Staffing a Church for Effective Ministry

As most of you know, the fuel of any effective local church is the people in the pews. People, who are filled-up and overflowing with the energy of God, create excitement which often leads a church into new seasons of growth. So, as pastors, how do we equip and inspire people? We do this through staffing whether paid or volunteer.

Staffing a church for growth is one of the most important responsibilities of any lead pastor. People often marvel at the growth of Stevens Creek and wonder what's the secret. Well, you got to know that The Creek is not an "over night" success story; it's close to being twenty-two years old. (Whew ... I must have been a kid when we started it ... Ha. Ha. It seems like yesterday.)

What's the secret? Vision is always key. You have to know what God has called you to do and then learn to communicate it in a way that people with grasp it.

Your first group of people that you have to train in visionary leadership would be your key influencers...Elders, then your volunteer and paid staff. You do this by painting a picture of what church-life could be like. You take them to see life-giving churches with life-giving systems (you can't grow a large church without a system).

I am sure that some folks look at our church and say, "Marty, if I had your staff, I could grow a large church." That's probably true. I am an average “Church of God-Joe” from a mill town in the Upstate of South Carolina. We have been able to grow, because I have surrounded myself with people who can do things that I cannot do. The church outgrew me a long time ago. Without great volunteers and staff members, we would not be where we are today.

So, how do you staff your church for effectiveness? First of all, you need people who are called by God and anointed in their work. There is no substitute for the anointing of God. The anointing is what turns a performance into a ministry moment where God breaks in and touches someone’s heart. If a person is not called or anointed to do the work, then the conversation about joining our staff is over. I believe that a person needs to be called to carry out the vision of your local church. A staff member should never join the team with his or her own agenda. They are there to carry out the larger vision of the ministry. Calling is key.

Next, a person must be competent in what they are called to do. Like I said, I hire people who can do what I cannot do. If two people can do one thing, then one person is not needed. Granted, when we were small, I helped lead the music. In those days, the Lord’s anointing made up for some of my vocal inability. Several years ago, Todd Sturgell, our Creative Worship Pastor, was preparing to go on vacation and he could not find a fill-in. I casually told him that I led the music before he came and that I could lead it when he was gone. He laughed and said, “Marty, you led the music when we were running a hundred people. If you start leading again, we will run a hundred people.” We both laughed … because it was the truth. A person may feel that he or she is called to a certain ministry, but along with that calling they must have the skills to carry forth the ministry for that particular congregation. Needless to say, the music ministry at The Creek outgrew years ago and I am so glad it did.

A person has to be competent, but along with competence, there has to be chemistry for a staff to be effective. This is huge for me. If you do not have chemistry with me, you will not be on my staff or Elders. Chemistry is the building blocks of unity. When a church has unity, it opens the door for the power of the Holy Spirit to move. Don’t ever underestimate the power of unity. In the early days of our church, I had an elder that was working against me. I sat him down with another staff member and confronted him and ultimately removed him. His response was simple: “I did not think that you had the guts to do it.” Those people who are not with you are against you. You can’t move a church forward with leaders who are against you. Someone has to go … either you or them. Life is too short to live and work in conflict. I honestly believe that the effectiveness of Stevens Creek flows out of the love and unity that is present in our leaders. There’s a great chemistry because we have the same vision … to love God, love people and serve the world … and we enjoy being with each other.

Having chemistry does not mean that you will never have conflict. On occasion we have conflict, but the love and respect that we have for one another pushes us to resolve the conflict. Todd has been on staff with me for 15 years. We have struggled through some tense meetings before. There have been days that he probably thought, “Would you let me run my department.” Okay, I’ll be honest; he probably thinks that more than I want to admit.

Recently, we have both been passionate about a few areas. We both want to see progress, but our solutions have come from two different spectrums. On more than one occasion we have closed the door and said, “I know that we have different ideas about this issue, but are we together?” Real chemistry does not mean that everyone has the same views, but that we respect each other as we work out the details. Chemistry is so important. Don’t underestimate it’s value.

When I was in graduate school, there was a line of thinking that said that the Pastor should not be “friends” with his staff. He is the leader, not their friend. That, my friend, is the way to grow a small church. Real friendships enable tenure and tenure provides a stable foundation for growth. Like I said, I have chemistry with the people that I work with, but in these days, I don’t work side-by-side with everyone on staff. How do we accomplish the chemistry aspect? We pass it down. Each department must strive to keep harmony in their work groups. Stevens Creek has grown past the point where I personally work with every staff member.

A funny thing happened on a recent Sunday night. We had a staff and families dinner at my house. I was running late to the dinner because of an Elders meeting. When I walked in my house, it was packed with staffers and their kids (around 60 people in my house). Sitting on my sofa was a staff member that I did not know. That was so strange for me. I thought, “Oh well, this is a different day. Let’s eat.”

One more thing about chemistry and that is, if someone would say to me that I am here to serve God and not you. I would respond immediately, “Clean out your desk. Your ministry here is over.” The staff and volunteers must rally around a common dream and a common vision. If someone tries to develop a vision outside of the Pastor’s vision, then he must go. I know this to be true in two ways. First of all, when I was a kid and was serving at another church, I thought I knew more than I did. I made life for Stephen Conn challenging. He let me go. Ultimately God’s will was done, but the process of it all was not honoring for me or him. I apologize to Stephen for any of my stupidity. In the last twenty-two years, I have learned from my mistakes and hopefully created an environment that is life-giving and one that produces long-term team members.

Today, the challenge of adding staff members at Stevens Creek continues. We have been in hiring-mode for some time. We are staffing for our new campus that will open up on September 13, 2009. Please say a prayer that God will provide the right team members that will train our members to do the work of the ministry.