Before you staff, initiate a season of prayer in your church. Jesus said, “The harvest is large, the workers are few. Pray to the Lord of the harvest” (Matthew 9:37-38).- All work for God should focus on a calling, not a job. A calling is when your most important relationship is the Lord, not your boss or fellow worker.
- All workers, paid and unpaid, should be asked to pick a number between 1 and 10 (1=job, 10=calling). Chose those ranking a 7 or higher. Disciple those with a ranking of 6 or less.
- When Christian calling overshadows the concept of a job, the motivation changes from reward to joy. Intrinsic motivation occurs, even if you get paid. Your motive is joy (John 10:1-11).
- The biblical ideal for staffing is to disciple a person while “on the job”: I do/you watch; I do/you help; you do/I help; you do/I watch. This puts the focus on adding staff from within.
- When deciding where to serve, where to focus, and where not to serve, the most important consideration is the spiritual gifts given to you by the Holy Spirit.
- Clearly discern (through observation and conversation) if a potential staff person is actively living the faith, demonstrating the fruits of faith (Galatians 5:22-23).
- Before you add new staff, make sure they clearly understand your philosophy of ministry and accept it. If you do not have a written philosophy of ministry, write one—before you staff.
- As a church grows, it may require different staff. In the small church, staff must be capable managers. As a church grows, they must become capable leaders.
- In the growing church, staff develops operational worldviews around the next size of the church rather than the present size. This allows the Holy Spirit to grow the church into the next level.
We welcome your comments below.
This is excerpted from Size Matters: Staffing Your Church — September/October 2015 Church Doctor Report.
Kent Hunter, founder of Church Doctor Ministries, is known as the Church Doctor. His most recent e-books are The Future Is Now and The J-Dog Journey, available at no cost. Contact him at (800) 626-8515, by email, Twitter, Facebook, or visit www.churchdoctor.org.
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