Here are seven things to consider BEFORE you start your next staff search.
Thom Rainer, the president of LifeWay offers these seven times that your church should NOT hire staff. See if this is helpful to you:
1. When it takes ministry away from the laity/volunteers. Don't take the temptation to have more 'hired hands'. Volunteers should be the backbone of your ministry. A new pastor or staff members should actually INCREASE the number of volunteers, not decrease those serving.
2. When you add staff according to the way it's always been done. Everything is changing in the church today. You might not need that position that you've had filled for the last 20 years. Always look for opportunities for new positions (and ways to consolidate or delete obsolete positions) when the opportunity arises.
3. When it's not a smart financial decision. Don't move someone and their family across the country to serve at your church when/if you can't afford it. Be sure you have the resources to support this new staff person for at least a couple of years.
4. When a particular group in the church pushes its own agenda. Bringing a new staff member into an area of known division is never a good idea.
5. When a friend needs a job. Friends can make great staff members. Many a friendship has been lost because of hiring a friend as well, so do so cautiously. But never hire just because a friend needs a position. That's a recipe for disaster.
6. When it's just to copy another church. But this never happens, right. Don't hire an IT director when your network consists of two macbooks and a Windows 98 machine. Just because the church down the street hired that new, hip position doesn't mean the pressure should be on you to as well.
7. When you are unwilling to deal with a current ineffective staff member. I would go as far to say that you should not hire any new staff member when there is conflict on your current staff. Deal with the problems in the family before you marry or date someone else.
OK... these were my thoughts on Thom's suggestions. And they're probably not as good as Thom's own thoughts. You you can read them here.
At Chemistry Staffing, we can talk you through the right time to hire staff. We do this every week with churches. We can help you with job descriptions, budgets and compensation, and help you determine which type of position makes sense for your next phase of ministry? Want to talk? Let's do it!
