The Hidden Costs of Delaying Rehiring Church Staff

Changes in church staff are a common occurrence. Staff members come and go, and sometimes when someone leaves, their role gets divided among the rest of the team in an attempt to fill the gap. But delaying the rehiring of crucial positions can carry hidden costs, impacting your church and its mission in insidious ways over time.

Impact Of Relying On Existing Staff

When a full-time role gets divided among multiple people, the initial good intentions can slowly fade into dilution of focus, misalignment of responsibilities and decline in quality. Too often, a once coherent job description now becomes wreak havoc, unknowingly affecting your church's ministry.

Hidden Costs of Not Rehiring

While you may believe that you're saving money by not filling an empty position, the hidden costs of delaying rehiring can be far-reaching, including:

• Increased risk of burnout and resentment among staff who've absorbed too much
• Stalled or slowly declining ministry areas
• Missed opportunities for growth, outreach, or excellence
• Difficulty in rehiring later as the staff has learned to just 'get by'

Knowing When to Rehire

The decision to rehire someone into a vacant position isn't always clear-cut. However, if you're regularly confronting issues within that role's domain, or if your team is persistently stretched to its limit, those are indicators that it might be time to post that position again. Here are some questions to help you evaluate the need for rehiring:

• Does the role still matter to your mission?
• Are you seeing consistent issues in that area?
• Is someone currently covering it but doing it poorly?
• Is your team compensating with makeshift solutions and exhausting themselves?

Should you find yourself answering 'yes' to any of the above prompts, it's probably time to start the rehiring process.

Parting Thoughts

A healthy church hires and rehires with intentionality. Sometimes it means rehiring for a role that never should have disappeared. If you're unsure about hiring decisions or facing various personnel challenges, don't hesitate to seek help. Remember, when healthy churches maintain a healthy team, life-changing ministry happens.

For more insights and tips on recognizing when it's the right time for rehiring church staff, tune into today's Healthy Church Staff Podcast episode.