From High-Capacity Volunteer to Healthy Staff Member: Hiring Well From Within

Is it better to hire a new church staff member from the outside, bringing a fresh perspective, or from the inside, leveraging someone who already knows the culture? This episode tackles one of the most common and complex questions in church leadership.

Join the Ministry Architects team as they talk with Sara Bailey (Director of the Search Division) and Jeremy Shelley (Candidate Care Consultant) to explore the nuances of promoting from within. They provide practical, actionable steps for church leaders to navigate this process well, care for the candidate, and protect the health of the church.

The “No Nuance” Verdict

When forced to make a black-and-white choice, both experts agreed: if they had to choose, they would default to hiring from within. Here’s why.

Key Benefits of Hiring Internal Candidates

When you hire someone who is already part of your congregation, you gain several significant advantages:

Cultural Fit is a Given: The person already knows the church and is an established part of the culture.
Ministry Familiarity: They likely know the specific ministry well, especially if they’ve been volunteering in it.
“Hit the Ground Running”: The transition time is much quicker. There’s no need to move a family, learn a new community, or spend months building relationships.
You Know What You’re Getting: As Jeremy puts it, the “harder things to assess” in an external candidate are the very things you already know about an internal one.
- Easy to Assess (in anyone): Theology, skill set, leadership style.
- Hard to Assess (but known in internals): “The small things, the relational capital, those pieces that are so hard to really know”.

Actionable Steps for Vetting Internal Candidates

Just because you know them doesn’t mean you skip the process. In fact, a good process is key to a healthy hire.

Use the Same Process for Everyone: Sara emphasizes using the exact same hiring and interviewing process for all candidates, internal or external. This ensures everyone is on equal ground.
Don’t Skip the Background Checks: This is a common mistake. Even if you “know this person,” you must “do all the background work”. This includes:
- Reference checks.
- Background checks.
- Education verification (to confirm credentials).
Check Their Current Employer: A person’s performance as a volunteer isn’t always identical to their performance as an employee. Call their current employer to see what it’s like to manage them in a paid role.
Ask the “Obvious” Questions: Even if you’ve seen them do something, still ask behavioral questions like, “Give me an example of when…”. You want to see if they can articulate their process and demonstrate self-awareness.
Have the “Call” Conversation: The vetting process for an internal candidate should include a serious discernment component. The key question: Are they called to this particular ministry, or are they just passionate about the church and want any job on staff?.
Process the Reality of Staff Life: Take time to help them understand what being on church staff is really like. For many, the day-to-day reality can be surprising.

The Downsides & What You Lose

Hiring from within isn’t without its trade-offs. If a church only hires internally, it can lead to significant blind spots.

You Lose a Fresh Perspective: An outsider can see things that an insider, by default, will not. This can lead to getting stuck in the “Well, we always do it like this” rut.
The Candidate Loses Their Spiritual Home: This is a critical, often-overlooked cost. Sara notes, “When you work at a church, it’s really different than just attending the church and worshiping there”.
You Lose “Ministry Experience”: The internal hire is often transitioning from a different vocation, not another ministry job. The church misses out on the experience an outside hire would bring regarding church polity, staff structures, and decision-making processes.

The High-Capacity Volunteer: How to Manage and Discern

Internal hires often come from the ranks of your high-capacity volunteers. This creates unique challenges and opportunities.

How to Lead High-Capacity Volunteers Before They Apply

Protect Them from Abuse: As church employees, you have a responsibility to “protect those volunteers so that we’re not abusing them, taking advantage of them”.
Balance the Triangle: Jeremy suggests using the “triangle of authority, responsibility, and accountability”. A volunteer feels taken advantage of when they have high responsibility and accountability but low authority. Make sure these three are balanced.
Name Clear Expectations: Ensure the volunteer, and everyone else, knows the boundaries and expectations of their role.

The “Don’t Apply” Conversation: How to Deter a Bad Fit

What do you do when a great volunteer wants to apply for a role they aren’t equipped for?

Test for Emotional Resilience: This is the number one thing Jeremy looks for. He defines it as “the capacity for an individual to… make a difficult decision, receive critical feedback, and then be okay to move forward with that in a healthy way”.
Put Them in Test Situations: Before they apply, give them a chance to “process the reality of what ministry can be” by putting them in challenging circumstances. How do they respond to critical feedback? Does it “tank them”?.
Use the “Bitterness” Test: Ask them this powerful hypothetical question: “Let’s say you aren’t the one hired. Are you going to spend days… delving into bitterness and resentment over who is hired… and then leave?”. If they would, “that just kind of goes to show this role isn’t for you”.

A Practical Warning: Be aware of state labor laws. Brandon shared a story of a volunteer working 20 hours/week who was hired for a 15-hour/week paid role. She wanted to volunteer the “extra” time, but state law prohibited “volunteering” for the same duties you are paid for.

How to Onboard an Internal Hire and Make It Special

You can’t meet an internal hire with a moving van or stock their new apartment with soap. So how do you “wow” them and mark the transition?

Public Recognition: Make it special. Do a recognition, blessing, or prayer over them and their family during the worship service. “Mark the start of it all with the whole community”.
Private Commissioning: Hold a separate, special moment just as a ministry team. The prayers and commissioning that come from others on their team will be more aware and meaningful.
Grease the Wheels: The transition isn’t geographic; it’s relational and vocational. Check in frequently. Ask: “How’s it been? What’s your vibe like? How are people responding to you? How can I pave the way for you?”.
Create New, Safe Community: The internal hire might not be able to be vulnerable in their old small group anymore. Proactively establish them into a new accountability group where they can be vulnerable about staff issues.

Preparing Internals for the “Shock” of Ministry

The biggest challenge for an internal hire is the shift from “worshiper” to “employee”.

Acknowledge the Loss: Be upfront with them: “This right now is your spiritual home… when you become a staff member you may lose that”. This is their job now.
Prepare Them for “Dual Relationships”: It’s hard to be vulnerable with congregants when there’s a “fear that maybe that information will be used against you and ultimately cost you your job”.
Actionable Tip: Coach them to proactively take care of their own soul. This means finding “safe huddles” and “new Sabbath rhythms”. They may even need to join a small group at another church or visit other churches for worship sometimes just to be fed.

Success Stories: When Hiring Within Works

The Longevity Win: Sara shared a story of a children’s ministry volunteer hired in 2016 after a careful discernment process. “She’s still there”. This highlights the potential for greater longevity with internal hires.
The Community Win: Jeremy shared about a church that hired a long-time member for a children’s role. She had deep relationships with city officials, including the mayor, from her previous work. “She brought those relationships into the church setting… Now this particular church is, most of their outreach is done through her relationships”.