I LOVE my volunteers! We literally could not do kids' ministry without them, so making sure I show them how much I appreciate them is extremely important to me. I have an appreciation plan for the year to ensure I’m intentional each month in showing my gratitude. For their birthdays, I do balloons, a sign on the classroom door, and a card with confetti to make them feel special. I also host a yearly gathering that includes appreciation, inspiration, and training. However, the past couple of weeks have reminded me that they require much more.

One of my volunteers recently had a baby. One had a kidney transplant, and his transplant failed. Another had eye surgery. One had knee surgery. One of my volunteers lost their job of over 25 years due to the company closing. Another has a husband who had triple bypass surgery. One is grieving the loss of her mother. And this all happened within the last two weeks.

During difficult seasons, they need more than a simple, “Thank you for serving in KidMin!” They need love, grace, empathy, kindness, care—or just someone to be with them. I’m going to be honest; these past couple of weeks have been a bit overwhelming between meal trains, get-well cards, text messages, phone calls, personal visits, and flower deliveries.

For many of my volunteers, the kids' team is their people. We are their community. Ideally, within our church, everyone should be in a small group—we call them Life Groups—a place to learn and grow in Christ together, to share life, and to support each other through difficult times. However, this is not necessarily the case for many of my volunteers. For whatever reason, some are not in a Life Group. But Life Group or not… we do life together through ministry. They are more than just the person in the classroom who keeps us in ratio.

While these past couple of weeks have been overwhelming (it’s not always this eventful), I am beyond grateful that my volunteers see our kids' ministry as their community. I am delighted that they let me into their lives so we can come together and love on them. Because if they didn’t, they truly would be “just volunteers.”

Debbie Rhoads is a KidMin veteran with more than 30 years of ministry experience. She is currently the Children’s Ministry Director at Grace Chapel in Franklin, Tennessee. Debbie is the author of “The Plate: The Who, What, Why, How, and How-Not-To’s of Burnout” and has another book coming out in September at the KidzMatter Conference called “Hold My Glitter, Overcoming Obstacles in Ministry.” She is also a contributor of KidzMatter Magazine and a faculty member for KidMin Academy.