In going through some files recently, I came across a church
newsletter from April 1976. It provided
an interesting snapshot of this particular church at that time. This county seat Baptist church in a southern
state was averaging over 650 in Sunday morning worship. What caught my attention was that they had
only three full-time staff members!
Today we talk in terms of a church needing one full-time staff member
for every 100 worshippers. The same
church today runs about 450 on a Sunday and has the equivalent of six full-time
staff ministers. What changed?
A lot has changed in three and a half decades. Let me suggest five primary changes that have impacted churches, their staffing expectations, and their effectiveness in
mission.
First, society has changed. In this particular case, what was once a
small county seat town is now part of a metropolitan area made up not only of individuals
commuting 45 minutes to an hour to work
but of professionals and blue-collar employees
in locally situated medium-sized and even large industries. Lifestyles have changed and people are busier
with more personal and family activities.
The community has a number of dynamic service, educational, and
recreational organizations. Church participation
is now just one of many options from which residents can choose.
Second, as a result of the first change, there are fewer
volunteers available to lead in programs and those who do are often pulled to
other activities as well. The church of 1976 included fathers who worked in the
community, stay-at-home mothers, and a strong tradition of volunteer
service. None of those things is true
today. This is not meant to be negative,
but it is a fact. People have more
choices of where to invest their time and energy.
Third, the church scene has changed. Let’s be honest: there is more competition between churches
for members than there was three decades ago.
Although we don’t want to admit it, most churches are growing by
transfer growth rather than conversions.
In this particular community, there was one large Baptist church; now
there are at least four large Baptist churches with multiple staff ministers. And the competition is not only between churches
of the same denomination. This community has a number of
nondenominational churches that draw people of Baptist background and believers
seem more willing to check out other denominations when they seek a church home
as well.
Fourth, congregations expect more of their
ministers. Perhaps due to the
competition among churches, more is expected of ministers. In the fast-paced media age in which we live,
ministers must not only be competent but extraordinary. We expect to be “wowed” whenever they speak before
the congregation, do leadership training, or initiate a new ministry. We want specialists in every area of church life—preschool,
elementary, middle school, high school, college, young adult, singles, married
young adults, median adults, senior adults, and so on. The stress this creates in the life of a
minister is a downside of their service.
Fifth, an accepted church growth strategy is to staff for
the growth you want and your church will “grow into it.” This is not a bad concept, but sometimes a
church staffs for numerical growth and the growth doesn’t happen. Population shifts, emphases change, and the
economy tanks. This results in more
staff members than the church can support and unwanted decisions about
downsizing.
The primary challenge I would make to churches today is
to be realistic about where you are and what you can expect of staff
leadership. Culture, people, needs, and
methodologies have changed. Competent
staff members want to address the issues of today and not those of yesterday in
order to encourage church health. At the
same time, they cannot do it alone.
Church members must step up and accept responsibilities with the support
of these professional staff ministers.
There are some things that staff ministers can do and should do, but the
church is made up primarily of lay believers not professionals. The best staff members are both ministers and
equippers, but the church needs those who are willing to be equipped.
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