NEWSLETTER

Interested in receiving the latest news and resources in your inbox? Sign up for our monthly newsletter below!

Ministry Architects

Healthy Systems. Innovative Change. For the Future of the Church.

interview

Hiring Struggles and Solutions

by

I got the call that I get so often. “Our youth director has told us she’s leaving.” After only being there for 18 months. 

This was the 16th youth staff member that had left in ten years. While many of those were short-term interns, all the staff transitions had taken their toll. For a 6400-member church, they were down to 20 youth weekly. Youth and parents were disappointed and hurt. One youth shared, “My least favorite thing about the youth ministry is that no one can ever stay with us. I feel that we always get lied to and left for the better option.”

Ouch. No one ever intended for that to happen. But it did.

Over those ten years, the church had conducted their own searches and hires. And they hired some great people – who didn’t stick around. Leadership was left with questions each time they started another search like: Was the salary not high enough? What should we even be paying a youth director? Was there enough youth ministry staffing to begin with? What kind of staffing structure is needed for our youth program? Why is everyone leaving? Anxiety levels were on the rise and they needed to find a replacement quickly – preferably yesterday.

Over the years, the church did what many churches often do. They tried changing the staffing structure. They eliminated a position in order to raise the salary. They added interns. They asked for a 5-year commitment in the interviews. They did everything except for what they needed to do. They saw a gaping wound and instead of going to the doctor to stitch it closed, they put a small band-aid on it in the hopes that the bleeding would stop. This time around, they asked for a doctor. The church called Ministry Architects to help assess the situation and assist the search team with the next hire. 

We did what we do best. We observed, listened, and brought our expert’s eye to the situation and were able to give them a diagnosis and assist them in their search. Click To Tweet

Many of the systems in the youth ministry were in need of repair. The church began to make those repairs and we continued to walk alongside them and facilitate the search. 

The difference this time around is that the church stopped and took the time to answer all those questions. Instead of guessing what kind of staffing structure might work, we helped them see what they needed. Instead of throwing money at the problem, we advised them on the right salary range for the kind of person that they needed for their youth ministry, in their church, in their town.

We carried the load of networking, promoting, and screening so that the church could focus their energy on two things — talking to the best candidates and discerning who was called to their church. Click To Tweet

Four months later, they made a hire. Two and a half years later, that staff person is still there. And the youth ministry is flourishing. Just the other day I saw a Facebook post with pictures from the annual youth ski trip. And it made me smile. For a part of their journey, we were able to serve this church so that they could better serve God’s people. 

Here’s what one of the pastors shared with us later: 

“We had a strong sense of trust that we were in good hands, primarily because you wanted to pay attention to the system and not just help us find a person. No one else shared your expertise in the area nor offered to pay attention to what we saw as the most critical point of this transition – building a sustainable youth program to serve our community. Others just wanted to do headhunting, but you were more interested in building a vital ministry.”

If this story resonates with you, or you’d simply like to learn more about our search process, click here to connect with one of our search specialists.

Searching for Success

by

Maybe you’ve noticed, there always seems to be one child during an Easter egg hunt who, unsure of what to do, sits down in the middle of the church yard with their Easter basket beside them. Setting their basket out, they appear to wait for the eggs to come and hop into their basket, and walk away, certain they will have all the eggs they hoped for.

Although it can make for a cute approach to an Easter egg hunt, it’s an unsuccessful method for the church in searching for the next person to the join its staff. Yet, this is often the style that unprepared search committees tend to take.

A posting is drafted with the job description and minor details about the position, it’s posted on the church website, and then the waiting begins. And it continues, and the team is left wondering, “What’s wrong with the church if no one will apply?”

In addition, tensions tend to rise about the vacant position and the size of the shoes that now need to be filled. Questions can be heard throughout worship on Sunday morning. “When will we find the right person?” “How will the next person do the job like Jill?” “Do we have someone else already to fill the position? I know they just announced it this morning.” The list of hopes, dreams, and expectations grows larger and larger.

For many churches, the search process can be fueled with worry and anxiety and often results in hurried and rushed search. Although there are stories (maybe legends) of how the hurry up offense resulted in a great hire, it’s more likely that the results of a rushed hiring process are jeopardizing what might be best for the ministry, creating unmet expectations, and settling for the first person who provides a good interview.

What if there was a way to ensure better results from the search? What if the only unknown variable in the search process was the person that will be hired? What needs to be done to find the best fit? Click To Tweet

In order to conduct the best search, there are three crucial components to consider.

The search work always starts in-house.

Assessing what is and what isn’t currently working in the ministry is the first step. What people love about the ministry and what they hope for in the future can be key in making a successful hire. Reviewing the current mission and vision of the church and outlining how this position fits into those goals will set the new hire up for success. What new season is the church entering and how will that impact the job description and responsibilities? These are big questions that take time to answer. The answers though are the foundation of all the work the search team is expected to do.

Form a clear process and timeframe.

Creating clarity about the different stages of the search and setting time frames for each help to keep the work on track. Consider a six-month timeframe when thinking about next steps. How long do you intend to review and assess the ministry? How long will resumes be collected? When will phone interviews begin and when do we intend to move toward in-person interviews? When do we expect to be done? Not only do the answers to these questions help the search team stay on track, but it provides a communication map to be shared with church members, too. Often, having a clear and unified response from the team is enough to turn the tide of anxiety toward patient anticipation.

Be prepared to do your homework.

Avoid the tendency to post the position and sit back and wait for resumes to appear. This is a search and requires some hard work from the team. Create an elevator pitch and social media posts the church members can share. Shape the interview questions to match the type of experience you’re looking for. Take time to discover how the candidates previous work matches up with the newly fine-tuned job description. Follow-up with references to hear more about their previous work and experience. Does that reflect what the ministry needs now and in the future? As a team, agree to wait for the right candidate.

The search process can feel overwhelming with no plan in place. But a diligent, thoughtful, intentional plan for conducting the search process will set up the church and ministry for the type of results you are hoping for. Click To Tweet

So, pick up the Easter egg basket, peek behind the trees, look under the branches, and search until you find the person who will help to lead you in the direction God is calling you to go.

Handcrafted with by Smart Church Project. Powered by Ministry Architects.com.

X