Fall kickoff is an exciting time in kids ministry. Whether you call it Rally Day, the start of a new ministry season, or something else entirely—there’s a lot going on! Church members are returning from summer vacation, seasonal programming is gearing up, and you’re likely welcoming new families for the first time.
As attendance grows, you'll be busy preparing your kids ministry so it’s fully staffed with qualified caregivers to love on your littles each week. This can be a challenge, but thankfully, you don’t need to start from scratch to put a solid team in place. A strong church nursery fall kickoff staffing plan begins with the people already serving your church. This three-step approach for preparing your kids ministry includes: reviewing expected attendance, coordinating volunteers, and adding extra hands for your busiest weeks.
Forecast fall nursery attendance
Taking a few minutes to forecast your church's fall attendance can help you staff your classrooms appropriately, especially for the services and age groups where you’re already seeing growth.
Start by comparing nursery attendance over the last 6-8 Sundays with last year’s fall kickoff numbers as well as registrations for this year. (If your church uses tools like Breeze or ChurchTrac, these can help you spot trends.) Then, use those numbers to plan for the upcoming season. If you typically welcome 25 children but last year’s kickoff brought 20% more than an average Sunday, you might plan for around 30 kids. Or, if your infant room has grown from six babies to nine over the summer, build your fall schedule around those updated numbers. From there, budget a bit more for the families you haven’t met yet, rounding up by 2-5 children for each room. This way, you’ll be more than ready to welcome every kiddo that walks through your doors. Remember: being overstaffed is a good problem to have, and you can always release volunteers to enjoy the service if needed.
Staffing for the kickoff surge
Once you have an idea of your projected attendance, compare your forecast to your current church nursery fall kickoff staffing schedule. Then, identify where a few extra hands could help. SitterTree was built for church child care, and makes it easy to add paid support alongside your volunteer team. Using the app, you can find church sitters in your area for busy services, events, and even Bible studies or small groups.
Case study: How Peachtree Church blends paid child care and volunteers
Ashley Grandchamp, Peachtree Church’s Senior Early Education Manager, shares that their team uses paid sitters in the nursery alongside a strong volunteer program. This gives them the support they need during busy Sundays, and allows them to be thoughtful about how often they ask parents of young children to serve. The church serves about 500 children across three services on a typical Sunday, and usually books sitters for its nursery, with volunteers leading its preschool ministry.
Grandchamp says that paid nursery support also gives her team time to build relationships with families who have babies and toddlers. Those parents can participate in church during a busy season of life, and be ready to serve as their children advance to the preschool ministry.
As you consider your church nursery fall kickoff staffing plan, think about what lights your volunteers up about serving, and where extra hands could support them. A few paid sitters on busy weeks can help pour into your existing team.
Finding church sitters with the right experience
Churches often wonder if they’ll be able to find child care that meets their needs on apps like SitterTree. Using badges, it’s easy to get the right hands in the right rooms. For instance, because Peachtree Church uses paid child care primarily in its nursery, the team takes care to book sitters who have experience with infants and younger children.
On SitterTree, you can view badges on sitter profiles to find candidates with experience ranging from CPR and First Aid certification to Sexual Abuse Awareness Training and more. As of August 2026, over 1,400 sitters on SitterTree have the CPR badge and more than 200 have the Sexual Abuse Awareness badge*.
Build consistency beyond kickoff
Fall kickoff may bring the biggest surge in church nursery attendance, but for many churches, the need for extra hands continues well through the holidays.
When you find sitters you love working with, you can add them as favorites on SitterTree to invite them back for future Sundays. Grandchamp noted that Peachtree Church books recurring support and sees many of the same sitters return, creating consistency for their ministry. On average, SitterTree sees over 50% of church jobs booked with favorite sitters*.
That consistency can strengthen your volunteer culture, too. With a reliable group of paid sitters, you can offer volunteers a break when needed and help prevent burnout.
Welcome fall with a plan
Your volunteers are showing up, your ministry is growing, and more families are coming through your doors. Fall kickoff is an opportunity to make sure your child care team grows right alongside your church.
SitterTree partners with over 1,000 churches nationwide to help them find local church sitters. Create your free account to find child care providers who meet your needs, and invite your favorites back all through the year. Now that you have a solid church nursery fall kickoff staffing plan, you’re ready for a smooth start to this busy season!
*Statistics are based on SitterTree marketplace data during August 2026. Actual member results may vary. Certifications are self-reported and are not verified. You should directly verify all certifications and experience before your job.