“And let us consider how to provoke one another to love and good deeds, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day approaching.” -Hebrews 10:24-25
One of the most common responses all children’s ministry and youth leaders hear when recruiting volunteers is, “I served my time when my kids were young,” or something along the lines of “been there, done that.” But look around your congregation. How many available parents are there?
As a parent, you attended ball games, concerts, book fairs, and other school and extra curricular activities. In doing so, you met other parents and shared your faith with them. You invited them to church and your church grew, for a while.
Just as a bow must be pulled backwards in order to propel the arrow forward, you may need to go back to former ways of relating to your community to move the Kingdom of God forward in it. Go back to the kinds of places you spent time when you were a young adult. Introduce yourself and build relationships with a new family.
Tell them that you are a Christian and find out what they believe about God. Do they have a current or past relationship to a church? If they don’t already have a church home, invite them to your church to learn more about the saving grace offered to us all in Jesus Christ and connect with other Christians who will share the love of God with them.
Growing Rural Ministries 