Youth and Recreation Activity Resource Center
Activity and Resource Center
This statement may sound very foolish, but is it? If church staff relationships were healthy, the longevity of ministers would be much longer and there would be more church staffs with 10, 15,and 20 years of service together.
In an effort to help young Youth Ministers be more effective and be more productive in reaching youth for the Lord Jesus Christ, we are stressing the need to be a team player and to develop good relations with all church staff personal. To accomplish this task we are seeking your help in ministering to the young minister.
I am sure that you lead your staff to share with each other and to compliment each area of ministry in the church. May I share with you some areas of need in the life of a staff minister. You already know these and probably spend time teaching them to your staff, but in an effort to assist you in developing staff members let me share with you some of the experiences that I have had, over the past 40 years, in mentoring and sharing with a number of young ministers.
I have found that many young ministers are insecure and need a lot of personal growth as they begin their ministry. They are trying to balance a new ministry, finances and many times a young family. They have not yet developed security in the ministry and are trying to learn how to effectively fulfill their responsibility.
It is a proven fact that each of us want to feel needed, loved and appreciated. When those traits are not felt more insecurity develops and begins to grow into a lack of self confidence and many times fear. I see a lot of young men and women in the ministry that need help with their personal Bible study and spiritual growth; direction in their specific area of ministry; personal finances; adequate preparation for retirement; personal development in positive attitudes and a feeling of belonging. Many times young ministers go through their daily routine and do not grasp the need to spend time developing these areas of their life.
Pastor, let me ask you a few questions about your staff members and their families. Use these questions to determine ”who pastors your staff”.
- How long has it been since you were in each staff minister’s home?
- When was the last time you visited with the entire family?
- Do you know the ages and grades of the children?
- Do you know the interest and hobbies of the spouse and children of your staff?
- Do you know if there are health, social or emotional needs of anyone in the family?
- How are the family relationships? Are there strained relationships in the family?
- Do you know if there are any family issues that would cause stress?
- Are there any needs in the family that your help would be beneficial?
Staff members can become very lonely and feel insecure if they are left alone and expected to handle their ministry, family and personal challenges themselves. Stress between husband and wife, challenges with children or a poor self image can make the staff member feel that he/she is out on a limb with no place to get help. If one of your staff ministers has strife between he and his spouse, would he be comfortable coming to you for counseling? If one of the children is having difficulties who would the staff member be comfortable coming to for counseling and help.
It is amazing what financial stress will do to a person and how it affects his/her performance in the ministry. If a he/she is struggling with finances and has trouble paying the bills he/she is distracted from the things that are most important to them. Many people are not taught financial responsibility and at a very early age get into debt that causes them problems in life. It would be great if one just grew up learning good, sound financial principles but that is not the case. Unless someone takes the time to teach individuals financial responsibility they never learn it and struggle with it all of their life. As you know, there is much more to ministry than planning a calendar. Goal setting is not taught in many colleges and seminaries. Where does one learn to set goals if he/she is not being taught. It is difficult for a staff minister to know what the church and pastor expects if the subject is not discussed on a regular basis. Make sure that your staff understands your dreams for their ministry and your goals for each area of their ministry. Make it a point to really understand how each individual thinks and what goals each has set for his/her area of responsibility? Often, it is expected of each staff member to plan his/her personal spiritual growth. If the ministerial staff is responsible for the spiritual growth of the people in their area of ministry, who is responsible for their spiritual growth. Would it be beneficial if each staff member looked to you, as their pastor, for their personal spiritual growth? Do they need more than what they get from the pulpit? +-
Most staff and pastors meet annually for a planning session and weekly for staff meetings that include a devotional, calendar planning and brief discussion of program plans. The meeting is usually formal and brief. Do your staff conferences include in depth Bible study with discussion; do you include personal growth principles; and is there discussion on the principles of growing a spirit led family? Are the staff members sharing with you their personal concerns and needs which include family?
Bill Gothard, several years ago in one of his seminars for pastors, made the statement that “most problems that pastors experienced begin with one of the staff members.” He warned pastors to be careful and keep an eye on their staff members and become aware of potential problems.
That was one of the worst evaluation of staff relationships that I have ever experienced. If the staff of a church is not a right arm to the pastor and does not fully understand and supports the direction the pastor is leading the church, there is a tremendous communication gap.
In my forty years plus as a minister, I have had the opportunity to counsel many young men and women who served on church staffs. Yes, there are problems in the lives of staff members, but, most seem to be the result of broken communication. Never in all of these counseling sessions, do I remember a problem coming from a staff member whose desire was to hurt the pastor or a pastor’s desire to hurt the staff member. Every minister on a church staff that I have had the privilege of knowing always wanted to assist the pastor in reaching the pastor’s goals for that church. When a staff member felt the need to move and wanted assistance in finding another place of service, he/she usually was unhappy and felt that he/she was no longer effective or no longer wanted.
Why is it so common for young minister to become unhappy and feel the need for a move?
- Could it be that they did not understand what was expected of them?
- Could it be that family relationships were stressed and created personal problems that affected their ministry?
- Could it be that the staff member misunderstood the actions of the pastor towards him/her in a particular situation?
- Could it be that the staff member felt inferior and misinterpreted certain actions of other leaders?
If any of these reasons caused the need for a move, how could they have been helped?
Why does a church call a person to serve on a church staff as a minister?
During the interview stage does a search committee or pastor call a staff minister that they feel will be a failure? Do they call a person who they feel will cause problems? The answer is a definite NO! Every person called to serve on a church staff is expected to succeed and is believed to have all the qualities and experience necessary to be successful. Why does the average staff member last less than two years? Maybe, The Training and Preparation for Ministers Lack the Necessary information and direction for Equipping Young Ministers for Staff Positions.
As pastor, maybe you could be more than just a supervisor and leader to your staff. Maybe, the people on your staff need a personal, spiritual leader, mentor, trainer and friend. Could you be that person? As a friend and mentor to each member of your team, maybe, when tensions occur, they will trust and confide in you and seek help and understanding instead of leaving.
Would you take the time to list what you believe to be the ideal staff organization and write out a list of qualities that you would like to have in your staff? Let’s say you have a staff of at least two or three full time staff ministers.
I would venture to say that each of these questions and many more were considered when you interviewed and decided to call each and every one of your staff members. If that is the case, then, why in the world would there be problems within the first two years?
Except for moral character flaws, you can be assured that misunderstandings or some form of insecurity has caused a fracture in relationships. At some point in the relationship there developed some communication that was misunderstood and caused mistrust on the part of the people involved.
Unless a church did not check out each candidate or a candidate did not properly search out the expectations of the church and pastor, miscommunication is probably the root cause of the unhappiness. How can these misunderstanding be prevented?
The most effective organization for any church staff is a group of dedicated, trained, experienced and hard working group of ministers who:
- Have been together for several years and enjoy being with each other
- Trust each other completely and without reservation
- Respects each staff member for his/her character, commitment and work ethic
- Somewhat understands the role and responsibility of each person on the staff
- Feels the support for their ministry by the pastor and other staff members
- Have the desire to help each other succeed and will assist when needed
- Feel a part of the team and is in full agreement with the direction for the church
It is a proven fact that each human being longs for a loving relationship with his/her family, work associates and friends and is constantly looking for an environment that is rewarding and uplifting. What better place to find that environment than on a church staff? You might ask, “How can I have a staff with all of these qualities”? I would never presume to know the full answer to that question, but would like to make a few suggestions that could possibility help. Only you can evaluate your situation, your dreams, your strengths and your time schedule.
Suggestions on building strong and positive Staff Relations
Use our Email Training. Get better results for Christ through your Ministry. Use all of Gods resources. This is one of them. Make sure you know where you want to go with your ministry and why you want to go there
