Holiday Club Jobs
There are three really important things you need to run a Holiday Club; Prayer, People and a Plan. This page is all about the People. One of the first things you need is to know is how many people you need, at a minimum, for the club to run and what you’ll need them to do. While the list below may differ in specifics, here are a list of the kind of jobs you will need for most Holiday Clubs. They’re divided into three categories of job: In the Mix, those who will be directly in contact with kids; Up Front, people who will be on the stage or speaking to the group as a whole; and Behind the Scenes, those who won’t have direct contact with children or who may not even be at the Holiday Club itself. One person may have multiple roles
In The Mix
Small Group Helper (SGH): Help the children to complete their activities, fill in a form collecting drinks orders during small craft time and collect the snack trays at snack time. Encourage your group during all activites.
Small Group Leader (SGL): On day one as your group come in please make them feel welcome and talk about their holidays. Everyday we will start with a small craft, day 1 is name badges, day 2 is …, day 3 is …. You will also lead them through their worksheets in small group time, helping them to apply the teaching to their lives and answering questions. Please try and make sure you have time to pray with them at the end of small group time. Encourage your group during the rest of the events.
Craft Leader: Demonstrate the craft to the small groups and explain the next step along. The instructions will be written out for you.
Up Front
Intro: Remind the kids of the rules, recap any previous days, give a clue as to what the story will be today - smething for the kids to listen out for.
Talk: Tell the Bible story, briefly, and explain why it matters to them, and what a difference Jesus can make to their lives.
Memory Verse leader: On day one, come up with a way of teaching the memory verse so that the kids can remember it.
Game Leader: Explain the rules for the game, keep score (when necessary), call out instructions, make adjustments for younger kids. Encourage saftey and team spirit!
In the Drama: You are in the Drama on days 1/2/3/4. You will need to source x costume or prop pieces. And you’ll need to attend a rehearsal before the Holiday Club Week.
Muso: Please would you play … We don't know what the songs are yet but you will know in plenty of time. You will need to attend a rehearsal before the Holiday Club.
Quiz Leader: Could you write some questions for the quiz based on this material… The format of the quiz will be…
Snack Prep: Put correct amount of juice, fruit and biscuits onto trays per Small Group, be aware of allergies and prevent contamination, washing up.
Early Birds Leader: A fun bit of jumping around, to a secular song, to get all the kids involved as they trickle through registration.
BehinD the scenes
Setter upper: Be there early to set up. Where necessary set up the games during previous activity. It'll be simply go and get the box for each team or put out a few targets on the floor.
Leading Leaders Prayer: Please help the leaders to pray before the session starts.
Registration: Sign in the kids each day, make sure you know who is picking them up (and that they know when). Chat to parents/guardians when possible. On the last day make sure that any crafts and leaflets for future events go home with the children.
Snacks: Get the squash orders from small group leaders at the beginning, prepare drinks and snacks on trays for each small group. Be aware of dietary needs of the kids, and make sure things are labeled correctly when necessary.
Prep: This should happen before the club, it will include preparing crafts, and even making or sourcing props and scenery.
Recruiting Leaders and Volunteers for a Holiday Club
Start this well in advance! Make sure the dates are well advertised, especially if you’re recruiting across multiple churches.
Before you recruit anyone work out which of the jobs above you need to fill, and the minimum amount of people to make the club plausible.
Pray that you’ll find the right people for each job.
Start your recruitment by asking specific people, those who have helped before or those who are already serving in children’s or youth ministry and have DSB. Ask people to fill a specific role or two - they are much more likely to say yes if they know what they are signing up for.
Ask for help from the front, explain clearly the different kinds of jobs that you still need help for and where people can sign up. Make sure there’s enough time for people to get a DSB check/safeguarding training if they don’t already have it.