So, how do you choose the members of this search team? 

Here are some questions to help you start creating a short list of potential candidates for your search team:

Who knows the ministry well?

You want stakeholders at the table who hold both a vested interest in the ministry along with an understanding as to how the ministry fits with the larger church and aligns in mission. 

Who has interviewed, hired, or supervised others?

If you’re hiring for a role that will be responsible for building a team or overseeing other staff, it can be helpful to have someone on the search team who can assist in vetting the characteristics and skills uniquely needed for this responsibility.

Who has worked in human resources?

Previous hiring experience is not required to be a search team member and, yet, useful insights can be garnered from professionals in your church who are familiar with the dynamics of employer-employee relationships. 

Who has a sense of discernment, the ability to see God at work?

Meeting candidates who can give the right answers to practical questions is one checked box but getting a sense of a person’s spirituality and ability to lead from a place of faith is another. If there’s someone in your church who reads people well, and who has a voice and wisdom others value, they might be worth inviting on the team.

Who has the best interest of the ministry in mind?

Let’s say you’re searching for a new youth minister and a candidate comes along who can also lead worship. Many would see that individual as an enticing hire because of the expanse of their skills and the multiple areas in which they might be able to serve. But wise voices on the team, who have the best interest of the ministry in mind, will speak caution, aiming to ensure that the person hired has a passion for the primary ministry of focus, rather than someone who can answer the question, “what else can they do?”.   

Who is eager to participate in a process of discerning what is best for the ministry?

Stakeholders who are knowledgeable about the present state of the ministry are an immense help when it comes to determining how quickly a leader will be able to hit the ground running. You also want people on the search team who have the ability to see beyond the now and assist in deciphering whether or not someone’s approach has the potential for long-term success.

Who plays well with others, and acknowledges that there is no I in TEAM?

When building a search team, double-check that the collective can work together. If your experience would suggest that someone on your list will dominate conversation, be unswayed by others’ contributions, or struggle to hold team discussions and interview outcomes in confidence, this is not the team for them.

By now you probably have a strong short list of potential search team members. (If not, go back to the top and answer the questions by writing real names on a real piece of paper.) As you consider the gifts of individuals in your church, you’ll also want to think about how the team will work together.

Having assisted hundreds of churches in their searches, here are the top traits of the most successful search teams we’ve worked with at Ministry Architects:

They are connected.

The best search team members are people who know people. One key piece of the search process is networking. Simply put, this means your team is willing to tell others (as many as possible) that there’s an open position at your church. about potential candidates. To help spread the word about your exciting job, you want people who are willing to share about the role on their social media, talk about this opportunity at work and throughout the community, and commit to calling friends and family to recruit even more people to share the news. Connected people think about the net you’re casting and want to reach more, which impacts your applicant pool.

They are carefully curious.

The best search team members are those who aren’t afraid to ask questions thoughtfully and follow-up gracefully. Your team will want to select questions that help them get to know candidates and learn insights into the nuances of their skillset and giftedness, while simultaneously ensuring those questions follow state and federal guidelines. (Because there are some questions you can’t ask.)

They can keep information confidential. 

The best search team members are those who are able to keep information about candidates, including their names and other identifying information, confidential. This provides protection for those considering the position and for their families. It also protects the search process by ensuring that, for example, Aunt Jenny doesn’t hear that her niece is no longer considered for the position, causing a potential rift in the church membership as she shares this news with others. 

They care. 

The best search team members are those who can listen to, and respect, the opinions of others. Although options may vary, the search team is primarily in place to gather information, assess the top candidates, and make an informed decision. Caring about the people you’re serving with is just as important as caring about the candidates you are meeting and the one you will hire.

They can see beyond themselves. 

The best search team members are those who adopt this mantra: It’s not my person, it’s our person. It’s a bit like when your child decides to marry someone. Your child’s choice may not be your top choice, but you trust your child to make the best decision. In the case of the search process, each search team member trusts the opinions of those on the search team and makes the best decision based on the whole, not on who might be their favorite candidate.  

They commit to prayer. 

Although there are systems and processes that can help a search move along smoothly, the search is about more than the process. The best search team members are those who will prayerfully consider the candidates and acknowledge that this is not just a slot to fill. Instead, the team will invite God into the process, realizing that God can guide decisions and provide just the right candidate for the ministry. 

While the decision to choose the right search team members may feel daunting, keep in mind that just as God is involved in the search process, God can guide decisions about who should represent the ministry as it seeks to find the right candidate. Prayerfully ask God to provide the right search team members. Consider the skill sets and giftedness of your church members, and invite them into the process to find the best candidate for your ministry. And if you want a thought partner in this work, or would like to learn more about how to search for new hires, let’s connect!

Happy searching!

Elaine Pendergrass

elaine.pendergrass@ministryarchitects.com

Elaine comes with a wealth of knowledge about teaching and learning, child development, and children’s discipleship. She holds a B.S. in Elementary Studies and an M.A. in School Administration, both from Gardner-Webb University (Boiling Springs, NC). 

The post Church Staffing 101: How to Select a Search Team appeared first on Ministry Architects.

You absolutely believe that the Lord is calling you to move from your volunteer* position to a vocational staff role or from one church staff to another. So… How do you know where to go? And… what are the questions to ask when interviewing?

It’s one thing to choose a community of faith to be a part of as a congregant. It’s a whole ‘nother space of discernment to determine where you could step onto staff and embrace a mission you’re responsible for helping others embrace, too.

So, here are the questions to ask when interviewing at a church. Full disclosure: Did I have all these questions answered when I started applying for my first ministry job? Nope. I sure didn’t. Rare is the leader who does. In fact, there are a few I still wrestle with after many years in ministry. But this will give you a good starting set of questions to consider as you navigate the world of interviewing.

1) Consider your non-negotiables.

ASK: What are the things I absolutely believe and don’t want to have to “unteach,” should another leader in the church say differently?

“Hot topics”: Socially relevant issues often include intersection of politics and faith, abortion laws, gun ownership regulations, and the like. You’ll come up with a list that’s right for you but what you don’t want is to land a job, find you disagree significantly, and need to leave a community because the teachings aren’t how you understand God’s Word on the matter. This isn’t good for you or them.

Sacraments: If you’re called to work with children and youth specifically, you might also ask what position you can hold with some of the following experiences:

• Baptism: Can babies be baptized or just people who can profess their faith for themselves?
• Confirmation: Is this necessary or no? And, are you one of the teachers or is it another leader?
• Marriage: What is the definition of marriage? How do you celebrate marriage? When can divorce happen, if ever?
• Communion: Are you a part of a tradition that invites everyone to an open table or no? 
• And any others…

Leadership: This might not climb to the top of your non-negotiable list but asking how a church approaches leadership roles could impact the ways in which you can build a team (and maybe serve). 

• Gender Differences: Are there restrictions on which roles men and women can hold in a church?
• Relationship Status: Does a person’s relationship status change how they are able to serve? (married vs. single vs. divorced vs. dating vs. ____)
• Accountability + Decision-making: Is there a board or a council of elders that provides oversight and accountability? Or is it all up to the staff? 
• Pastoral Selection: How does one become ordained in the tradition? And how are pastors hired (and fired)? 

IF THE TURNTABLES ARE TURNED…

Churches should be able to state their non-negotiables, too. An organization will be wise to vet applicants early on and only consider those who align well on some of the most impactful tensions of our day. If you’re an applicant interviewing with a church team who can’t answer these, you will want to consider if their absence-of-stance matters.

2) Consider your worship.

ASK: Is this a community, and are these leaders, I want to inform my personal faith journey?

Everyone who follows Jesus has a preferred way to connect with Christ in community.

You’re not just working another job; as a church staff member, you’re a part of the community. And while some folks choose to work in one place and worship in another, wouldn’t it be great if you could be at home in just one place? Check out a church’s online service, listen to past sermons, experience their offerings, and really ask yourself if you can worship there.

IF THE TURNTABLES ARE TURNED…

As part of an interview process, a church should incorporate an opportunity for applicants to experience worship with them. Ideally, if a community worships in multiple styles, candidates will get to see all the options.

3) Consider your community.

ASK: Are there people here I can connect with and be myself around?

People need people. We all do. Even if we think we’ll be okay without.

If you don’t see “your people” in the seats of the church, a thoughtful question to ask during an interview is if there are others in the church or around the town who are of a similar life stage (or whatever qualifier you know you’re looking for). 

Ministry can be very lonely. (Don’t believe me? Check out #4 on the “Should I Quit My Job?” list.) And, while it’s easy to learn what fun things-to-do your new church is close to, you’re going to want friends to do those fun things with. If those people are not in the church, it’s okay to ask the questions about what’s around town and ways you can intentionally meet new people.

Another important question to consider has to do with your current community: How close do you want to remain to the friends and family who know and love you right now? 

Do you want to be within a day’s drive? Or is taking a flight aokay with you? Getting home for holidays and other happenings will matter. And only you know how much. In my first ministry job, I could work a half day on Thursday, make it home for a late dinner, and stay through an early dinner on Saturday, making it back to my church’s town a little after midnight – getting just enough sleep before Sunday. That 7-hour drive was “nothing”… until it was something. So building your search radius around proximity to people could be a good idea. 

IF THE TURNTABLES ARE TURNED…

One way churches can care for their staff is to have a guide that clearly states parameters around office hours, health leave, vacation days, etc. I use the word “care” because, being a church, the leadership can take into consideration the needs of staff beyond the “standard operating procedures” most businesses hold. As an applicant, knowing the questions to ask when interviewing is important. Asking about the flexibility of work space and hours may make or break your decision – and that’s okay. It’s better to know before stepping into a job how a church values a healthy approach to work rather than experiencing unhealth, firsthand.

Last but definitely not least: A heart to serve the Lord and a call to work in ministry doesn’t need all this figured out. These are just some questions to ask when interviewing at a church. And… over time, where you and the church just aren’t aligned, you’ll start to feel some internal tension. Plus, if you work with kids, youth, or young adults, someone’s bound to ask some question along the way that will lead you to wrestle with most of the questions above. And the more you can put words around some of all this now, the easier it will be to apply to the kinds of churches you’re in sync with, and the more likely it is you’ll stick around for a good, long while when hired. Which is good for you AND them AND all the people you’re serving. 

And whether you’re a leader who’s looking or a church who’s searching, if you want to talk more about any of this, let’s plan a call. 

*HOT TAKE: If you’ve never served as a volunteer in the ministry area in which you’re about to pursue a paid position – DO! Go ask the current leadership, right now, if you can join the team! You’ll start learning the ins and outs of what makes that ministry happen – a ministry that’s a part of a church you already know (and love) – and it’s free, on-the-job experience you can take with you into your next.

Renée Wilson will tell you the best advice she ever received as a volunteer in youth ministry was “prepare well and love ’em to Jesus.” And that’s exactly why she’s a part of our team. Through her 15+ years of mentoring and ministering with children, youth, and young adults, Renée knows the value of building healthy teams and loves creating approaches around the vision of seeing more and more people come to know Christ.

The post Church Staffing 101: Questions to Ask When Interviewing at a Church appeared first on Ministry Architects.

Quitting your job for a pay raise is a choice. 
But it’s one we hope you don’t have to take. 

Data explaining The Great Resignation shows job changes often lead to better pay, more flexibility, greater benefits, opportunities for advancement, and an overall easier time balancing work responsibilities and life living.

My question is this:
Do you have to quit to get it?

Each of us has an ‘it’ that goes beyond purpose or call. It was very clear to me early in life that I loved working with kids and I had a knack for connection and teaching. Those three characteristics alone opened up a world of possibilities. Should I be a doctor? Pastor? Teacher? Counselor? 

But, you already know, beyond the heart of why we do what we do is the how. And caring for kids from a cubicle, with rigid office hours, dodgy health options, and pay that doesn’t allow much of a life outside of work, this is the “how” that many ministry leaders face.

So finding another avenue to live out my purpose just makes sense, right?

Maybe.

What we all need to do is identify our “its”. So, what are those elements of employment that help us thrive vs. simply survive? (vs. resign)

What’s your it?

Our team has put together a thoughtful list of reasons to stay or go. If one of the “go” reasons is your deal-breaking current reality, a resignation is probably right for you. After acknowledging that truth, please read this resource as you plan to transition and, then, consider inviting a coach, spiritual director, or therapist to walk with you through this next season. (I can help connect you.)

But if your current reality is more of a difficult situation than a dealbreaker, let’s see if we can salvage your situation.

it #1: The Pace of Work

REALITY: You’re exhausted.
RESPONSE: Do you need a break? Or do you need to break up with unhealthy habits?

REMEDIES: You might just need a work-free weekend, week, or multi-week sabbatical. Have you had those conversations with your supervisor? What do you need to do to get some time away and really reset and return refreshed? OR you might need to reassess how your time is spent on the daily. Check out our rhythmic week and let’s connect to talk through the healthiest ways for your work to get done.

it #2: Healthy Relationships

REALITY: Your feelings have been hurt.
RESPONSE: Does the other person know? Is the relationship repairable? Is reconciliation possible?

REMEDIES: You might need to Matthew 18 a conversation and truly consider if you can continue working with a person. Is this a heart issue that’s hard and unyielding? Is this a humility issue that’s hindered by pride? Or is this an issue where grace and forgiveness are needed? Quitting ≠ fixed feelings.

it #3: The Expectations of Work

REALITY: You haven’t been able to accomplish all your goals.
RESPONSE: Are the goals truly accomplishable with the time frame, team, and type of environment you’re in? What are the hurdles: people, process, proficiency, or power? 

REMEDIES: Your ability to identify what’s standing in your way requires an honest look at the system in which you’re being asked to accomplish the goals, the raw materials you have to work with, and – and this is the toughest – your capabilities. Invite a small set of trusted, wise voices – who know you and understand your work – to answer these four questions about both you and your ministry: 

• What’s going well and needs to continue? 
• What’s not working and needs to stop?
• What’s lacking but has potential and needs help?
• What’s missing and needs to be started?

it #4: Personal Problems

REALITY: You are lonely.
RESPONSE: I’m so sorry. Truly. There are questions to ask and answer for this, too, but the experience of loneliness is further isolating and discouraging when we’re in churches and often surrounded by others. More and more research is being done to analyze the devastating effects of loneliness on health and longevity – and the data is alarming. I’m not with you right now as you read this – but, I see you. And we should talk.

REMEDIES: Say words. Is there anyone you’re connected to in your church, neighborhood, gym, family, former life? You don’t need a fixer; you need a friend. And people don’t know what they don’t know. If you’re good at putting on a face in public (like so many of us in ministry are), why would anyone reach out or worry? Please say words and let someone know you’d love a dinner buddy, a putt-putt golf pal, a road trip co-planner, a person or two to be around who actually wants to be around. (And, hey… people DO want to be around you.) Quitting might exacerbate your loneliness or it might give you space to work on you. But, please, say words out loud before you decide to resign.

it #5: The Interpersonal Dynamics of Work

REALITY: Your boss is extremely difficult.
RESPONSE: What are the difficulties? Is it a personality conflict that won’t be helped through conversation? Are there impossible demands? Is your boss distant or absent? Does your boss intentionally hinder your ability to do your job? Or is your boss harmful to your well-being or growth?

REMEDIES: You need to identify what you’re looking for in a boss. Do you have expectations that your boss be a mentor, a friend, or someone who simply lets you lead? 

Then, identify what kind of leader your boss is. Write down the characteristics of what you need in a boss to survive vs. thrive and compare that list with the list of what you’ve experienced with your boss. 

A different tension might exist if you’ve experienced your boss interacting with others on the team in ways they don’t interact with you. If this is the case, there’s an opportunity for conversation. If they’re just not a fit for the type of leadership you need to flourish, though, a change may be in order.

it #6: Team Structure

REALITY: You struggle to find volunteers.
RESPONSE: This is one of the top 3 tensions we hear most often from ministry leaders. So then we ask: 

• Are you struggling because everyone else is already serving somewhere else? 
• Do you struggle to make the asks and invite new team members to join the ministry? 
• Are there people equipped or excited about the ministry you lead – or is this an opportunity for new training, storytelling, or communication?

REMEDIES: Take our Volunteer Inventory. This will help you know if your best next step is a personal coach, a cohort to learn new strategies, or cultural shift for your whole church. I can assure you if you don’t pinpoint the source of your volunteer vacuum, and you quit and move onto another place, a solution will still be needed.

Still not sure whether you should stay or go? Then maybe answering this one question will help: What does it look like for you to be content in your job? If this is possible, really possible, where you already are, why would you leave?

It’s not mine nor anyone else’s job to talk you into a job. Through prayerful discernment, honest answers to thoughtful questions, and intentional discussions with those you trust, you’ll figure out what to do. And if our team of experienced ministry leaders can be a part of helping you think it all through? We’d love to talk!

Post-note: If you’re a staff leader who’s worried your team is thinking about quitting, check out these resources and let’s talk.

1. Strategies for Staff Retention by Brandi Kirkland
2. How to Support the Bi-Vocational Pastor by Jeff Cochran
3. Beyond Onboarding by Rob Dyer

The post Should I Quit My Job? appeared first on Ministry Architects.

We sigh and celebrate.

The new staff person hopefully gets some formal onboarding with policies, procedures, and the location of the nearest bathroom. Then, we stop by their office and ask how things are going. If they say great, we breathe another sigh of relief. Maybe we even take them to lunch one time! Look at us, responsible and generous! We might even check in with the rest of the staff and ask how they think the new person is working out. If they say great, we breathe another sigh of relief. We keep our ears up, listening for murmurs of discontent or cheers of support from the congregation, too. If all seems to be going ok, another sigh of relief. 

We size up the new hire through a series of sighs.

For existing staff, we lean into staff meetings pretty hard. For many senior pastors, we think “If no one complains at staff meeting, then everything is alright.” To go along with that, we add “If no one in the church is upset with a staff person, then everything is alright.” More sighs of relief. Through past traditions or nervousness over staff morale, we may set up some team building opportunities. This could be playing a game, going on a retreat, grabbing lunch, or the thrill of the whole staff reading a book together. Can’t you just imagine the excitement bubbling up in your staff’s hearts when you hand out copies of your latest “magic cure for what ails the church” book?

To summarize, church staff development can easily degrade into a two-step process: onboarding and then problem solving. 

A week with no problems means that the staff are all set. And this is fine if you have no desire to actually develop your staff. If you have no desire to invest in the future of the church’s leadership, you are done. But that doesn’t feel right, does it? Most of us senior pastors want to be part of a team that is developing. We may have different styles of leadership and motivation, but in the end, we want to see our staff growing, learning, and thriving. However, when the to-do list we made at the beginning of the week continues to taunt us with so many unchecked boxes, we use what time and energy we have for ourselves. And staff development becomes a luxury that we imagine we cannot afford. 

*sigh*

I get it. The senior pastor spends so much time putting out fires and worrying about problems that you aren’t going to invest time in staff development unless it’s a crisis. So, let me make it easier for you. If you are not investing in the development of your staff, your church is in a crisis. The boat is sinking. The basement is on fire. You are designing a system that will reward quiet quitters and frustrate leaders who want to grow. Your sighs of relief are quickly becoming the last fleeting breaths of the dying church. Is that better? Heart rate up a little? Scared enough to take action? Ok, then. Let’s look at four easy ways you can invest in the newer, less experienced, and still-learning people on your staff. (And your long-time, more experienced staff may appreciate some of this, too.)

1. Know the Stories So They Can Be Seen and Known

Your staff come to you with a rich set of stories about their life and former work. Learn their backstories. Be curious. Ask questions. Don’t get creepy digging into their lives, and resist the urge to turn every one of their stories into an opportunity for you to “one-up” them with your incredible escapades. Just take the time to find out what has fueled them and what has used up all of their energy in the past. And, as they create new stories in their work with you, create a non-anxious environment where they feel comfortable telling you about their celebrations and their utter failures. You can help create this culture by sharing more of your failure stories than your success stories. The most basic step in church staff development is creating a culture where people feel seen and known.

Curious how to connect with Gen Z employees? Click here.

2. Carry Around Buckets of Grace Expecting the Fires of Failure

I have a series of favorite phrases that all revolve around the same basic idea: It is ok to fail. 

“We are not in charge of nuclear missiles.”

“If it doesn’t happen, the world will keep on spinning.”

“Around here, we carry big buckets of grace.”

I use these phrases to create a culture where my staff has clear permission to fail. It probably comes from my former days as a technology developer. Nearly every great innovation and success story in technology was preceded by a series of failure stories. Tony Fadell, one of the masterminds behind the Apple iPod and iPhone, racked up a series of failures before striking gold. Thomas Edison created several fires before he got a light bulb to stay on. You don’t need to use my corny phrases, but you do need to decide how you are going to create a safe space for the staff to grow. Very few people can thrive in spaces where failure is met with harsh intolerance. 

3. Provide Accountability Internally and Support Externally

We need to hold our staff members accountable for their actions. Wait! What happened to the buckets of grace? The buckets are still there. When failure, missteps, miscommunications or other issues arise, we pour on the grace and then follow it with reflecting on what happened. In fact, reflecting on how things are going along the way is often only made possible when staff feel safe, seen, known, and forgiven along the way. With that environment in place, we set up clear expectations and then invite the staff to reflect on what went wrong with us. This means, we are all learning from the updates and the missteps. 

Externally, we need to support our staff in their journey of growth and development. We cannot throw our staff under the bus. Staff mistakes are our mistakes. It can be all too tempting to breathe one of those sighs of relief when we realize that a church member is mad at someone else on the staff. It takes a humble and courageous leader to accept blame and commit to solutions in solidarity with their staff. Certainly, someone may commit egregious errors that cannot be defended or supported in any way, but let’s be honest, these instances are rare. Having the backs of our less experienced staff is critical to encouraging their growth and development.

4. Give Them Time and Money to Learn from Others

We are not the single source of wisdom and knowledge in the universe. Hopefully, this is not hard for us to acknowledge. Our staff will learn from the experiences in our context, but they also need to be empowered and encouraged to develop in ways beyond our context. This will lead to valuable lessons and unique perspectives that can be brought back to your church. Every staff member should have access to some funds for continuing education, coaching, spiritual direction, or other outside development activities. 

Need help identifying which support is right? Click here.

As senior staff, we get to encourage these activities with the added benefit that these learning experiences cost us little of our own time, effort, or risk. In addition to the funds, encouraging time for outside learning is key. We cannot ask our staff to sacrifice pay or vacation days in order to attend a growing opportunity or meet with other outside church leaders. While these opportunities will yield lessons in their content, they also help us to create a ministry environment that clearly values the development of our church’s most precious resource, our staff.

We can expect more from people when we invest more in people.

I have tried to implement these four steps in the various ministry areas of my life where I have the privilege to lead others. I’ve failed many times. I’ve missed opportunities to hear someone’s story. I have reacted with fear instead of grace. At times, I’ve failed to set clear expectations. I have not always encouraged staff to find mentors outside of our own context.

The good news is that grace is real and the world will keep on spinning. I have had many second chances to be a better leader. God has continually connected me with unique and amazing staff in a variety of contexts. I am not the perfect leader, but on my better days, I can learn from my failures. And with that, I can breathe out a sigh of relief and breathe in an expectation of what God might do next.

If you’re struggling with church staff development or you would like to talk through how to find time to connect with your teams, let’s talk. 

The post Beyond Onboarding: Why are we so bad at church staff development?  appeared first on Ministry Architects.

As a 43-year-old, I’m living in a world that looks unfamiliar to me. 

For example, I’ve never seen so many businesses looking to hire workers before. Many businesses I frequent have “help wanted signs” next to “please be kind, we are understaffed” signs written in sharpie. 

But what’s most fascinating to me about this moment in cultural history, often referred to as “the Great Resignation,” is not the economics of it all. It’s the way people respond to these new realities. One response in particular is fascinating in its pervasiveness: “nobody wants to work anymore.”

You see, the jobs issue isn’t the pay rates. Or the working conditions. Or the fact that people already have jobs (currently we’re in a season of historically low unemployment). The problem is the young people, you see. Young adults are lazy. They are entitled. They don’t have any work ethic.

In the face of cultural changes, we often have a tendency to blame young people. It’s not new either.

We’ve been blaming young adults for not wanting to work for over 120 years:

Sadly, we do the same thing to young adults in the church.

The church in North America is shrinking and we blame the next generation, “nobody wants to go to church anymore.” We did it with Gen X. We did it with the Millennials. We’re doing it with Gen Z.

However, I don’t think blaming the next generation of young adults for not connecting with what connects to us is going to right the ship.

Currently, the Millennial generation is aging into their 40’s and they are rapidly leaving the “young adult” category (which is enough to inspire a new trend of referring to some of them as “elder millennials”). Gen Z is quickly picking up the mantle of “young adult” and, consequently, the blame for the shrinking church. 

But I don’t think it’s their fault. At least, I don’t think it’s worthwhile to fault them for it. Just like the millennial generation was accused of being the “participation trophy” generation, we place the responsibility on children, instead of the Baby Boomer parents who wanted to ensure their kids got trophies. We (the older generations) have a responsibility not just to pass on what we know, but to learn from the next generation as well.

In our book, Sustainable Young Adult Ministry: Making it Work, Making it Last, Mark Devries & I shared six mistakes that churches are making with young adults. At the time of writing, we were aiming at Millennials. But I’ve found that these mistakes still ring true today. Because the overarching mistake is simply the failure of an older generation to meet the next generation of church leaders where they are.

Want to learn more about these six mistakes? Purchase a copy of Sustainable Young Adult Ministry here!

The failure of the church to thrive through the generations is not simply about teaching correct doctrine, it’s about failing to be incarnational with young adults. Rather than join young adults in their ministry, we’d much rather invite them to join us in ours.

Gen Z young adults have faith stories. They have desires to see the mission of the church transform the world. They care about marginalized and underrepresented people and they deeply desire to see the church look like Jesus. But they don’t live that out in a way previous generations did.

Call it naiveté, call it disconnection, call it pride or selfishness, but the more an older generation fails to meet the younger generation on their turf, the more the church suffers. The good news is that there is plenty of opportunity and hope to succeed and God even gives some good instructions on how to start.

The Lord said to Moses, “This applies to the Levites: Men twenty-five years old or more shall come to take part in the work at the tent of meeting, but at the age of fifty, they must retire from their regular service and work no longer. They may assist their brothers in performing their duties at the tent of meeting, but they themselves must not do the work. This, then, is how you are to assign the responsibilities of the Levites.”

Numbers 8:23-26 (NIV)

I bet you didn’t know God instituted a mandatory retirement age at 50, did you? Interestingly, people are living pretty long lives at this point in the Old Testament and yet God makes 50 years-old the cutoff. I don’t think it’s because that’s when a person is too feeble to do the work, I think it’s because that’s the best time to offer help to the next leader in the church.

Take note, also, that the goal is not to make sure that the younger Levites learn how the older Levites do the work. Instead, the goal is for the 50-year-old, to assist the 25-year-old in the younger leader’s responsibilities. It’s about meeting the young adult in their work and assisting them.

I’ve heard many people decry the low religious values of young adults. But I don’t know many churches whose 50-year-olds are looking to the young adults to develop ministry direction and leadership in the church. 

Gen Z has new experiences and new characteristics that separate them from their Millennial predecessors. Rather than Facebook and 9/11, they’ve experienced TikTok and COVID-19. These experiences are shaping them differently and create different values. But Gen Z, like every generation before them, needs to be invested in rather than blamed. The greatest choice older generations can make is to invest in the work of the next set of young adults.

Get to know them.

Get to know their mission and their calling.

Get to know how you can assist your younger brothers and sisters in their work of leading the church.

Here’s a start of what a typical Gen Z young adult cares about:

• Self-Care.  
  Gen Z knows more about trauma than previous generations and would love to avoid the negative impacts in their lives.

• Collaboration and flexibility.  
  Gen Z doesn’t care about being in the office and working 9-5.

• Diversity. 
  Gen Z makes choices about where they live and work (and where they will send their kids to school) based on the opportunities for diversity.

• Authenticity & Ambiguity.  
  Gen Z is okay if you don’t have all the answers. They would rather wrestle together with a real person on issues than settle for trite responses.

• Causes.  
  Gen Z is motivated by actions that will make a difference in the world.  Whether it’s climate change or the #MeToo movement or protesting on social issues, Gen Z is not simply there to talk, they literally want to change the world.

Obviously, this is not an exhaustive list.  But it does include a number of things that older generations might disregard because they’re not the values of their generation. In fact, so many have chosen that path already.

Leaders in the church today have a choice in how they relate to Gen Z and the values they hold. They can blame them for the problems they see. Or they can engage them and open the door to a new future within the next generation.

The post Nobody Wants to Work Anymore: Why blaming young adults won’t get us anywhere in the church. appeared first on Ministry Architects.

“Years of preparation had made her movements effortless, her turns seamless, her leaps weightless. A dancer of unparalleled talent, she mesmerized the crowd with her skill, but even more with her passion. Her countenance proclaimed in no uncertain terms that she was made for this moment. 

But she would finish much sooner than anyone expected. Coming down from an arching leap, she landed with a jolting crack, her foot driving its way through the rotting wood of the floor, her body twisted in pain, her leg bent in places it was not made to bend. She was pulled from the stage, wondering if she would ever dance again. 

The master of ceremonies dismissively apologized, “Inexperience does this to a dancer.” But no one repaired the floor. 

And then, as if nothing had happened, the next performer was introduced.”

Mark DeVries. Sustainable Youth Ministry (pp. 51-52). InterVarsity Press.

My Story

The first time I read those words, I just stopped, eyes frozen on the white page. The small black letters blurred for a time as the words crashed over me. I had been that dancer. I had fallen through that dance floor. And then, I’d been replaced with the next victim. In fact, at that point I was on my third faulty and neglected dance floor, and it was clear that no one was interested in making any repairs. I sat there, holding Mark’s book in my hand, recalling all the holes I’d been dancing around for years, and wondering, for the first time, if maybe dance floors didn’t have to have holes. If maybe it was a lack of maintenance, and not my dancing, after all.

You may have experienced a similar resonance while reading “Sustainable Youth Ministry” by Mark DeVries. If not, maybe you are experiencing it now.

Or maybe, you’re recognizing that it’s your dance floor. Maybe you have started to see a pattern in your church and you are ready to make some repairs. 

You’re not alone.

Whether it’s your job to build churches or build ministries, all of us are responsible for maintaining what we at Ministry Architects call “The Dance Floor.” You may have a staff team of 50 leaders or a Sunday volunteer team of 5. Either way, creating the systems and structures that equip those leaders for success is your responsibility, and it’s not easy, but you can fix the dance floor. 

And you had better.

For the last decade or so, churches have been hire- and fire-at-will. And while a well-known former Seattle pastor’s remarks on the “bodies behind the bus” have recently resurged to the general cringe of us all, this mindset was never limited to that one mega-church. Now, as we find ourselves in the throes of the Great Resignation, churches are coming to the realization that they are going to have to put their best foot forward to attract– and retain– staff in 2022. We’re going to have to put in the work to find the best strategies for staff retention.

And the first step is to stop trained ballerinas from falling through dance floors. Here’s how:

Strategies for Staff Retention:

Step 1: Find the Holes:

This should be obvious, but it’s not. It’s really, really not. In fact, I would suggest that holes wouldn’t be in the dance floor in the first place if leaders like you and I could see them. So, you are going to have to really dig. And you’re going to have to be humble. Really humble.

Did the last three children’s directors all complain about communication as they walked out the door? Did the last five volunteer youth leaders who “suddenly” quit over the last year all mention “lack of preparation?” 

There are probably patterns, but we have to be humble to see them. And humble is hard. 

So dig. Dig without blame or agenda. And friend, it’s going to be a lot harder if you have asked for honest feedback in the past and then hurt people. So, be honest with yourself as you dig. Is your staff being closed-lipped and closed-off? Did something they spoke with you honestly about come up recently in their annual review? It takes courage to speak truth to power. Honor that. And honor them.

If this is a struggle for you, if you’ve searched your heart, your backlog of emails, your team, and your trusted mentors, and you still don’t know what the holes are or how to fix them, let us help. 

We’re committed to being non-judgemental load-bearers,
let’s talk about what it would look like to partner in 2022.

Step 2: Create a Plan:

Once you know where the “holes” are you can create a plan to fix them. Sit down with a mentor or, better yet, sit down with a couple of key leaders representing those who have been most affected by these holes. 

(Tip: If this group is just your “Executive Leadership Team,” you will get nowhere. No offense, but this is the same group who didn’t fix the holes in the first place. At this point, if you want to fix the dance floor in a meaningful way, you need on-the-ground feedback and new voices.)

Our favorite way to do this at Ministry Architects is to create a Game Plan. We start with a 3-Year Goal. Where do you want to be in three years? It’s best if this is a S.M.A.R.T. Goal (Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-Bound). Then, you create a 1-Year Benchmark that puts you on a trajectory to meet that 3-Year Goal. 

An example:

Let’s say the hole in your dance floor  is a lack of respectful and advanced communication. The outcome your church has experienced because of that hole is a high staff turnover rate and general staff burnout. Then your 3-Year Goal could be something like this: 

“8 of our 10 current staff remain on staff through 2025 and 8 out of 10 are able to report that they are ‘highly satisfied’ with their experience working with our church.” 

In an effort to strategically work towards that goal, set a benchmark to reach at the end of the year. The 1-Year Benchmark could look something like this: 

“A weekly staff email has been established within which upcoming decisions and events are announced three or more months in advance. Additionally, staff accomplishments are celebrated weekly.” 

The goal of the 1-Year Benchmark is that you never have to think about the goal. Benchmarks should be structured so that if you successfully complete the year one, year two, and year three benchmarks, you will achieve the 3-Year Goal.

Now, no Game Plan is complete without tasks. 1-Year Benchmarks like this are not just announced and, like magic, come to fruition. So, take the time to write out every single task that needs to be attended to in order to accomplish this one year benchmark. 

For our example, here are a few questions that will be helpful to answer:

Would someone need to be named to write this weekly email? What does the funnel for decisions and events being named 3-months in advance look like? Is it a large staff? How do staff achievements reach the writer? How do we collect nominations? Do we want to reward recognized staff members beyond a shout out? Who’s buying/sending the Starbucks e-gift cards? Write every single task down. 

But don’t stop there. 

Next to each task, write the date by which this is going to be accomplished and who the task is assigned to. You have a whole year to start what amounts to a newsletter, but that time is going to fly and, without dates and persons responsible, you’re going to be in the same position in a year as you are today. Write it down and then decide how you’re going to stay accountable to the process.

Step 3: Stay Accountable to the Process:

At Ministry Architects, we generally use something called a “Renovation Team” in order to manage this process. It’s like a kitchen renovation– the kitchen might be in shambles, but the family still has to eat, and go to work and school, and practice, and… just live. So, generally, the family hires a contractor to take on the process of renovation.

In the world of church work, the Renovation Team manages the process of change so that the church staff and lay leaders currently running the church can continue running the church. Depending on how deep and how wide the holes are that you are trying to address, you may need a small team (3-7 members) who are outside the day-to-day and can manage the list of tasks, benchmarks, and goals. For us, this team is often a mix of staff, lay leaders, and church members who are doers and who have the capacity to accomplish the necessary tasks. 

If the holes in your dance floor are smaller, and you feel like you can address it on your own, you will at least want to ask a trusted friend or mentor to help keep you accountable to the process. Trust me, intentions are good, but action is better.

Step 4: Pivot as Necessary:

In the end, though, your solution might not be the solution. Landing on the right strategies for staff retention is hard. Stay committed to the goal more than the strategies you thought would work. If you are six months into the new staff email and your open rate is a bust, or your frazzled staff are whispering in the hallways about how it’s so long they would rather do ANYTHING than read one more– Pivot. Would a 15-minute Monday morning Zoom call work better for everyone? Can you spice it up? Shorten it? Are people feeling more or less heard? Address that.

Look, you might not have all the answers, especially on your first go, but when people see how committed you are to them rather than your agenda, they will be more committed to you, your leadership, and the church. 

People, people, people. -Matthew 22:39

Because they’re worth it.

Additional Strategies for Staff Retention:

The dance floor is incredibly important– and often incredibly neglected– but it’s not the only strategy for retaining staff and volunteers. In fact, there is another strategy that I never hear anyone talk about, and I really can’t understand why. 

Is morale down with your staff? My guess is that it’s a resounding YES!!! 

And, of course it is. We’re going into year three of Covid-19, Christmas is over, and there’s a new variant that’s, get this, EVEN MORE CONTAGIOUS.

But, if we’re being honest, and I do want to be honest, was it better in February 2020? What about December 2019?

Is Covid just an excuse we are using because we are tired and we don’t know where the holes are in the dance floor of staff morale? 

Honestly, I don’t know what the holes are in your dance floor. I don’t know the specifics around why your staff is so unenthusiastic (if they are), or why they have been since before Covid. I don’t know why they’re leaving or, sometimes worse, staying with miserable energy.

But I do know how you can be more attuned to it. It’s not easy, but it’s practical and logical, and not hyper spiritual. You can even measure it if you want.

Here’s the formula: 

+ > – 

It’s really that simple. Or it will be, when I explain it. 

Your positive output should be greater than your negative output. 

That’s it. 

Are you having to bring a lot of bad news to your staff team lately? Moving back online? Reinstituting masks? Are you losing your lease at the school you rent as cases rage in your area?

These are all things that feel outside of your control. Do you know what is within your control?

Compliments. Celebrations. Positive emails. Vision casting. Prayers for the families of your staff. Shout outs. Telling stories of new life. Get togethers. Zoom parties. Cookies. Text messages. Bonuses. Raises. Meaningful interactions with your team. Warm socks. 

There are a lot of difficult things happening in this world, and people have a subconscious point system tallying the positive and the negative things in their minds. They are tired and they are sad. And you can’t control Covid. And you can’t control all the sad things. But you, as a leader, can control how many of the positive points come from your mouth, and staff won’t leave a leader like that in 2022. Or ever, if they can help it.

Finding the Right Strategies for Staff Retention that Work for You:

Obviously, strategies for staff retention is a big topic, and this blog could fill a book if it kept going, but what’s important is that you act. My prayer for you today is that you take a step towards fixing your dance floor. That you separate yourself from the problem and unite your team, whoever they may be, around making 2022 a safer, kinder year for church staff and volunteers. And, maybe, that you make positive vibes a priority for those around you. The world is hard enough without a mean boss, and your church probably has enough “holes” without the next staff person leaving. 

So grapple. Dig. Open your eyes to what God has for you and your team in 2022. And if you need help, reach out. 

You don’t have to do this alone. 

The post Strategies for Staff Retention in 2022 appeared first on Ministry Architects.

This was the 16th youth staff member that had left in ten years. While many of those were short-term interns, all the staff transitions had taken their toll. For a 6400-member church, they were down to 20 youth weekly. Youth and parents were disappointed and hurt. One youth shared, “My least favorite thing about the youth ministry is that no one can ever stay with us. I feel that we always get lied to and left for the better option.”

Ouch. No one ever intended for that to happen. But it did.

Over those ten years, the church had conducted their own searches and hires. And they hired some great people – who didn’t stick around. Leadership was left with questions each time they started another search like: Was the salary not high enough? What should we even be paying a youth director? Was there enough youth ministry staffing to begin with? What kind of staffing structure is needed for our youth program? Why is everyone leaving? Anxiety levels were on the rise and they needed to find a replacement quickly – preferably yesterday.

Over the years, the church did what many churches often do. They tried changing the staffing structure. They eliminated a position in order to raise the salary. They added interns. They asked for a 5-year commitment in the interviews. They did everything except for what they needed to do. They saw a gaping wound and instead of going to the doctor to stitch it closed, they put a small band-aid on it in the hopes that the bleeding would stop. This time around, they asked for a doctor. The church called Ministry Architects to help assess the situation and assist the search team with the next hire. 

We did what we do best. We observed, listened, and brought our expert’s eye to the situation and were able to give them a diagnosis and assist them in their search.
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Many of the systems in the youth ministry were in need of repair. The church began to make those repairs and we continued to walk alongside them and facilitate the search. 

The difference this time around is that the church stopped and took the time to answer all those questions. Instead of guessing what kind of staffing structure might work, we helped them see what they needed. Instead of throwing money at the problem, we advised them on the right salary range for the kind of person that they needed for their youth ministry, in their church, in their town.

We carried the load of networking, promoting, and screening so that the church could focus their energy on two things — talking to the best candidates and discerning who was called to their church.
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Four months later, they made a hire. Two and a half years later, that staff person is still there. And the youth ministry is flourishing. Just the other day I saw a Facebook post with pictures from the annual youth ski trip. And it made me smile. For a part of their journey, we were able to serve this church so that they could better serve God’s people. 

Here’s what one of the pastors shared with us later: 

“We had a strong sense of trust that we were in good hands, primarily because you wanted to pay attention to the system and not just help us find a person. No one else shared your expertise in the area nor offered to pay attention to what we saw as the most critical point of this transition – building a sustainable youth program to serve our community. Others just wanted to do headhunting, but you were more interested in building a vital ministry.”

If this story resonates with you, or you’d simply like to learn more about our search process, click here to connect with one of our search specialists.

The post Hiring Struggles and Solutions appeared first on Ministry Architects.

Although it can make for a cute approach to an Easter egg hunt, it’s an unsuccessful method for the church in searching for the next person to the join its staff. Yet, this is often the style that unprepared search committees tend to take.

A posting is drafted with the job description and minor details about the position, it’s posted on the church website, and then the waiting begins. And it continues, and the team is left wondering, “What’s wrong with the church if no one will apply?”

In addition, tensions tend to rise about the vacant position and the size of the shoes that now need to be filled. Questions can be heard throughout worship on Sunday morning. “When will we find the right person?” “How will the next person do the job like Jill?” “Do we have someone else already to fill the position? I know they just announced it this morning.” The list of hopes, dreams, and expectations grows larger and larger.

For many churches, the search process can be fueled with worry and anxiety and often results in hurried and rushed search. Although there are stories (maybe legends) of how the hurry up offense resulted in a great hire, it’s more likely that the results of a rushed hiring process are jeopardizing what might be best for the ministry, creating unmet expectations, and settling for the first person who provides a good interview.

What if there was a way to ensure better results from the search? What if the only unknown variable in the search process was the person that will be hired? What needs to be done to find the best fit?
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In order to conduct the best search, there are three crucial components to consider.

The search work always starts in-house.

Assessing what is and what isn’t currently working in the ministry is the first step. What people love about the ministry and what they hope for in the future can be key in making a successful hire. Reviewing the current mission and vision of the church and outlining how this position fits into those goals will set the new hire up for success. What new season is the church entering and how will that impact the job description and responsibilities? These are big questions that take time to answer. The answers though are the foundation of all the work the search team is expected to do.

Form a clear process and timeframe.

Creating clarity about the different stages of the search and setting time frames for each help to keep the work on track. Consider a six-month timeframe when thinking about next steps. How long do you intend to review and assess the ministry? How long will resumes be collected? When will phone interviews begin and when do we intend to move toward in-person interviews? When do we expect to be done? Not only do the answers to these questions help the search team stay on track, but it provides a communication map to be shared with church members, too. Often, having a clear and unified response from the team is enough to turn the tide of anxiety toward patient anticipation.

Be prepared to do your homework.

Avoid the tendency to post the position and sit back and wait for resumes to appear. This is a search and requires some hard work from the team. Create an elevator pitch and social media posts the church members can share. Shape the interview questions to match the type of experience you’re looking for. Take time to discover how the candidates previous work matches up with the newly fine-tuned job description. Follow-up with references to hear more about their previous work and experience. Does that reflect what the ministry needs now and in the future? As a team, agree to wait for the right candidate.

The search process can feel overwhelming with no plan in place. But a diligent, thoughtful, intentional plan for conducting the search process will set up the church and ministry for the type of results you are hoping for.
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So, pick up the Easter egg basket, peek behind the trees, look under the branches, and search until you find the person who will help to lead you in the direction God is calling you to go.

The post Searching for Success appeared first on Ministry Architects.

Think about carrying a heavy object. We might be able to lift it and carry it for a distance, but eventually, our arms and legs get tired. We might take a break and set that object down for a bit, before carrying on. We might realize it’s just too heavy to carry. Or, with a deep breath, we’ll lift and give it our all for another short distance until we’re simply exhausted.

Ministry can be quite similar for children’s and youth ministry staff. Many church staff can lead a ministry for a season under the strain of growth or at higher levels than other churches, but one of two things will often happen. These two results are quite predictable. First, the ministry may simply level back out to what would be a normal level of participation. For children’s ministry it is normal for one full-time staff person to sustain the engagement of about 75 children. And for youth ministry one full-time staff person can sustain about 50 youth engaged in the ministry. Or, the staff will get burned out, disengage, or even resign from their current position. It’s typically not a question of IF this will happen, but WHEN will it happen.

The good news is there is a way that leads to better results.

Keeping normal participation levels in mind provides us with a tool to manage and communicate what can reasonably be expected from the ministry, but it also provides us with a way to think and plan strategically for our future staffing needs.

Using these norms, we can build a strategic staffing plan (check out this template). A strategic staffing plan helps us to share with church leaders, pastors, and staff that “this is how it could be” to support the larger number of children and youth the ministry is currently seeing involved. By creating clarity about how many children or youth we can faithfully structure our church staff to support the current and future needs of the ministry. By planning ahead, projecting for growth, and thinking about our future staffing needs we are poised to prepare for the growth of the ministry rather than react to something that has grown out of hand.

A strategic staffing plan also allows us to acknowledge when the church is being the best stewards of the gifts that God has given the church. Certainly, there may be a season in which God gifts the ministry with more children or youth than the church can faithfully sustain. It is in this place, we were are grateful for the work that we are blessed to do, but also, by using the norms above, have conversations with church leaders about healthy expectations the ministry and agree on the number of children and youth that we are prepared to serve.

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Have you ever wondered why some church staff teams just seem to have it all together, seem to always get the job done effectively, and yet seem to be composed of this hodgepodge of people who have very little in common? Welcome to a very balanced church staff with its eye on a common goal. Balanced teams don’t just happen by accident — okay, well, sometimes they do — but usually they happen because of intentional planning (identifying the need for particular gifts) and fortunate opportunity (creating the availability of highly skilled professionals). When these two things combine, God does great things!

Forget the Football Analogy

Sure, I live in SEC Country, and football season is upon us. But building a staff team goes well beyond quarterbacks, blockers, star running backs, and speedy receiving divas. Strong church staffs are built around several important principles that, when combined, create highly functioning, highly cooperative, even highly inspiring teams.

PRINCIPLE #1: It’s a lot like a marriage.

Early in my ministry I came across the three following reasons for why people pick the life partners that they do:

1. They pick someone much like themselves – Married couples in this category tend to see life from the same perspective, make decisions in similar ways, share similar values, and may even start to look more like each other the older they get. The problem is that their vision is limited. Their perspective is narrow, almost like they go through life with blinders on because they only see life from one perspective.
2. They pick a person who has strengths they wish that had more of in themselves – While this couple may not understand one another quite as well, they bring a broader view to the table as a team, and they also bring together a greater number of gifts as they go through life together.
3. They pick a person much like the parent with whom they had the most conflict – Ooooh… that may sound a bit scary. Of course, this means that the person is trying to heal old wounds and sort through old issues. It happens in marriage, and it happens in church staffs, too.

Church staffs are walking a fine line between the first two (with a bit of #3 thrown in). And the goal is to manage a team so that they can see their similarities and their differences, laying claim to and celebrating the value of both with great respect for each other.

PRINCIPLE #2: Know what the goal is.

Typically, that means you’re going to know what your church is reaching for, what it’s moving toward, and this ought to be expressed in three-year goals and hopefully in ten-year, more long-term planning. But for the sake of staff development the three-year goal is probably more realistic. Why? It’s simply because staff tenure typically does not hit that ten year mark, especially if a church is creating the kind of movement that calls for new vision and thus changes in staff gifts.

PRINCIPLE #3: Know what your staff needs are.

If you know what you’re reaching for, you’ll be better prepared to identify the kind of staff that you’ll need, better prepared to identify the kind of staff skills that you need to add to your team.

In my 42 years of ministry work I’ve found that staff gifts fall largely into the following categories — vision, process, enthusiasm, knowledge, perspective, precision, and work. I can also say that I’ve never seen one staff member who embodied all of these gifts (though many churches expect that from their staff members). Here’s just a quick phrase to explain what I mean by each:

Vision – the ability to see the picture of what the church feels led or wants to be

Process – the ability to lay out a plan in order to move toward that picture

Enthusiasm – the ability to create excitement about and commitment to the vision/process

Knowledge – the gift of having the needed information to move the process along

Perspective – the ability to see the bigger picture of how all the parts fit together

Precision – the ability to focus on detail so that important specifics don’t get overlooked

Work – the ability and willingness to put in the necessary hours to get the job done

I won’t try to describe what every type of church situation needs in its church staff, but suffice it to say that the downtown traditional church that is stuck in a rut will have different staff needs than an edge-of-town church plant that is just getting off the ground!

PRINCIPLE #4: Know yourself and build upon that.

If you’re the staff leader… you need to know your own gifts. For example, personally I have known for a long time that I was a process person. I often struggled with vision, despite all my prayers and dreaming, and particularly early in my ministry, I struggled with precision. So I learned that I had to ask for help. I had to have that assistant who had an eye for detail, and I gravitated to others who could dream the bigger dream than I could. If you are the staff leader, you are in the position to build upon your own gifts by adding staff that complement what you bring to the table.

If you’re a staff member… you’ll want to get a bigger picture look at the overall gifts of the staff in which you are serving. In doing so you may discover gaps in gifts that you may want to develop, thus making yourself more valuable to your particular team.

If you’re adding volunteer support… you’ll want to fill some of those gaps in your particular area of ministry with volunteers who add to the mix, contributing gifts that a complex ministry cannot live without.

PRINCIPLE #5: You don’t have to be all things to all people.

God didn’t create you that way, and you will probably burn out or become frustrated trying to be that way. Claim your gifts, and give other people the opportunity to use theirs.

You’ll make a great team!

The post CHURCH STAFFING: Building a Balanced Team appeared first on Ministry Architects.