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Developing an Outstanding Staff

Developing staff in four areas is key to their continued spiritual growth and ministry development.

Developing a staff team becomes a priority as a church grows. Jesus began His public ministry by recruiting a core of individuals to whom He gave special developmental attention. Later on they were given the task of multiplying His ministry. In many ways, this paradigm describes the initial stages of staff development for a growing church.

Jesus’ invitation, "Come, follow me, . . . and I will make you fishers of men" (Matthew 4:19, NIV) is just as compelling in the 21st century as it was in the first century.

There are four specific areas in which a staff person needs consistent development: 1. vision, 2. information, 3. ministry skills, and 4. exposure.

1. Communicating the vision for ministry is the engine for success.

A compelling vision enables us to sacrifice today for the opportunities of tomorrow. Your staff needs a clear sense of your heart and imagined future. This is most easily accomplished during informal times. Visiting over a cup of coffee in the morning provides an opportunity to share a dream. A clear sense of where we are going provides the basis for the needed self-discipline to help us get there.

2. The skills needed for effective ministry are learned, not intuitive.

Imagine you are going to help someone build a toolbox filled with ministry tools. Identify three or four key ministry skills and develop a plan for excellence in those areas. Opportunities for learning are everywhere. Communication skills are central to ministry. A great place to begin is learning how to answer the phone in a welcoming way or how to treat someone who drops by. These opportunities remind us that people are the purpose for ministry, not a nuisance.

What are the three or four most frequently asked questions about your church or ministry? Develop a set of responses and discuss them with your staff team.

Take time to process ministry opportunities. Talk about the most difficult issues or the most effective encounters from the previous week. The difficult ministry concerns will get passed up to you. Spend your energy helping your staff become effective in responding to the more routine concerns of daily ministry.

3. Every growing ministry needs growing people.

Provide information tools for your team to grow. A variety of tape clubs provide outstanding material. Once a month take a long lunch and listen to a tape. Discuss its impact for your ministry. Ask, "Which ideas are important for us and which ideas are not?" Three or four times a year share a book with your team. When you hand them the book, give them four or five questions to process while they read. A few weeks later, discuss what they learned. You will create a learning environment, and your staff will begin to develop an arsenal of information they can share with others.

4. Exposure to growing ministries is a critical part of development.

Visit two or three churches that are excelling in some way. As you explore facilities and experience new environments, let them feed your own vision. A cautionary note: Avoid a highly critical perspective when visiting other churches. Identify what they are doing best. It is easy to be critical, but far more productive to understand their strengths. Visiting larger churches will plant seeds of possibility in the minds of your staff.

Many churches offer seminars for church staff. Take your team to a seminar, then schedule a half day following the seminar to process what you learned and how it may be applied to your environment.

Set the tone for your staff. Your own personal habits of learning and growing will establish expectations for your team. The apostle Paul set the tone for the churches he helped lead: "Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you" (Philippians 4:9, NIV).

Developing your staff will become an integral part of your ministry. It will require growth and developing your own skills. People want to do well for God, but often lack the confidence of a leader who will walk alongside them as they learn to excel.

—Allen Jackson, senior pastor, World Outreach Church, Murfreesboro, Tennessee.