How Do You Get More Workers for Your Church?

Our church is like most churches who are growing. We need people to serve. Each Sunday we make do. We lack all the people to teach our Preschoolers and Children for an ideal situation. It is always safe but it just isn't what we would want if we could design it differently. Our situation is not acceptable. It is not God honoring. We must do something to get more workers.

We have a number of pre-Christian and new Christians in our church. This means they need to be in worship and small groups. They bring their children who need teachers. We don't expect these pre and new Christians to serve as teachers.

We have a number of people who are elderly and are no longer able to teach Preschoolers and Children. They have servants' hearts but they are simply physically unable to teach these children like they need to be taught. They have served for years in the past but their days of sitting on the floor to play a game are over.

We have a number of people who attend infrequently. They come a couple of times each month. I have never ceased to be amazed that there are others who do the same thing on different weeks so that our average attendance remains the same. It is as if they all got together and decided when to come to church so that the attendance doesn't drop or increase much. These people need to grow in their Christian commitment but they are unreliable as teachers for children. Children need consistency. The unpredictable attendance patterns of these people eliminates them from the possibility of teaching even if their maturity level doesn't.

We have a number of people in the military. They are sent on deployments for long periods of time. They are wonderful teachers when they are at home but the military demands they go to sea often enough that they can't consistently teach. They make excellent substitutes when they are around but their obligations to our country demand they are gone.

Yes, we have a number of people who could serve but choose not to. We have asked them to serve. They have refused. Often they have good reasons. They may be taking care of elderly parents or going through a tough time spiritually or with someone in their homes (like a teenager who is being rebellious or a spouse who is absent from church). Others just refuse to serve. They don't want to be tied down with an obligation.

So, what do you do to get workers? You pray that God will send them.  The only thing keeping churches from growing is the lack of workers. It is His church. He employs the workers. He will call them out to His service. 

We are still doing this at our church. Each week, we fill the positions. It is like the manna that they Israelites picked up each day. They only got enough for each day. We are going to continue to pray until every need is met.

It's not complicated but it is intense.

Matthew 9:37-38 (NIV)

Then He said to His disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers to His harvest field."