Should the Pastor Be The One Who Hire Church Staff?

For any organization to function effectively it must have the right staff in the right position who will carry out the vision and mission of that organization. The same is true for any church; for any church to function effectively it don’t only needs to be led by the Spirit of God, but it also need to have the right people to help it grow effectively.

The mission of the church is to win the lost for Christ and to build to help its members to be mature and powerful Christians according to the word of the Lord.

I strongly believe that under the leadership of the Holy Spirit the leaders of the church should be the one that hires church staff; this should not be done by any group or committee. Many times when the hiring of church personnel’s are done by committees or any group, it results in lack of unity in the church, conflict or the wrong people in the right positions. The pastor or leaders should therefore have the responsibility and accountability of choosing their own team they will be working with for the furtherance of the Kingdom.

Before I give reasons why pastors should be the one hiring their own staff, it is my personal belief that working for the Lord should be a voluntary act; we all should be willing to work in the Kingdom. However, if the church staff will be working full time or spending most of his or her time working in the church and using his or her knowledge (e.g. the person is a university graduate) and as long as the church is able to afford to pay for its own church staff.

Here are four reasons why the role of hiring church staff should be left up to the pastor. Where the church is a mega church, first level can hire their own staff and the reasons lay down below will still apply.

1. The right chemistry. It is very hard for two people to work together very closely if they don’t have good chemistry. I do not expect that there will be any strive or contention, but each person want to work with someone who they are most comfortable with. When the pastor is the one that is doing the hiring then the pastor can see if both of them will have the right chemistry to get the work of the Lord done. It will be very difficult for a church committee to hire a church staff with the right chemistry without the pastor’s involvement
2. Trust and loyalty. The issue of who the church staff will be loyal to, the pastor or the hiring committee. We have to understand that many times people will tend to listen or be more loyal to the person who is signing their pay check, not the one they are working with.
3. The right church staff for the job. Many times we have persons working in the church for the main reason of earning a living and not if their mission and theology are the same as that of the church. You don’t need people who are there because they want a job, or because they want to work in close contact with a certain pastor; what you need is people who are there because they want to further the Kingdom. They have a passion for ministry and are not afraid of doing more than what their job description may be. Pastors will be in a better position in choosing staffs that will be able to carry out the vision that God has given him/her for the church.
4. Accountability. It is very important that the church staff be accountable to the pastor of the church and not some committee or group. People will be more accountable to the person who hire him or her. Also, the pastor will feel more accountable for that staff success and development.

I am fully aware that pastors hiring their own church staff will not be feasible in all churches, but I strongly believe that the pastor of the flock should be involve in the selection process and not just have someone dump on him/her. Problems may arise if the pastor feels that the new church staff wasn’t their choice.

What is your take on this issue of pastors hiring their own staff? How the matter of hiring church staff done in your church?

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