5 Reasons Our Volunteers Love Serving in OriginsKids
Looking Back on Volunteer Training
Back in February, we held a Volunteer Training for our OriginsKids Volunteers. We enjoyed coffee drinks by Synergy Coffee, we had delicious breakfast sandwiches by Sunflower Cafe, and spent time in fellowship and praising God. We prayed for our kids and our children's ministry and discussed many of the "hows and whats" of serving on a Sunday. It was a packed room in the City Workspace, and I am still so thankful that so many of you showed up!
Leading up to our training, I asked our volunteers: "What do you love about serving in Kids?"
Reading these answers encouraged me so much. It revealed the "why" to their serving, and let me tell you - our volunteers are the very best if this is where their hearts are! I tried to narrow them down, and here are the top 5 reasons our volunteers love to serve in OriginsKids:
1. Sharing the Gospel with Kids
In Matthew 28, Jesus gives us the command to go and make disciples. While we believe that parents are the primary disciplers of their children, OriginsKids comes alongside parents as another voice in their lives, sharing the good news of who Jesus is and what He did for us on the cross. Yes, the title might be "volunteer," but serving with our kids is so much more than just filling in a spot on a calendar or accepting a request in your app. We are all, as a church family, getting to help each other tell our kids about the good news of how Jesus saved us! Together, we are teaching kids and leading the next generation. What a privilege.
2. Teaching Kids about Jesus and His Word
We are sharing the Gospel every single Sunday, and we are also teaching kids about the Bible, reading the stories of God's people, and digging into Scripture. We can know stories about Adam and Eve, about judges and kings and prophets. We can read and remember the history of God's people and how He continuously chased after them. We can read about the people Jesus encountered while on Earth, and we can read about and learn Biblical context and ancient culture and all the things that help us connect with the Bible stories. When we read these stories and continue to grow in love for the scriptures, we are showing kids the Character of God and that His word is a lamp to our feet and a living treasure that never gets old! (Psalm 119:105 and Hebrews 4:12)
3. Serving Our Church Family and Other Parents
Our church family really loves each other! So many of the responses to this question were about wanting to serve our church family and, specifically, give parents a safe place to leave their child in a fun environment with other kids, and allow them to worship. While kids are always welcome in our family worship gatherings, a time with other kids hearing the gospel on a developmentally appropriate level is available! Every family that checks their children into Origins Kids should feel confident that the adults who choose to serve in Origins Kids are serving with parents in mind. What a gift to know that we are loving one another by caring for each other's children. (Philippians 2:1-18)
4. Relationship with Kids
Our Volunteers love our Kids. Many of our volunteers have been serving with OriginsKids for more than 5 years!!! They have gotten to see kids grow physically, and also grow in knowledge of Jesus. We have been able to witness many of our Kids come to follow Christ and be baptized. How good is our God that he allows us to see this fruit of our labor! We praise him for kids coming to life in Christ, and we also giggle a little when kids have silly answers to discussion questions. You never know what you're going to hear!
5. Being with Other Adults/Volunteering
One of the best parts of serving in OriginsKids is time with other Origins Family members. I love when volunteers get excited to see who they are serving with. If it is one of your best friends, or someone you haven't met but now they are your serving buddy, adults get to grow in relationships together too! Serving alongside another adult who is on the same mission unites us in our serving.
A Heart of Gratitude
These are only five of the reasons our volunteers love serving in OriginsKids, and if you are one of the ones who does serve, THANK YOU. Thank you for your faithfulness and for being obedient to the calling of making disciples. As a church family, we choose how we approach our Kids. Are we serving well? Are we dreading time in the chaos and loudness? Do we look forward to seeing how they've grown since last month? Are we excited to tell them about our Savior, Jesus, who loves us and came to rescue us? Are we praying for the Salvation of our children? Let us be salt and light, even to the littlest.
Interested in Serving?
If you are not serving in OriginsKids, and want to hear more about teaching K4-5th graders with our Biggest Story Curriculum, helping to set up, holding babies, or playing play dough with two and three year olds, please let us know here!
A Prayer for Our Children
Jesus, thank you for our children. You said to let the little children come to you, and we pray that we faithfully do our part in OriginsKids to allow children to have the opportunity to come to you, and hear about your love for them. Allow us to serve with excellence, and to love kids well. Thank you for all of the children we get to spend time with each Sunday! Thank you for our volunteers, and thank you that you have given us a place to gather and worship you! Amen
-Haley Pope, Children’s Ministry Director