Nine Leadership Myths Facing Our Churches

As I travel throughout our country working with churches of all sizes and types I am concerned with some ideas that are being perpetrated and acted upon which has caused many a leader great heartache and pain. This series of posts is dedicated to opening a dialog on the issues or non issues, depending on your perspective, concerning staff, buildings, outreach, etc.

1) Expanding your staff will grow your church.

The first leadership myth is this: Expanding your staff will grow your church!  My experience is that adding staff has more of a sustaining effect on the growth of the church than a propelling effect.  In reality staffing complicates the growth of the ministry.  What grows churches is a constant investment in focused outreach (learn more).  I have heard too many pastors say they are staffing for growth! Though that was true 10-15 years ago, today it is very difficult in this economic climate. Too many churches are spending all their reserves and leveraging the church financially on staffing with little results. Within two years they are laying off staff the church hired and struggling financially. My rule of thumb is we have to grow first to a point that the current staff is really stretched thus creating the need for more help to retain the growth.  Staffing is a key in retaining growth not sparking growth.

The following questions will help you in determining the staffing needs in your church.

1. How many staff are needed for your church?

Average Attendance               Needed Full-time Staff Positions               Generalist/Specialist

•     200                                                  1                                                       Generalist
•     300                                                  2                                                       Generalist
•     450                                                  3                                                       Generalist
•     600                                                  4                                               Generalist/Specialist
•     750                                                  5                                               Generalist/Specialist
•     900                                                  6                                                       Specialist
•     1050                                                7                                                       Specialist
•     1200                                                8                                                       Specialist

A generalist handles multiple responsibilities and provides leadership to multiple teams with a variety of focuses.  A specialist handles a focused area of ministry leaders and multiple teams within that specific area.

In 1980 Lyle Schaller wrote The Multiple Staff and the Larger Church in which he introduced average worship attendance as a more reliable indicator of staffing needs. Schaller proposed a ratio of 1:100 as a guideline for the typical ratio of full-time paid professional staff positions in mainline Protestant congregations. In 2000 Gary McIntosh wrote Staff Your Church for Growth and suggested that a 1:150 paid professional staff ratio was a more realistic and affordable guideline. Both Schaller and McIntosh focused on the combination of professional clergy leaders and professional program staff leaders. Their ratios did not include administrative or support staff. Both assumed that the staffing ratio remained constant across size ranges. HT

2. How many support staff do you need?

The number of support staff needed in a church depends on a number of factors. As a rule, more support staff are needed if:

1. The church is built around programs.
2. A large number of full-time professional staff are employed.
3. The pastoral staff function as specialists.

Fewer support staff are required if:

1. The church is built around small-group ministry.
2. There is a large number of part-time staff.
3. The pastoral staff function as generalists.

3. How much should a church budget for staff?

Smaller churches tend to spend from 50 to 60% of their overall budget for staff, whereas larger churches spend about 40 to 50%.

Growing churches keep their staffing budget under 50%, some of our fastest growing churches are under 40%

Here is a good church growth budget:

• 10% - Tithe to regional & international missions
• 25% - Facilities
• 45% - Staffing
• 5-10% Evangelism
• 15% - General Ministry

4. Should staff be added from inside or outside the church?

There are benefits to hiring homegrown staff:

1. They are committed to your philosophy of ministry.
2. You have observed their temperament, loyalty, ministry and work ethic.
3. They are committed for the long term.
4. They possess an existing network of friends, neighbors and contacts.

On the other hand, there may be problems with home-grown staff:

1. They may lack professional training.
2. They may be “without honor in their own country.”
3. They may be difficult to confront and fire.
4. They may have tunnel vision.

5. Is one full-time person better than two part-time persons?

• First, when the church has needs in several areas of ministry, using several part-time persons is workable.
• Second, if the church is hesitant about adding full-time staff, using part-time staff is a good way to gradually introduce the concept of multiple staff.
• Third, if financial resources are limited, using part-time personnel is a way to staff a position for much less than the cost of a full-time individual.
• Fourth, if the position calls for a specialist, it is possible to find a part-time person who will focus on a single aspect of ministry.
• Fifth, if the senior pastor is comfortable delegating work to staff and does not desire to spend time with the staff, part-time staff will be fine.

Full-time staff are the best choice when the following situations exist.

• First, it is obvious that the ministry needs someone who can work full-time, giving forty or more hours per week to the work.
• Second, the position calls for a generalist. Part-time staff normally focus their energies on a single aspect of ministry.
• Third the staffing need is in one or at most two areas of ministry. It is standard practice to add a full-time staff person and assign him two positions.
• Fourth, if the senior pastor desires to spend time in one-on-one relationships and provide close supervision of the staff, full-time staff is the best choice as they will work a regular time      schedule. Lyle Schaller thinks, “The best part-time staff I’ve worked with has been more goal-oriented than relational. Remember: Full-time personnel take longer to find, but are easier to supervise.
• Fifth, as a general rule full-time staff function best when the overall size of the staff is larger than seven persons.
• Sixth, if the position is important to the long-term success of the church’s ministry, the full-time person is best.

Source: Many of the answers to these questions came for Staff Your Church for Growth by Gary L. McIntosh which is a must read for any church seeking to expand their staff.