Monday Morning Insights

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    Ask the ChurchStaffing/MMI Guy:  Answers I’m Sure You’ve Been Waiting For!

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    Hmmm... A couple of different things I would say, Jackson... First of all, part-time positions are sometimes really difficult to fill.  The first place I would look would be inside your own church.  For example, my church hired someone from within who happened to have a degree in childhood education and it has worked out great.  The first rule of thumb for hiring a part-time position is that you almost always have to do so locally (since no one will most likely move for a part-time income).  That means you either have to hire inside or outside your church.  I'd prefer an 'inside' hire if at all possible, because this person will already know your church's mission and values.  Look hard... there might be someone right under your nose.

    The second thing I would say (and this really doesn't have anything to do with the hire...) make sure that your church is covered for liability in the area of children's ministry.  You should be running a basic background check on anyone who comes into contact with minors (from newborns to youth).  It's very simple to do; and less costly than a large lawsuit.  Plus, it gives you added piece of mind that you've done all you can to protect the children God has placed in your care.  At ChurchStaffing.com we recommend Trak-1 exclusively.  You can check out more information here about their services.  Just be sure you're protected!

    OK... time for one more:

    Deborah writes:  When the church board wants to challenge the Pastor's spiritual discernment for elevating members to Leadership positions, What do you do?

    Ooohhh... that's a tuffy.  smile  And I'll start right up front by saying that "I don't know" only because I don't have enough information.  You see, in order to answer your question, I'd need a lot more information.  From your question, you seem to feel that the church board is out of line... and they might be.  But your pastor's spiritual discernment might need some checks and balances as well.  I know of a church that elevated a person to a key leadership role within months of a very public divorce... one in which this person was biblically in error.  In that instance, if it was the pastor's decision to appoint this person, I think his discernment should've been called into question by a leadership board.  On the other hand, if it's just a board 'power move' then it needs to be dealt with as well.  Either way, there needs to be open and honest (and civil) communication going on between both the pastor and the board... and that's something that doesn't happen much in many churches.

    Alright... that's enough for this week... I'm starting to run a little low on questions here... so please leave your comments and questions for me for next week.  If not, I'll just have to a) cancel this segment or b) make up my own questions.  (Neither would be a great option!)

    Have a great weekend everybody!

    Todd

    Time for another installment of "Ask the MMI/ChurchStaffing Guy".  I know you’ve all been eagerly anticipating this week’s answers.    Here goes: Jackson writes:  My church is starting to search for a part-time employee to run our children’s ministry. They’d cover from babies to 6th graders. We have a ministry in place, but we need someone to be able to devote 20 hours a week to make it thrive, etc. So - got any big pitfalls to avoid with this, or nuggest of wisdom, mistakes of others we can learn from?

    Comments

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    1. Pete King on Tue, July 05, 2005

      Is this your full time biz? Or is there another job that you do that besides this one?

    2. Monica on Mon, July 11, 2005

      How do you discern when God is leading you away from your current church…especially when He has yet to identify WHERE to go next?

    3. Shelly on Wed, August 03, 2005

      A new question:


      I am coming into ministry after almost 20 years of working in the media. Starting on my second year of seminary, but not sure how to transition to a ministry job. How does a second career minister with nothing but volunteer ministry experience “sell” themselves to a church or Christian organization?

      4. Page 1 of 1 pages

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