A lot has been written about recruiting (and should be heeded).  Perhaps the biggest truth about volunteer recruitment is that it is often VERY dependent on your church's culture of volunteering. Changing that culture, and not merely scrambling for warm bodies, has to be one of your long-term strategies, while in the meantime you make some changes in who and how you recruit.

I was once part of a church that was a classic "low participation" congregation, and guess what? They attracted people to whom "low participation" appealed! It took years to turn that around, and it really helped that we started a young adult/family ministry to attract "engaging" people who wanted more. Some of those who rose to the occasion were long-time members who were ready to say "yes" to something different. Others were new members who were attracted to our revitalized children and family ministry and wanted to connect with their new church.  No, we didn't become one of those over-heated "gotta be here" churches with endless numbers of things to do. Instead, we emphasized quality over quantity. When adults are happy with what they are seeing and the kids are doing, they are more likely to say "yes."

Here are a couple of observations and personal recruiting experiences:

(1)  Ask yourself these honest questions:

WHO is doing the recruiting?  And HOW are they doing it?

In some churches, the answer is "nobody," or "only one person," or "announcements."  All three answers are wrong, but I meet a lot of "lone rangers" out there who can't see that they need to change.  

Another problem I've seen is recruiters who are lousy at their job and do things that make people say "no" the next time they are asked. They don't fully describe the responsibilities to their recruits, or they recruit at the last minute, or they don't get materials to their recruits until the last minute.

Many lone rangers are disorganized and are lousy planners. Some lone rangers also find it easier to "do it all themselves" and don't share leadership. (This somewhat described me when I was a young youth pastor. I learned the hard way that delegation and letting others shine was better for everyone concerned, and made people want to say "yes" to future asks.)

I was once asked for recruiting advice by a young pastor who was a real oddball and somewhat abrasive. My suggestion was to find someone else to do their recruiting.

Years ago when I was training a seminary intern, I told them they needed to follow-up with those they recruited as the date of the event got closer. They didn't and several expected leaders didn't show up. Luckily some parents stepped up to help at the last minute, but I learned my lesson too --always follow up on those who are supposed to being doing the follow up. These days with cellphones and texting, there's no excuse.

(2) I would also look to your Juniors and Seniors in High School.

Your older teens are typically mature enough to teach young children (with some training) and not that interested in sitting with 9th graders in youth class. In my experience, it has been those "recruited" youth who end up developing a deeper faith and commitment to coming to church, and a relationship with other adults in the congregation.

I found it especially easy to recruit the "fringe kids" among our teens. My favorite examples of this are Justin and Mark. Justin was the stereotypical greasy-haired geek who felt out of place among his peers. Mark was a quiet, giant footballer who had insecurities. Yet they loved to help with our computers and drama classes --most likely because they didn't feel judged by the younger kids who looked up to them.

(3) I have also had good luck recruiting ENTIRE FAMILIES.

Mom, Dad, Grandma, college student, teen. --to teach as a family or lead at an event. Many parents are looking for things to do with their kids and help them connect to the church and their faith.

During a CROP Hunger Walk, I walked with Dan who talked the whole 6K about his two difficult young teens who put up a fight about coming to church. I discovered they liked to fish as a family, so I asked them to organize a church family fishing trip to a nearby lake, with the boys coming to help the younger kids learn how to cast. That spring, I asked the boys to plan and lead a hike with clues/treasures for the younger kids during our upcoming family retreat (that their parents wanted to go to) --and they miraculously agreed to attend. When it came time for recruiting for the church picnic or church workdays or helping with the liturgy in worship, I knew I could ask Dan and he wouldn't get pushback from his boys.

A big part of recruiting is training, but not in the way you think...

Training events are nice, but I've found no better substitute than asking someone to "come teach with me."  I learned this "Sunday School recruiting trick" by accident when I first started teaching with computers in my Sunday School.

I knew almost nothing about computers back then, or teaching with them, except that I needed some "techies" to come help me This was pre-Windows and I needed loading and starting programs in DOS back then, and extra hands on the keyboard to make the programs work (no mouses).

My techies didn't know much about the Bible or how to teach, so I was always looking toward them at the other computers and saying "let's do it like this, point this out, etc. Eventually I started writing out my teaching advice/steps on the whiteboard and pointing to it as the lesson went on. And eventually my techies caught on and became teachers in their own right.

Jim was an engineer who regularly read his Bible. He loved our computer lab idea but claimed not to be a teacher. When his twins were in Kindergarten, I asked him to teach the older kids class with me a couple of times so that he could be his boy's computer lab teacher the next year once a month with it was their turn in the lab (we rotated). Worked like a charm, and I could also call upon Jim to help me with the older kids as needed.

The answer is to get out of your recruiting box and think about how your ministry with people "creates their yes."