habit of texting one leader an encouraging note while you wait. Do you print and lay out lessons for your teachers? Attach the habit of including a card with a ministry tip on each copy. The possibilities are endless!
Take the time to consider your smallest tasks and connect a leader’s development to them. Your calendar will thank you.
Addition through Subtracting
This technique appears contradictory, but it operates more like an exchange than a strict mathematical principle. You could also call it “addition by replacement.” With this approach, you survey your calendar and ask whether there’s something you can temporarily remove so you can make room for something more valuable. In short, you are adding by subtracting.
I once wanted to host a ministry vision breakfast for our entire church but knew finding the right time and space would be tricky. Weekday mornings were out of the question and Saturdays would likely be poorly attended. I needed to connect the event to a time when people were already at church.
I met with our lead pastor and asked if we could forgo Sunday school one morning so everyone could attend the breakfast. It worked perfectly. People heard the vision, enjoyed a free meal and didn’t have to add anything to their calendars. It was a win for everyone! We added something of value by simply subtracting something else for one week.
Take a moment to reflect. What activities could you temporarily replace with meaningful volunteer training?
What if you postponed children’s church once a month and used that time to train a few volunteers on a specific topic or skill? What if you replaced an announcement during Sunday morning worship with a brief story explaining why you do what you do in kids ministry? Not only would this benefit the volunteers present, but the entire congregation would be encouraged by hearing what God is accomplishing through your ministry.
As you can see, subtracting is often one of the best ways to add value and develop your team long term.
Addition through Refracting
Did you know you’re already developing your volunteers? It’s true. Every interaction you have with your team shapes them. What you stress, celebrate or correct forms what your volunteers value and prioritize.
If that’s the case, it’s worth asking yourself: How am I using my minutes, moments, and messages to develop my people well? This is where the idea of refracting your time becomes especially helpful.
Refraction is the redirection of light as it passes through an object. Rainbows are a great example of this. When you see one in the sky, you’re not watching colors bleed from the clouds; you’re seeing light redirected as it passes through raindrops and disperses into a beautiful spectrum of colors.
You can refract your time in a similar way with equally brilliant results. You can take things you’re already doing (like sending emails or chatting with volunteers) and intentionally redirect those interactions toward reinforcing your vision.
For example, if you send a weekly text or email reminding volunteers when they’re serving, you could refract that message by adjusting its language.
Instead of saying:
Hey! Just wanted to send you a quick reminder that you’re serving in the 4th–5th grade class this Sunday. We’ve got all your supplies prepped and ready to go, so things should run smoothly. Let me know if you need anything else. Thanks for being willing to help out!
You could say:
Hey! I’m so thankful you’re serving our 4th–5th graders this Sunday. Your presence and care go a long way in shaping their love and likeness of Jesus. Research shows that kids who have meaningful relationships with adults in the church are twice as likely to stay committed to the church and nearly three times more likely to engage Scripture consistently. That’s huge! And you’re a part of making that eternal impact possible. Thanks again for serving and let me know if you need anything to help you disciple our kids well.
See the difference? Both messages communicate the same logistical information, but they do so in very different ways. The first message focuses on the task, while the second message focuses on the why behind the task. It places the volunteer’s role within a larger story and highlights the formative nature of what they’re doing.
Small refractions like this can be applied to nearly every form of communication you send, redirecting your content to beautifully display your vision.
Leverage What You Already Have
You don’t need more hours in the day to develop your volunteers. You simply need eyes to see the opportunities already present in the time God has given you. By stacking habits, subtracting moments and refracting communication, you can create a culture of growth without overwhelming your schedule or your people.
It’s a win for you, your volunteers and the kids you serve.
Hunter Williams is the children’s pastor at Ridgedale Baptist Church in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and co-host of the Cross Formed KidMin podcast. He has served in a variety of ministry roles, including chaplain, youth pastor, and missionary with Awana. Hunter has written for ministries such as INCM, Renewanation, and The Gospel Coalition and is the co-author of How to Teach Kids Theology. He and his wife, Sammie, have four children and love serving in their local church.
1. Children’s Ministry in a New Reality, Barna Group, (2022)
