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Hiring – Inside or Outside? - As a young pastor, I’m in the process of building my staff. I’m deliberating how to fill our next staff position, and am contemplating on whether to hire from inside the church or to look outside. I’d love to get some insights from pastors on the pros and cons of hiring from within or without, and any general guidelines they use in considering and selecting people for staff positions.
Responses:
Pastor Sam Smucker – Lancaster, PA
In filling staff positions through the years, it has worked best for us in hiring from within. I have found in hiring from within, the person knows you and your vision in a deeper way. They also are familiar with your style and methods of ministry. We have hired from without only a few times and several times it was not a very good situation - didn't take enough time to know the person. There was one instance where it worked very well because the person's attitude was that of a servant and his skill set was outstanding - that person served on staff for 21 years. Hiring from the inside you have time to observe a person's conduct and work ethic. Whether you add staff from within or from without, it is important they know the heart of the Pastor and the vision of the church and understand they are not coming to change things but to work alongside you and help build the ministry God has entrusted you with.
Pastor Dean Hawk – Colorado Springs, CO
Here are some thoughts I have used in hiring:
- Set the requirements for the position and hold out for God’s best. Have a written job description. Leave no holes or gaps in your expectations.
- Those from within the church can apply if they meet the requirements. I had an individual from within our church apply for our youth pastor opening earlier in the year. He is committed to the church, loyal, faithful, and a great asset to our church. He applied and tried out for the position but I turned him down. Although he was loyal to me and the church, it would have been a step backwards for our youth ministry. A good leader has to make the tough decisions that are the best for the people than for yourself. It would have been much easier on me to hire him, yet it would not have been in the best interest of the teenagers. Reality Check – There is no easy way to tell someone close to you that they did not get the job.
- We used People Keys with our last hire. This is an awesome on line evaluation for the specific church position combining the DISC personality test and a team building evaluation. Once completed it will give you a complete printout of their strengths, weaknesses, and challenge areas. It even gives you questions to ask the candidate based upon their responses. Very affordable.
- If an outside candidate is found, the first step I take is to have them come and attend our weekend services unannounced. My first question is, “Would this be a church they would attend if they were not paid to be there? If you lived in this community would you choose this church? After listening to several teaching series, am I someone you would desire to have as a pastor?” They must be sold on the vision, direction, and style of our church before being considered for a specific job. I will bring them back at another time to speak or tryout for the actual position.
- Refrain from hiring someone who is leaving a troubled, discontented place of employment. They will usually bring baggage from the previous position into the new one. Stay away from someone who is “sneaking around” to interview without informing his current pastor or employer of his intentions. If he will do it to that boss he will have no problem doing it to you later.
- Call every reference they give you and ask the references for references. Ask very blunt open ended questions. A key question that is a “tell all” is, “Would you hire this person again if you had an opening on your staff?” Go by as much as what they won’t say as what they do say. Don’t overlook obvious red flags in an attempt to fill a position.
- Interviewing the spouse is as important as the actual candidate. Too many times I have found a great candidate but after interviewing the wife it was evident that she was not supportive, didn’t want to live in this part of the country or had a negative attitude or attributes. I have seen many ministers hindered because of the actions of their spouse. Many staff problems and conflicts are the result of a discontented spouse.
- Take a close look at their current financial situation. Are they in debt other than for a house or car payment? Do they have credit card bills piled up? Unpaid loans, etc??? Financial stewardship is a great indicator of a person’s character and personal disciplines. We always run a complete background check which includes a credit report on a potential candidate.
- Never hire someone you couldn’t fire. Only hire family members or friends if they are the best candidate and you know that if they do not work out that you could and would fire them in the best interest of the church.
- Consider going to see them in action on their current “turf.” Everyone is going to bring their “A Game” to an audition. I want to see how they relate, speak, perform in their current position. If distance and travel prohibits, have several services videotaped of them ministering.
- Follow the inward leading of the Holy Spirit. We can never underestimate the power and insight of the Holy Spirit. There is nothing more reassuring than knowing you have heard the voice of God to move ahead with a hire. You can never get enough information to be at complete peace in who to hire or not hire. The Holy Spirit can give you the assurance to move forward or the checks and red flags when it is not the right person.
Pastor Gary Hoffman – Rocky Mount, VA
Hire from inside the church if at all possible. They “know” you and your ministry, and have grown up under you. They will already have knowledge of your vision and how you do things. Also hiring from within gives others “hope,” and adds to leadership strengths.
Pastor Stan Saunders – Chillicothe, MO
We have created two new full time positions in the past 11 months. We also replaced a staff person who was with us for 7 years. Of the three we hired, we hired one from within and two from outside the church. Of the two from outside the church, one was from another church staff while the other was from the business community
Our first look is within. Hiring from within has many advantages. First, we know the person much better. The vetting process is easier. We know the person will not have assimilation issues with the culture of our church and community. The obvious downfall would be what to do, if he/she was not working out. The potential fallout from this could be devastating to them and to the church. By hiring from within, more qualified candidates from outside the church may have never been considered. I would caution going here just for the sake of convenience. That being said, our hires from within have worked out fabulously well. Our administrative assistant was/is a member of the church. She previously worked at a local bank. She is fantastic now working in the church office.
We have done quite well with hiring youth guys from outside the church. Our last two guys stayed 6 and 7 years. One resigned for moral failure. The advantage of him being from out of state is that he left town immediately after his resignation. It made the healing process easier for all involved, including the church. We were very close with the last youth guy, who left for another church. Yet, because he was not from our church originally, the sting of him leaving was a bit less.
There are certainly pros and cons of each position. We have to consider the requirements of the job mostly, when choosing. We look internally first. If we do not have the right person for our need, we look outside to find the right person. One other advantage to hiring from outside the church is that person brings fresh ideas and insight to the table. Insiders are more limited in their experiences and perspectives.
