Recruiting Bible Teachers and Helpers

The adult leaders and helpers for your Sunday school, VBS, and Bible club programs have some of the most important roles in starting and running your programs. They are the ones who will provide the very early church experiences for your preschoolers and church visitors. They will act as guides to help the children explore Bible truths.

“You may feel that because you are teaching twos and threes, you don’t need much wisdom or spiritual discernment,” says Mary A. Barbour in her book, You Can Teach 2s & 3s. “But you soon discover you need a great deal, for you are working with children while they are at their most impressionable level of development.

“Your responsibilities are great to keep yourself growing in Christian virtues and to know the Saviour better day by day. This you may do with an open Bible, an open heart, and an open line of communication with the Lord through frequent, earnest prayer. And the more you grow as a Christian, the better teacher you will be.”

To ensure your students have the very best experiences in your Bible-teaching programs, look for leaders and teachers with the following qualifications:

• Are dedicated Christians who seek to live for Christ daily, who study God’s Word, and who know the plan of salvation

• Are tuned in to kids, and able to build upon their natural interests

• Enjoy sharing in the children’s joy of discovery

• Are warm, outgoing, and have a genuine love and sensitivity for children

• Appreciate and seek to follow God’s command to teach children

• Have a basic understanding of children in terms of their physical, mental, and emotional development, and their spiritual needs

• Are reliable and disciplined to prepare for each meeting

• Are suitable role models for children

The leaders are the most important part of your program—not because they do everything themselves but because they are the only means though which children can be truly involved and discipled. The most successful group is usually the one where the adult leaders do less so the children can do more. This is the toughest kind of leadership, but it's the kind that produces disciples and leaders in your students.