One thing you probably learned as a church leader is that it’s much tougher if you go it on your own.
Our churches are filled with examples of how we’re ‘better together’. From the songs we sing, to the databases we use, to the curriculum we use in our children’s ministry. From Celebrate Recovery and Divorcecare to AWANA and Orange. From PlanningCenter to ProPresenter. It even includes the books we read, the conferences we attend, and the way we structure our services.
We’re constantly learning and adapting from what other churches are doing. And when it makes sense, we join forces to make things easier and/or more effective.
The way we look for new staff has changed over the years as well. We used to work almost exclusively within our denomination or tribe to fill open positions. That all changed with the internet. Now many churches use great church staff websites (like ChurchJobsOnline.com, PastorJobs.Net, and ChristianCareerCenter.com) and, if you’re a larger church, you might employ the services of a managed search firm. Both of these options have dramatically widened the reach that your local church can have when attracting candidates to your own hometown and specific ministry opening.
But what if we were able to take staff searches one step further? By joining together with other churches across the country that are looking for the same position as you, what if you were able to double, triple, or even increase your potential candidate pool by 10x? Crowdsourcing your next church staff hire could help increase your chances of finding the right person… the healthy, long-term fit you’ve been searching for.
Here’s what we’re finding in our work at Chemistry Staffing: When we are conducting multiple searches for different churches for the same type position at the same time, we can use that search synergy to actually find more (and better) candidates.
In a way, it makes it possible for your church to ‘crowdsource’ your next staff opening.
How does this work?
Well… if we’re looking for a new worship pastor for a church in San Antonio, and at the same time searching for a worship pastor for churches in Iowa, Florida, and Michigan, we are able to increase the number of worship applicants that we can then assess for not just one worship pastor opening, but four.
Maybe a worship pastor applies for the church in Florida, but in reality is a better fit for the church in Michigan.
We find on the front-end of any search that quantity of applicants is just as important as quality. In fact, quantity will, eventually, bring the quality candidate that you are looking for. We work hard to get the word out about our open positions in every way possible: social media, email marketing, job boards, denominational and seminary contacts, and our personal ‘rolodex’ of candidates and ‘sneezers’.
When doing this for multiple churches at the same time, we have a much better chance of finding a great fit… a fit that really matches your church’s chemistry and DNA.
We are getting ready to launch searches in the next two weeks for Worship Pastors, Executive Pastors, Senior Pastors, Children’s Pastors, Student Ministry Pastors and Campus Pastors. If you’re looking to fill one of these positions in your church, let’s talk about how we might be able to serve you by including you in our ‘synergistic’ search process.
You can grab 30 minutes on my calendar right now. I’d love to hear about what your church is looking for in its next staff member. Let’s talk this next week!
by Todd Rhoades
Todd has invested over 30 years in serving churches, having served as a worship pastor for over 15 years, a church elder for more than a decade, and in various ministry leadership roles in both the business and non-profit sectors. As the original founder and developer of ChurchStaffing.com, Todd fundamentally changed the way thousands of churches search for pastors and staff on the internet. Most recently, Todd’s work with Leadership Network has provided him exposure to the innovative trends in today’s church and inside knowledge of how healthy churches operate and uses it to help churches find a healthy, long-term fit for their next team member. Todd is a graduate of Cedarville University, and lives in Bryan, OH with his wife, Dawn.