Church Group Management Guide: Resources, Ideas and Tips

If you’re involved in your local church, parish or temple, you’re probably familiar with the labor of love that is group management. SignUpGenius is here to simplify group organizing so you can get back to the core of why you’re meeting together. Check out our guide for ministry resources and tips for scheduling volunteers. 

Group Connection Ideas

Try activities like fun church picnic games or deeper get to know you questions to help connect members of your spiritual community. Check out some more ideas:

• Teens will love these fun icebreaker games for youth groups. From ideas like “pterodactyl” (they try to say the word without showing their teeth) to the human knot game, (a group tries to untangle themselves without releasing hands), hilarity will ensue, and the laughs will bring your group together.
• Gather your group for a church retreat and provide everyone with a restful (or energetic, depending on your group!) time of spiritual reflection. Stay organized with these retreat planning ideas, themes and tips.
• If you’re leading a church small group, kick off with a lighthearted game from this list of icebreaker activities, or ask the group a question or two to help everyone get to know each other.

Church & Family Ministry Resources

Whether you’re leading a caring ministry for your community or teaching your kids the Bible at home, it all counts as group leadership. Prepare with these resources:

• Help kids learn scripture in Sunday School or at home with these fun Bible games and activities. Sometimes a game or a song is just what helps retain biblical truth!
• Is a loved one preparing for their first communion? Celebrate with these first communion party ideas. You can also honor the newly baptized with these baptism gift and party ideas.
• Get your group ready to dig deep into the text with these Bible study topics, themes and tips for teens, women’s and men’s groups, parents and more.

Tips for Scheduling Volunteers

In this article on church volunteer scheduling tips, ministry veteran Julie David mentions the importance of establishing a service team vision. Consider how volunteers reflect the mission of your church, and organize teams to best serve that purpose. Here are some key tips:

• How often will you ask a person to volunteer? How often is too often? Be specific about your needs and let people choose from available positions and times.
• Communicate early and often. Send out volunteer opportunities several months in advance, respond to a volunteer’s “yes” within 24 hours, and send reminders. Better yet, set up custom confirmation and reminder emails that automatically go out to volunteers through SignUpGenius. You can also send text reminders to your volunteer group.
• For ongoing ministry teams, consider scheduling people in a pattern, such as the second and fourth Sundays of every month. You can create a recurring event sign up to easily keep the volunteer opportunities streamlined.

Groups of any size can uplift your congregation and community, from harnessing the power of prayer to welcoming homeless neighbors. Use these resources to boost organizing and accomplish your mission.

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Posted by CG Kennedy