Why Shouldn’t Children’s Ministry Leaders Screen Their Own Volunteers?

In many small to mid-sized churches, the person responsible for recruiting volunteers is also the person responsible for screening them. The Children’s Ministry Director is tasked with finding teachers for Sunday morning, and they are also the one running the background checks and reviewing the applications.

While this seems efficient, to build a truly safe environment, organizations must separate the “recruitment” role from the “screening” role. This moves the process from a subjective decision based on need to an objective decision based on safety.

Children’s Ministry Help

The primary reason Children’s Ministry leaders should not screen their own volunteers is simple: they usually need help.

Ministry leaders are under immense pressure to fill slots. If they need three more nursery workers by Sunday and a friendly face walks in offering to help, their immediate instinct is relief. They view that volunteer through the lens of a “solution to a problem.” This creates an inherent bias toward saying “yes.” They might ignore a gap in employment or a vague reference because they are focused on the immediate need rather than the long-term risk.

Who Should Choose Who Gets to Volunteer?

To fix this, churches should implement a segregation of duties. The Children’s Ministry Department handles recruitment, but a separate entity- like a Safety Team, a Risk Management Committee, or an Executive Pastor- handles the screening.

In this model, the Children’s Ministry leader still builds relationships and hands out applications. However, once the application is filled out, it is not returned to them. It is submitted directly to the Safety Team.

The Safety Team doesn’t have a quota, so they can be objective. They can review the background check, call the references, and conduct the interview with an eye for safety.

How Does This Help the Children’s Ministry?

One of the hidden benefits of this system is that it protects the Children’s Ministry Director from awkward conversations.

By outsourcing the decision to a Safety Team, the Ministry Director can keep a good relationship with volunteers. For example, if a volunteer asks why they weren’t approved, the Director can honestly say that it’s out of their hands and the safety team controls it. This allows the leader to minister to the individual without bearing the weight of the rejection, while the Safety Team acts as the necessary shield for the organization.

Professionalizing the Process

Ultimately, removing the screening responsibility from the ministry leaders treats volunteerism with the professional weight it deserves. By separating the “ask” from the “approval,” the church ensures that the gate is guarded by someone who is not distracted by the need to fill the schedule, and the Children’s Ministry can focus on their ministry instead.

Learn how to build a children’s ministry volunteer application here.