Ministry Staffing

The church that I am so blessed to be part of is all about people. In fact, we say, “Without people, we don’t have a church.” We can have the best advertising, best sermon series, best kids environments, but if there are not any people, we are not becoming the church. Therefore, the role of the staff and their number one job is to equip volunteers to serve Jesus so that they are fully engaged in ministry to their fellow brother and sisters in Christ, as well as where they live, work and play. Therefore, my church puts a great deal of effort into training leaders for the mission and raising up volunteers to literally do ministry in the church. This focus means that the term ‘staff’ is broader than some churches, the organizational model is a

There is a clear line of leadership from the senior pastor down through the rest of the organization and staff; however, there is a freedom for each campus lead and campus staff to make the best decisions to reach their community with the Gospel. For example, they chose their gathering times, where to spend the dollars, which songs are sung and who to pay as staff. However, every campus preaches the same sermon outlines, utilize the same kids curriculum and keep the same vision and goals. Therefore, the staffing model is a hybrid of a line/participative organization and a function organization. Overall, the goal is to push the decision making authority and responsibility closer to the ground where the real impact is felt rather than keeping it in the upper management where leaders are removed from a local

In other words, the staff’s primary ministry is equipping people for ministry. What is more, every volunteer at my church is considered ‘staff,’ yet some are compensated and others are not. Therefore, the church’s model of organization is a hybrid between line/participative and function because the goal is to keep the decision-making authority with those in the trenches. Yet with this freedom, comes a constant need to revamp and work on the staffing of the church. Therefore, the church needs an employee handbook and standardized job descriptions so that every employee is fully equipped to do their work for the church. All in all, the church is not quick to hire a bunch of staff, but rather get as many volunteers involved and hire when the need is clearly needed. Certainly, there are best practices when it comes to staffing a church; however, there is not one size fits all for the church. I believe leaders in the church need to constantly seek God’s will and prayerfully consider if paid staff is really needed and where should volunteers be used