Using Planning Center Services in Your Ministry
Service Planning, Volunteers David Reneau Service Planning, Volunteers David Reneau

Using Planning Center Services in Your Ministry

A few weeks ago, I talked about how to set up Planning Center Services.  You can see that post here.  But once you get Services all set up, how do you use it week in and week out?  How do you handle volunteer declines?  How do you communicate with them what you’re doing in service, and how can they be prepared? 

In this post, I’ll answer all those questions.

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Setting Up Planning Center Services for Your Ministry
Administration, Volunteers David Reneau Administration, Volunteers David Reneau

Setting Up Planning Center Services for Your Ministry

One of the most useful tools in my ministry career is Planning Center.  I reference it frequently in my posts about planning.  As much as I love the program, it can be daunting to a first-time user.  That’s why I wrote this post about Check-ins.   

Setting up Planning Center Check-ins can be complicated. But Planning Center Services is on another level. 

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5 Guidelines for Trunk or Treat Volunteers
Events, Volunteers David Reneau Events, Volunteers David Reneau

5 Guidelines for Trunk or Treat Volunteers

Trunk or Treats are one of the most popular Fall outreaches.  They’re quick, easy to set up, and easy to clean up.   They can be a ton of fun or total drag.  The deciding factor for the success of your event is the trunks.  Your trunks are the main attraction.  You can and should include inflatables, hayrides, food trucks and more. But that’s not what’s going to keep your neighborhood coming back year after year.

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4 Steps to Overcome Ministry Disasters
Leadership, Volunteers David Reneau Leadership, Volunteers David Reneau

4 Steps to Overcome Ministry Disasters

On Sunday, disaster struck my church.  We had a huge storm blow through, and the power was out for several miles around the church.  The power company said the power would be on at 10:45, 15 minutes after our start time.  Then it was 11:45. Then 4pm.  I got the news as I pulled into the parking lot at 9:30am.

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4 Ways to Equip Your Kidmin Volunteers (Before Sunday)
Volunteers, Service Planning, Kidmin David Reneau Volunteers, Service Planning, Kidmin David Reneau

4 Ways to Equip Your Kidmin Volunteers (Before Sunday)

Picture this.  You’ve been working hard to get ready for Sunday morning.  You laid out the crafts. You loaded the slides. You queued up the songs.  You’re excited for what lies ahead and the change that’s going to happen in kids’ lives.  But then you realize that you’re not alone.  In fact, your volunteers are leading worship, games, and small groups.  You can’t be in two places at once and do it yourself. So how are you supposed to equip your volunteers so they can be prepared before Sunday?

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3 Kinds of Kidmin Volunteers (and How to Keep Them)
Volunteers, Kidmin David Reneau Volunteers, Kidmin David Reneau

3 Kinds of Kidmin Volunteers (and How to Keep Them)

My Senior Royal Ranger Commander (think Boy Scouts with Jesus) was unhappy. I was at my first church, and I’d recruited a new volunteer for the ministry. He was great for the ministry. But now his son was moving up to the next age group and my volunteer wanted to go with him. The Senior Commander couldn’t understand why this father wanted to leave. Why didn’t he just stay with the age group he was currently serving?

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3 Personality Tests for Ministry Leaders
Leadership, Volunteers David Reneau Leadership, Volunteers David Reneau

3 Personality Tests for Ministry Leaders

I love these tests so much because they help me better understand myself and those around me. It’s natural to think that everyone is just like you with the same thoughts, motives, talents, and passions. However, we soon learn, many times painfully, that this is not the case. As a leader in ministry, it’s imperative that you know your people.

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4 Steps to Scheduling Your Volunteers
Volunteers, Administration, Leadership David Reneau Volunteers, Administration, Leadership David Reneau

4 Steps to Scheduling Your Volunteers

When you’re the leader and the pastor, you have a push and pull. You want to make sure all your positions are filled, but you also don’t want to burn out your volunteers. What is the best way? Does everyone serve with the same frequency? What about if you have multiple services? Multiple days? Or just one? And what about fifth Sundays?

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5 Volunteer Statements for Your Ministry
Volunteers, Leadership David Reneau Volunteers, Leadership David Reneau

5 Volunteer Statements for Your Ministry

No matter what job you do there are certain phrases and words that are specific to your culture. Most of these words and phrases develop naturally over time as a result of events, ministries, or your denomination. For example, I’m in the Assemblies of God. Here are just a few of the acronyms that any minister in the AG (see what I did there) will know.

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5 VBS Volunteers that Make a BIG Difference
VBS, Kidmin, Events, Volunteers David Reneau VBS, Kidmin, Events, Volunteers David Reneau

5 VBS Volunteers that Make a BIG Difference

Many of the curriculums I’ve used over the years give you an idea of how many volunteers you need and where they should serve. However, if you’re doing a VBS for 100 kids or more, these lists can be found lacking. They’ll list small group leaders and station leaders, but what about registration? Décor? Marketing? Supply management?

Over the years I’ve added several positions to my VBS that have helped me reach more kids and made my workload so much simpler.

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