5 Reasons to Employ and 5 Reasons Not To 

Over the last 20 years I have spent a fair bit of time helping churches look at employing children's, youth and family ministers. This includes churches who have never had an employee, those who didn't know where to start with advertising, creating a job description, what to pay and how to recruit. Also, a whole bunch of churches who didn't really know what they wanted. My five reasons to employ and five not to is something I've kept revising and coming back to as I still see these challenges and opportunities when it comes to whether or not to employ and finding the right person for the role. 

First up then are my top five reasons why it might be a good idea to look at employing someone.

 

5 Reasons to Employ . . . 

1. There is a growing and dynamic team of volunteer leaders who need someone to provide expertise, leadership, vision for the future. This is about taking things to the next level. The Vicar or Curate cannot “cover” all aspects of ministry. To keep things moving, especially if there is a large volunteer team, it might be time to employ.

2. There is a shared ownership of the vision to employ a salaried worker.  Throughout the Vision (and a vision that is SHARED) it is very important if employing someone is to work. The whole church need to get behind an employed worker, see them as part of the ministry staff team, and also the whole church needs to share the vision for reaching and equipping the next generation, “it takes a village to raise a child” is an African proverb we could apply to the church.

3. There is a significant need in the local community (whether through linking with school, local authority etc) for work to be done that would require someone full or / part time. Opportunities arise, especially in these tough times. As youth services are cut at local authority, district or parish level – what could the church do? What about a partner- ship – don’t bear the financial burden alone and, a great guy once said, “The need is the call”, does the need locally demand a greater response from the church than is currently being given?

4. There is sufficient financial support now and there are good plans for the future (a business plan that includes continued fund raising, budget for ministry costs, planned giving etc). This is a practical dynamic and needs to be accompanied by taking risks and praying hard – however, it is important to have a PLAN for how work is going to be supported. Even if you get support from elsewhere – external funding will come to an END. Build in some sustainability!

5. There is a clear understanding of what the church wants someone to focus on (i.e. primarily evangelism or primarily discipleship or primarily schools work or primarily 11-14s etc). A needs assessment is a good place to start. It is also a good litmus test to look at where the growth is, what is growing and needs further investment to keep momentum up. Having had a great Sunday School for a decade, maybe the church is seeing – for the first time – a bunch of 11-14s who want to stay, but you need someone with specialist skills to invest and take the work forward.

Now then, some of the following might appear tongue in cheek, but let just say - only just! These aren't deal breakers, but they are reasons to take a long hard look and think before making the leap.

 

5 Reasons not to . . . 

1. We cannot get anyone else to do it so we thought we would employ someone. The ethos needs to be right across the church before you move on. If you cannot encourage commitment from those who say 'this is our church', it will be a hard, lonely, miserable job for one person if you do manage to employ . . . get this sorted first! They will also struggle to build any kind of team - children's, youth and family ministry only works if you have a team. It is not a solo activity (You can't do it on your own anyway, that is not safe for either the worker or the children, young people and families).

2. It is the Vicar’s bright idea, but no one else really thinks we need it. Tricky this one. You might know best, but don’t over promise and under deliver. Too many times we can throw around great ideas that we don’t follow through on. Win hearts and minds of people, but also – if you are sold on employing someone – ask yourself why? Does it just get it off your desk? Are you used to working with others and missing that team dynamic? Are you the youngest person at the church and you want someone else to hang out with? Why aren’t others convinced? Make sure you are able to reflect and are aware of your own motivations.

3. There are no young people in our parish, community that we are in touch with – but the local Baptist church seems to have many young people and we need to keep up. We are not in competition and beginning a salaried position at the church with this as the driving factor will lead to disaster. Someone once said, “comparison is the root of all inferi-there is no way to “keep up” without feeling inferior to somebody – and your young people, your group, your church . . . is the one you have got – love who you HAVE, don’t look up the road wishing . . .

4. We aren’t sure we can support someone for longer than 18 months – we have some money from the Mission Committee – but when that runs out, well, we are not very good at getting people to give – it is ok to experiment though isn’t it? This is not an experiment. You are potentially asking someone to move their family, away from friends, kids moving school etc. Don’t mess with someone else’s life to see if it “works”. Do it or don’t do it as Yoda would say, there is no 'try'. You would also be messing with the heads of the young people in your church and community – giving them someone and something one minute, taking it away the next. Think in terms of “long haul”if you employ someone.

5. We do not really know what we want – a bit of this a bit of that – so far our working title for the role is 'Children’s, Youth and Families Pastor and Community Evangelist and Outreach Worker with special responsibility for the Choir and Fresh Expressions of Worship Coordinator and Social Media Lead'. This is probably the most common mistake. You know as a church leadership just how much is expected, in every way – don’t just 'build that in' as some kind of default position! You need to know what you want someone to be aiming at – otherwise, how will you know if they are effective or doing it? Start with where you are at. Do you have nobody AT ALL? Then you need an outreach / evangelist. Have a shed load of young children and families? You might need a children’s and families worker. Got a load of young people hanging in your community? Maybe go for a detached youth worker. If you have ALL those needs, don’t employ one person to try and do it all – it is not possible. Be focused and prioritise.
 

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Help is at hand.

I've recently created a couple of resources for the Church of England based on existing Paraklesis tools and resources.

Firstly, the Good Practice Charter. This helps you look at your support and provision in a holistic way. A key question to ask is, 'Will my church be a place where someone can flourish in life and ministry?' 

[Download the Good Practice Charter]

Secondly, so much rises or falls on good line management and supervision. Get my Line Management Toolkit which helps you make it ACE - by focusing on Accountability, Communication and Expectations. 

[Download the Line Management Toolkit]

Finally, if you need additional support or advice do get in touch at ali@paraklesis.org.uk 
 

Ali Campbell Founded Paraklesis in 2022 after conducting research in to terms and conditions for salaried children's, youth and family ministers across the UK. The Association focuses on three key areas : wellbeing support; employment and good working conditions; advocacy and vocational call. Ali established The Resource in 2014 to serve the church with consultancy, training and mentoring.