A couple of weeks ago, I asked our quickly-growing list of church staff members three questions:
- What is the absolute best thing about your church?
- What is the worst thing about your church
- If you could change one thing about your church, what would you change?
The response was overwhelming and quite interesting.
Here’s why.
This list tells us what excites church staff about the church they are currently serving in.
It also gives us insight into what we areas we need to improve if we want to attract and keep long-term healthy staff at our church.
On every interview we do here at Chemistry Staffing, we spend some time asking each potential candidate “why now”. Why are you looking NOW?
Another way to ask this is: “Why aren’t you staying where God has placed you currently?”
Of course, the answers we receive are myriad. From the exciting (God is calling us to a brand new season), to the sad (the church couldn’t afford to continue paying me).
But many times… it is because of some kind of staff or church sign of unhealth… something just doesn’t fit… something just isn’t right.
So, today we want to take a look at what church staff LOVE about the churches they serve in.
Here they are, in order:
- Preaching/Teaching
“The preaching is amazing!”
- Worship
“Everyone loves to worship.”
- Children’s/Youth Ministry
“Our kids and youth programs are spectacular.”
- Vision/Commitment
“We are as a local church family doing all we can do to fulfill our mission to REACH those who live far from God”
- Generosity
“Great, contagious generosity!”
- Doctrine
“How caring and accepting of people they are and all in the context of biblical teaching and practices.”
- Unity
“We are unified behind Jesus’ mission and our end goal is clear.”
- Leadership
“Responsiveness and communication among leaders”
- Evangelism/Discipleship
“From the drug addict to the top-notch lawyer, anyone can come and feel welcomed and hear the truth of Jesus.”
- Relationships
“We serve one another well and are a family. Also many opportunities for discipleship/community.”
Some questions to contemplate as you start your week:
What would your church staff say about each of these areas of your church?
When your last staff member left, was it because of one of these areas was deficient?
What are your two highest areas (and your two lowest)?
Ask your staff this week about what they think the BEST thing in your church is. This could be an interesting staff meeting icebreaker. Feel free to reach out to me. My email is todd.rhoades@chemistrystaffing.com.
