I am a HUGE fan of church volunteers. In fact, I have been one over 20 years. Wise Christian leaders know it is on the backs of volunteers that great churches are built. But even I know there are times when a church needs a professional, a member of the paid staff. But how do you know when this time is? Are there indicators? The answer is “Yes”.
Recently, Ivy Sprague of the MAG Bookkeeping team gave some very insightful comments on this subject. Before getting to her thoughts, if your church or non-profit needs bookkeeping assistance as you approach year-end, click HERE and reach out to the team at MAG. They are phenomenal and will serve you well.
Now, onto Ivy’s comments on when to hire paid staff:
For most church leaders, mobilizing and empowering volunteers to partner with you in the work of ministry is a key part of what you do day in and day out. Volunteers greet your worship attenders, play instruments in your worship band, sing in your choir, teach in your children’s ministry events, serve coffee before the service, lead mid-week Bible studies – all the things that help your church reach the people around you with the Gospel.
But as a church leader, one of the key decisions you have to make is when you need a paid staff member to take on a role or responsibility. How do you know when a job needs to be done by a staff member versus a volunteer? It can be a tough call, which is why we recommend to church leaders they use these three criteria as a place to start for determining when a responsibility should rest with a paid staff member:
- When you need a high level of accountability. When you absolutely, positively have to have something accomplished within your church, you need a paid staff member to oversee it and make it part of their job description. You have job descriptions for each of your staff members, right? That you review with them regularly? Having those conversations on a consistent basis increases the chances that your initiatives will keep moving forward.
- When you need professional-level results. Your volunteers are amazing, dedicated people—we have no doubt. They’re accomplishing incredible things for your ministry each and every day. But putting dollars behind your requests allows you to request (and expect) a level of professionalism and results that you can’t always expect from people who are donating their time. When you need professional-level results—whether that’s for a creative campaign, a financial audit, a search for a new staff member, whatever—you may have to pay for it.
- When you need someone to replicate themselves. We often counsel church leaders that one of their primary responsibilities is to build and nurture the teams that carry out ministry in their particular areas of specialty. Ministry isn’t the job of just the paid staff—it’s everyone’s job, and the staff member is just the point person. If you need to build and mobilize a team of passionate Gospel-carriers, make it the responsibility of a paid staff member to do just that.