I’m part of a fairly large (90+) network of independent Christian church executive pastors, and we often engage one another in discussions on various topics. Recently, there’s been much discussion about whether or not a church staff member needs to be part of the church. Let me clarify this a bit more. Should involvement in the ministry … let me go one step further … membership in the church be a requirement when it comes to eligibility to occupy a paid staff position? Good question huh?

I can tell you the answer to this question around here. For our almost 9 year history, the answer is a definite YES! I am surprised by the number of churches (based on the e-mail discussion) that don’t require “membership” to be eligible for a paid staff position. In one case, the executive pastor’s assistant, doesn’t go to the church. I’m not criticizing this church leader; I’m just surprised.

Around here membership in the church is definitely a requirement to be on staff! This has been a “given” since the very beginning. Reading the e-mails on the topic and seeing the number of churches that hire staff from outside the church and don’t require that they are active participants in the ministry, has caused me to reflect on why this is such a “given” here at Christ’s Church of the Valley (CCV).

At CCV, we go well beyond “just” requiring membership. We require that they have an independent Christian church background. We also require that they are passionate about the northeast. That narrows it down a bit, doesn’t it? Wait, there’s more! We screen people to make sure they are in line with our church in terms of beliefs and doctrine. Every single person who is being considered for employment on our church staff, regardless of position, completes the Questionnaire. The Questionnaire includes an extensive set of questions that not only help us to get to know the potential candidate; they help us to discover doctrinal position on the “majors.”

(Take a look at the Questionnaire HERE.)

OK, so why? I guess it’s pretty simple. How can we ask others to do, believe, practice, be passionate about, financially contribute to, and be a part of what they, themselves, are not? We believe that being a part of a church staff is not a job, it’s a calling. And, by virtue of being a paid staff member, people assume that what you say must be the church’s position. What you say, must be a fact. After all, aren’t you an employee of the church?

Another reason we only hire people who are 100% committed to our church has to do with our desire to ensure they will be “on board” regardless of the circumstances. You’ve heard the old saying, “when the going gets tough, the tough get going.” Things happen. Priorities change, difficult decisions are made that not everyone agrees with, and other challenges come along. If the staff is on board with the ministry long before and definitely after they are a staff member, their ability and tendency to stick it out and be a positive voice in support of church leadership is much more likely. On more than one occasion, we’ve looked back at “sticking to our guns” on a hire and said, “man, we’re happy we didn’t compromise! That could’ve gone much worse for everyone.”

“How do you staff your church?” you might be asking. “Won’t requirements this tight make it difficult, if not impossible, to staff the church?” That’s a great question, and yes it is difficult. In fact, at times we’ve had to do without. Basically, what it means is that we have to “hire from within.” We have to be good at identifying future staff members within the church. In our case, every person on our staff was hired from within. They were volunteers first, in some cases interns second, and then were hired when the need arose. A few years ago, when I first started to blog I published a post entitled, Internships – A Tool for Cultivating Leadership Potential. This post was all about the process of developing internal talent. Read it HERE.

Where do you stand on this question? Do you require paid staff to attend your church and be active participants?

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