Every church, no matter how small, needs a multiple staff. No church can expect sustained growth if only one pastor does all the work. Jesus practiced a multiple-staff approach with the apostles. Paul used it with his team of missionaries. Yet later a one pastor, one church syndrome set in. Fortunately, that unbiblical pattern is beginning to change.
Any discussion of adding staff members brings up the question of finances. With an all-too-tight budget, how can a church even consider adding another staff member? Since some churches are doing it, others can too. Churches with a healthy growth pattern take an enlightened step of faith. Their experience shows that a capable staff member will result in more families that tithe. In two years the additional income will underwrite his salary and an expanded program. So, church leaders trust the Lord and challenge their people to provide the finances for the initial salary.
But just hiring another person may not make a static church into a growing one. There may be other problems than just a lack of adequate professionals. A church may lack lay leaders who are involved in evangelism and discipleship. Or it may suffer from too few Sunday school teachers. Or it could be disunity within the fellowship. Then frustrations multiply and financial difficulties follow.
Almost any church, whether growing or not, can add growth-producing staff people without placing itself in financial jeopardy. The secret is to use volunteers who are responsible for certain aspects of the church program. Many church leaders will be pleasantly surprised when they try this. The number of productive hours donated by volunteers with a recognized commission, personal office, expense account, and significant responsibility will shock many skeptics. Consider two examples.
A church in California enlists lay volunteers as staff members; they have great responsibility but aren’t paid. Soon these volunteers are working half time. When the number of hours becomes quite large, the church gives them a modest part-time salary. If the task becomes large enough, and cannot be divided into other volunteer positions, the person in charge of it might be hired on a full-time basis. Only the founding pastor and one staff member of this church were recruited from the outside. A half dozen others on the paid staff (most of them part time) came from within the membership.
A church in Indiana was growing well when the associate pastor resigned. The senior pastor could not find a replacement immediately. So he prayed for the names of thirty men in his church who would serve as unpaid lay pastors. As God brought the names to his mind, he appealed to the men to respond. As each one answered the call to commitment, he received a specific responsibility and full recognition by the entire church. The pastor then poured most of his energy into equipping these thirty men for their various pastoral duties. In the next few years the church nearly doubled in size (600 to 1,100). Lay participation was the key.
Almost every church already has two or three people who show special gifts in some growth-producing activity. Look for evidence of special gifts. Grant appropriate titles and commissions with commensurate responsibilities. Provide offices with desks and names on the doors, even if these double as Sunday school classrooms. Furnish a generous expense account. Most important of all, the pastor must put in the time and effort to help lay staff members develop well. They will succeed as he gives them priority in prayer and personal attention, and as he shares his vision with them.
Many churches wonder when to hire an additional full-time staff person. A helpful ratio for calculating the need is one plus one for 200: one minister plus one secretary (or other support person working at least thirty hours per week) for each two hundred people in average attendance. To make the formula work, don’t count custodians or paid musicians. The single exception is a music minister who multiplies choirs and small musical groups. If a church is near the full ratio in either morning worship or Sunday school, it needs to hire a new staff person.
The question often arises as to what kind of staff person to hire first. The answer depends on a church’s growth pattern. In most churches a capable secretary is the first person to add to the staff. A good secretary will take over much of the essential paper work so that the minister can concentrate on his strong areas. If growth is static, check out the secretarial services first.
If too few people are entering the front door of the church, hire a pastor of church growth or evangelism. Look for a person with gifts to enable others to function as recruiters, evangelists, and disciplers. The minister of evangelism must focus on winning new people to Christ and incorporating them into the church. If too many people are slipping out the back door of the church, get a director of Christian education or a minister of parish and family life.
Growing churches often add a staff member in an area of present strength to increase effectiveness. That course of action reinforces already vital ministries. Your church needs a multiple staff, too. You can have it—with or without adequate financing.—CHARLES MYLANDER, associate pastor, Rose Drive Friends Church, Yorba Linda, California.
