The Ultimate Church Staffing Guide

Church Hiring Resources

A church, like everything else divinely created, will experience growth when it is healthy. As we read in the book of Revelation, God’s plan for His Church is growth, so that people from every nation, tribe, people, and nation have the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel (see Revelation 7:9).

That’s why here at JustChurchJobs we are convinced that God’s plan for your church is growth. Not eventually, but right now. Growth is the automatic result of healthy and intentional care.

God designed and intends His church to grow. We cannot stress this enough: church leaders are not responsible for church growth; that’s God’s job – our responsibility is to be faithful to minister to the people God sends to us. While most churches provide meaningful ministry to their community, many churches operate with a staff structure that hinders growth instead of encourages it.

It’s been our observation that many churches are understaffed and overextended. As one pastor told us, “The needs of our ministry are greater than our staff’s ability to minister.” That’s as frustrating as it is avoidable.

That’s why we created the ultimate church staffing guide. It’s our goal to give you some practical tips to make the process of budgeting, posting, interviewing, and onboarding logical and even (dare I suggest) fun! We’ll start with a big-picture view then drill down into more practical details. As always, we’re here to help, pray for you, and celebrate the amazing things God will do in and through your church.

Develop a big picture church staffing plan.

Church expansion is extremely exciting, but if not done in the correct way it can lead to long-term struggles. That is why the first step should always be creating a church staffing plan. A church staffing plan is a blueprint for how to want your church team to function and what roles are you looking to fill in the future.

Here are the first steps to create a healthy and intentional church staffing plan:

Believe that God wants to grow your church. The entirety of the New Testament is testimony of our commission to make disciples (see especially the Parable of the Sower in Mark 4 and Ephesians 4:11-13). Again, growth is God’s job, but we do our part to follow and facilitate that which God desires.
Focus on the 5 key areas of ministry. Start small but start with a full team. Even if your key areas are staffed by volunteers, make sure you have a point person to provide leadership for each one. Conventional wisdom recommends one full time staff member (or full time equivalent) for every 75 people, but you can begin with a few part-time staff members then increase compensation as budget allows.
With rare exception, these are listed in order of staffing priority:
Worship/Music
Children's ministries
Student ministry
Adult discipleship
Operations
Hire for function; coach for form. First, look for someone with a passion for the ministry area you need to staff. Second, dig into their character – teaching a skill takes far less time than crafting character (you might want to consider creating a longer-term discipleship plan to develop future church staff members).
Provide clear expectations and outcomes. Put it in writing, even if you’re recruiting an unpaid volunteer to provide leadership for one of these key areas of ministry. You’ll find countless resources online to help you craft a job description, but you’ll need at a minimum to communicate the specifics of a staff member’s responsibility, the scope of their authority, and who holds them accountable.
Continually inspire and equip. Give your staff every opportunity to be successful by providing resources, time away for conferences, and funding for continuing education. Spend most of your time investing in the leaders of your five key ministry areas.

Make room in your budget

Now that you have an overview of the process, your next step is to determine how your church budget will accommodate your revitalized approach to ministry. Let’s dive in!

Two benchmarks. First, healthy churches employ one full-time staff member (or full-time equivalent) for every 75 attendees on Sunday morning. Also, our research shows that healthy churches designate 45–55% of their annual budget for personnel costs.
Pay your staff well. You’re hiring professionals, so your church staff members’ salaries should be commensurate with other professional salaries in your community. The Bible actually warns against paying ministers too little (see 1 Timothy 5:17-18), so make sure you lead your church to compensate their ministers appropriately.
Consider the full cost of a new staff member. There are costs that exceed the annual salary – make sure to create room in your budget for the cost of relocation, benefits, outfitting an office, a new computer, etc. Also, you’re hiring a ministry professional who will require financial resources to jump start their particular area of ministry.
Outsource non-ministry administrative roles. While it would be nice to have a full-time IT staff member in your office, most churches are unable to afford that luxury. Consider outsourcing IT, web development, graphic design, finance, and administrative functions to reduce personnel costs.
The resources are in the harvest. As your revitalizing church begins to reach more people and grow, you’ll have more resources to fund new and existing ministries plus a growing group of volunteers and potential staff members! Remember, God is faithful and He wants your church to grow – lead your congregation to leave room for growth in next year’s budget.

Discover character and determine competencies for your new staff member.

Our team of pastors and recruiting professionals identified the character traits and top competencies required for today’s church leaders. As you move through the hiring process, keep these character traits and what you’ve determined as necessary competencies in mind as you interview and evaluate your top candidates.

Character

Calling. In the context of Christian leadership, God leads people to serve Him in two distinct forms: for ministry and to a ministry. A calling for ministry is the process by which God “sets apart” someone for a type of service and is affirmed by other believers. A calling to a ministry is the result of God’s leading a minister to a specific church or mission field.

(Key indicators: spiritual health, obedience, commitment)

Spiritual health. The development of spiritual health requires certain competencies, but the most effective Christian leaders find their identity in Christ and prioritize their relationship with their Creator. Spiritual health is developed by the regular practice of spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible study, worship, serving others, and unguarded obedience to God’s leadership.

(Key indicators: prayerfulness, discipline, generosity, faith)

Perseverance. Perseverance is driven by hopeful long-term perspective that requires the ability to overcome obstacles that seek to hinder achievement.

(Key indicators: patience, optimism, commitment)

Integrity. A person with integrity will act truthfully and consistently regardless of the expectation or outcome. Someone seeking to serve in ministry should find their source for moral and ethical integrity in the example of Jesus, adhering to His standard of truth and good works.

(Key indicators: submission to Biblical authority, honesty, consistency, trust)

Humility. Biblical humility begins with belief in and obedience to the word and will of God. Humility towards others recognizes every person’s value as one created in the image of God.

(Key indicators: submission, servant leadership, compassion)

Competencies

Building teams. The ability to unite staff members and/or volunteers around a shared set of values to accomplish a particular goal. Leaders who value a team approach to ministry believe collaboration and shared effort is required in every ministry to maximize impact for God’s Kingdom.

(Key indicators: visionary, collaboration, clear communication, equipper)

Clear communication. The ability to convey ideas, information, and meaning to individuals and groups. Gifted communicators begin with purpose, simplify messages, and answer anticipated questions before they are asked.

(Key indicators: purpose, execution, equipper)

Interaction. Ministry moves at the speed of relationship. The best coworkers and leaders have the ability to listen, empathize, relate, and communicate with church members, volunteers, staff – even (and especially) with people outside of the church body.

(Key indicators: compassion, clear communication, humility, service)

Leadership. Leaders discover and communicate an inspiring vision for the future that inspires and motivates people to realize that vision. A leader influences and equips others to realize and maximize their potential.

(Key indicators: visionary, clear communicator, influencer, equipper)

Outreach. This competency results in an understanding of what is important to people who are not part of the church and the ability to discover ways to connect them into the life and ministry of the church. These leaders think and act like missionaries.

(Key indicators: compassion, influencer, creativity)

Pastoral care. Leaders who are skilled in providing pastoral care minister through compassion and love. Pastoral care often refers to spiritual counseling, visitation, and ministry to the sick.

(Key indicators: compassion, good listener, knowledge of Scripture)

Preaching. Preaching is the public proclamation of God’s Word, guided by the Holy Spirit, to demonstrate God’s grace, strengthen faith, and influence change while highlighting God’s glory.

(Key indicators: knowledge of Scripture, clear communication, influencer, equipper)

Problem solver. Leaders are not afraid of change, yet only gifted leaders are able help others navigate through change. Problem solvers approach every challenge objectively, consider every option, and lead people to follow the best path forward.

(Key indicators: creativity, objectivity, visionary, execution)

Stewardship. The ability to manage God’s resources (time, talent, and treasure) in efficient and effective ways to honor Him. Leaders must have the ability to prioritize opportunities for greatest impact in ministry. Stewards trust God’s provision and generously respond in obedience to His command to give.

(Key indicators: discipline, generosity, faith, integrity)

Teachability. Love of learning is born out of a zeal for wisdom. Great leaders never stop learning – they are students of their mission field, seek counsel from others, and retain the lessons learned from their own success and failures.

(Key indicators: humility, discipline, optimism)

Teaching/Disciple making. A leader who has developed the skills of a teacher and disciple maker will invest in relationships to help someone else deepen their relationship with Jesus as they train them to invest in others. This competency can be leveraged in several contexts (e.g., Bible study groups, large group instruction, one-on-one discipleship) but with the same goal: to explain the truth of the Bible in ways that lead to understanding and action.

(Key indicators: equipper, knowledge of Scripture, interaction)

Broadcast your new opening

Here are the steps most of our partners in ministry follow when hiring a new pastoral staff member. This is only a suggestion—develop a process that makes the most sense for your church!

Prepare and post a job description. Your friends at JustChurchJobs.com will help you discover the most qualified candidate for this new position. Your posting will remain active until you make a hire—there are never any monthly contracts with us! Also, we’ll cast a wide net for candidates through social media posts, a link to your job posting on online ministry affinity groups, posts on Bible college and seminary job boards, and notifications to our database of job seekers.
Select members of your hiring team. If your church utilizes hiring teams or committees, now is the time to recruit and train them.
Determine the top competencies needed for the position. JustChurchJobs.com has identified the top 11 competencies for pastoral staff members. Simply identify what your church and community need most, then start searching for candidates who are skilled in those areas. To help you in the process the candidate questionnaire and reference form we provide centers around those 11 competencies.
Initial ranking of candidates. The job posting has closed and you’re no longer accepting resumes—now it’s time to rank the top 10.
Brief initial interview of the top 10 candidates. This interview should be done over the phone. You’re asking each candidate the same questions and ranking them on their responses (utilizing our handy list of character traits and competencies). From here, you and your team will rank the top 5 candidates.
Questionnaire to the top 5 candidates. You and your team will dig in deeper at this stage. We’ll give you a bank of questions you can include in a questionnaire (again, utilizing the character traits and competencies we’ve identified). Candidates will spend a few days answering the questions then you and your team will select the top 3 candidates to move to the next round of interviews.
Video conference interview with the top 3 candidates. You and your team will be prepared for this round of interviews with another bank of questions. From here you will prayerfully select the top candidate to interview in person.
Background check. We’ll give you an authorization form that the top candidate will complete then we’ll walk you through how to conduct a credit check, past employment verification, and criminal background checks. Do not neglect this step!
Face-to-face interview. Using our bank of questions and focused prayer, you and your team will determine if this candidate is the one God has selected for the position at your church. We’ll help you arrange all of the details from making a good first impression to arranging introductions to various groups in the church.
Make an offer. The search is over! We’ll help you make sure your new staff member has everything he or she needs to thrive in their new role.

Determine your hiring process.