Guest Post | The Challenge of Church Staff by Jeff Crawford

Today, RonnieFloyd.com welcomes guest writer, Dr. Jeff Crawford. Dr. Crawford is the President of Cross Church School of Ministry and a Teaching Pastor at Cross Church.

One of the greatest joys and one of the greatest challenges of pastoring is church staff.

I have had the privilege in my ministry of working alongside and being able to hire some of the finest men and women called to ministry in our country. Some of my closest friends are those I’ve served with for a season and they have now moved on. Some of my dearest friends are those I serve with currently. But at the same time, any pastor will tell you that staff consistently create some of the most difficult moments in ministry. Staff can be immature. Staff can make poor judgment calls. Staff can under perform. Staff can be called away. Staff can break the law. All of the above and more are the reality of any senior pastor or senior leader in ministry.

One of the not-so-secret secrets to avoiding the challenges of bad staffing is to start by hiring good staff. Sounds simple but, oh my, it is anything but simple. I’ve never hired a staff member who I ever believed would be anything but a success. But it does not always turn out that way. Sometimes my own poor leadership has contributed to poor staff fit, and sometimes I, or the church, just hired the wrong person.

I firmly believe that everyone called of God has the “right” place for service. But lots of things can get in the way of getting the right people in the right place. Church staffing services make money trying to help staff and churches make the perfect fit; and even they don’t always get it right. It’s not an exact science.

So let me suggest some very non-scientific but common sense thoughts on how to approach staffing your church:

1. Determine the call. Simply put, are they called by God to vocational ministry? Do NOT take this for granted. Go down deep on this. Get the story of their call. Find out how they have fleshed that out in real life and where they see God taking them in the future.

2. Determine the fit. Every church has its own culture. Chemistry with the culture and with the other staff is key to the success on any new staff member. In short, know your church and do all you can to know who you are interviewing. Do not be afraid to walk away if all else looks good but the fit just is not there.

3. Determine the competency. Can they do the job? This is not a reflection on character, integrity, godliness, or holiness. It’s a simple evaluation of the ability of the person to do the job you need done. Hopefully they know themselves well enough to know their limitations, but you need to vet this out by talking to their references.

4. Determine the reputation. And speaking of references, check them! Check them all and check references that they don’t give you. I am continually amazed at the number of churches I am aware of that hire staff and do not take the time to check references. This is where competency and reputation can be discerned. And absolutely speak with people they have served with previously.

5. Determine the pace. The old adage is: Hire slow and fire quick. Most churches reverse this. Pace yourself when hiring staff. I know how it is. When there is a staff vacancy, things aren’t getting done. People’s needs aren’t being met. There is no growth. And other staff carry extra duties. So the temptation is great to move quickly. Too quickly. Fight the temptation. It is far better to suffer for a season than to hire the wrong person.

So there they are; just five common sense principles to live by when hiring staff.  At Cross Church, we have developed a unique training program to grow up called and competent staff. Our Cross Church School of Ministry is a one-year residency program designed to train leaders in life, ministry, and Gospel advancement globally. If you have a young man or woman in your church who needs to be trained, consider sending them to us for a year. We will pour into them and send them back to you. If you are looking for good staff, check with us each summer as we prepare to graduate our group and see if God might have the perfect fit just for your church.

You can learn more at:  www.CrossChurchSchool.com

Dr. Jeff Crawford

President, Cross Church School of Ministry
Teaching Pastor, Cross Church
@JeffCraw4d
@CCSchoolofMin