Church volunteers help with programs or other duties at the church, such as Vacation Bible School (VBS), Sunday School, children’s ministry, providing donuts and coffee, the nursery during services, minor maintenance, running the slides, sound, etc.
Thanking volunteers with a small gift or thank you note will help them know their efforts are appreciated. They are doing things for the church community that takes their time and possibly their resources.
Also, there may be times when you want to send a thank you letter to all the volunteers or church members. So, there will be a couple of sample letters in the last section below that you can use as a template.
Church Volunteer Appreciation Ideas
Here are a few budget-friendly ideas for thanking the church members who volunteer at your church.
- For children’s programs, have the children make thank-you cards. They can use construction paper and write thank-you on them.
- Pass out small gifts such as $5 or $10 gift cards to a local coffee place or restaurant to each volunteer.
- Say “thank you” as much as you can. I always appreciate it when the parent(s) picks up their child from the church nursery and say “thank you.”
- Look for ideas on Pinterest. This Volunteer Appreciation Gifts board has lots of ideas. Homemade items combined with a small gift seem to be popular.
- Have a pizza party after a church service to thank all the volunteers.
- Write a thank-you note to the volunteer (examples below). For example, the letter could be to your child’s class teacher or the person making the coffee.
- Host a Christmas party with a nice meal and a gift for each volunteer, such as a shirt with the church’s logo.
Thank You to Church Volunteer Message Examples
Here are some example thank you messages for individual church members. They can be used to express gratitude to the church volunteers for specific tasks.
The examples below are only the center part of a thank-you note. Review the five easy steps to writing thank you notes to see the complete layout.
1. Thank you for making the coffee each week! I look forward to having a cup each week. I appreciate the time you take to arrive early and have it ready.
2. My daughter loves your class! You’ve made learning Bible verses easy for her. She tells us about every detail during Sunday lunch and says you are her favorite Sunday School teacher.
3. Your dedication to the nursery is wonderful. I feel comfortable dropping off [kid name] during your week in the nursery. I appreciate the break and being able to focus on the sermon.
4. I appreciate your time organizing all of the volunteers for each kids’ class on Sunday mornings. The new name tag system works well, and several parents have shared that it is easy to use. Also, you are great at finding helpers and teachers, as we rarely need a last-minute fill-in. Thank you for keeping everything running smoothly!
5. Thank you for helping run the PowerPoint slides every Sunday. It’s one of those tasks that most people don’t think about until it goes wrong! Fortunately, that only happens sometimes, as I know you prefer to help behind the scenes without the extra attention.
6. Thank you for running the PowerPoint Slides each week. The slides make it easier for me to take notes during the sermon, and I know the younger generations appreciate having words to songs on the screen instead of looking at a hymnal.
7. Thank you for donating your time and energy to paint the classrooms. They look much better now, and you saved the church from hiring professional painters. Those funds will be dedicated elsewhere.
8. Thank you for serving at church. I love seeing your smiling face as I walk into the building. You’re an excellent greeter.
VBS Thank You Note Messages
Here are a few examples to thank any leaders or those that helped make your Vacation Bible School a success.
9. VBS was great this year! Thank you for organizing the activities; having food for the volunteers beforehand was wonderful. The children I brought benefited from the program. One family has decided to join our church.
10. Vacation Bible School was hugely successful this year, thanks to your efforts! We are lucky to have you as our organizer, as you are quite suited for the role. I overheard many kids telling their parents how much fun they had. And many of the children repeated the memory verse (from memory). They are having fun and learning more about the Bible and Jesus.
12. My children enjoyed VBS this year! They love animals, so the Noah’s ark theme was perfect for them. Also, both kids can recite the memory verses and share the Noah’s ark story. The crafts were great too.
12. Thank you so much for volunteering at VBS. We appreciate all of the good work! Each of you has been a blessing to the children and their families. Thank you again for serving. May God bless you.
Thank You Letter to Church Volunteers
Here are two letter templates that could be used as a starting point for sending a letter or email to the volunteers or congregation. Be sure to customize it is using the terminology of your church, for example, Sunday School might be called Children’s Ministry and Adult Classes at your place of worship.
Example Letter Template #1
Dear Volunteers,
The church leadership thanks you with sincere gratitude for being a volunteer. Our children’s classes are only possible because of each of you.
We currently have over 100 children participating in the Sunday morning kid’s ministry. Your dedication and love for sharing the Lord make a difference in many little lives.
We will host a thank you lunch following the service on [Date]. We hope you can make it!
Sincerely,
Pastor’s Name
Example Letter Template #2
This letter can also help make newer members aware of all the available programs and increase the number of volunteers.
Dear Church Members,
Thank you to all of our ongoing and new volunteers. We appreciate your time, compassion, and labor of love for serving our community.
Your dedication and generosity make all of our programs possible.
So far this year, we have…
- list the accomplishments of the various programs here.
- Held 10 services at the prison, allowing us to minister to over 100 prisoners.
- Provided a weekly meal for the 50 homeless people at [Shelter Name].
- 50 elementary children attended a Sunday morning class.
- The teenagers went on a mission trip to [Location].
We are thankful that so many of you can serve the Lord through volunteering and donations.
If you would like to volunteer in any of our programs, please contact: [Person’s Name and Contact Info].
Thanks again for all you do,
Pastor Bob
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