Jesus makes recruiting a team look so easy, doesn’t he? “Hey rugged fishermen over there! Drop what you’re doing and come follow me,” he shouts. And the amazing thing is that they follow. For most planters I talk to, they seem to have difficulty recreating the same results. The fact of the matter is that oftentimes recruiting a team, whether it be searching for initial staff members or courting prospective launch team members, can be extremely challenging. But does it have to be, is the real question?
Before we look a bit closer at Christ’s recruitment model, let’s first identify the hindrances that seem to prevent greater recruitment success. Church planters – here are the top 5 excuses we use when struggling to recruit the all-star team that we so desperately desire and need.
Top 5 Favorite Church Planter Excuses for Failing to Recruit Others (or the right people).
1.) “I don’t know anybody.” – This is initially understandable since in many situations church planters relocate to launch their plant and obviously it takes time to meet new people. With that being said, if you plan on pastoring a successful church – you’re going to have to meet new people – and a LOT of ‘em! Focus on “watering holes”, you know like on those animal documentaries on the Discovery channel where all the animals come to together and intermingle around the pool of water. What are the watering holes in your community? If you live in suburban America, I’d suggest starting with the local Starbucks, Guitar Center, gym or YMCA, or a large bookstore like Barnes and Noble. But remember, proximity to people probably isn’t enough…you’re going to have to actually say, “Hi”.
2.) “I lack the finances to be able to hire the right team.” – Man, could I ever tell you about this one. I hid behind statements like this for years. Now I’ve realized, when it comes to recruiting the right people, money is nearly irrelevant. If you believe in your vision, then so will others. If you don’t, people will recognize that, and they’ll hesitate getting behind you. We planted our church about 7 years ago and we continue to run with an extremely high percentage of volunteers on our team. They aren’t doing it out of obligation or for the money, but because they love Jesus and they want to see the mission of our church accomplished. Some church planters I meet are afraid to ask people to serve or come on staff without pay – let me remind you that unless you’re part of a large planting organization, my guess is that you have or are currently working and serving the ministry with little to no pay. What made you do it? Why do you think others won’t?
3.) “No one I try to recruit is better at the task that I am, so it’s just easier to do it myself.” Whoa there Lone Ranger! This kind of attitude is certain to solidify the fact that your ministry will never be bigger than yourself. I remind my teams and planters regularly, “The person who thinks that in order to get something done right you have to do it yourself, usually has to.” In the beginning, this might be true, but long-term thinking dictates that we become master delegators. When someone takes over a new task, understand that quality could decrease, but with the right leadership and training, you should expect this person to outperform you in the near future. Delegating is a scary thing, but arrogance and shortsightedness are far worst.
4.) “I don’t have the time to train people.” A close cousin of #3, this excuse underestimates the value of duplication. If Jesus did anything, he duplicated. He went from 1, to 3, to 12, to 72, to 120, to 3,000, to the world. In fact, the majority of what we read about Jesus doing in scripture was focused on training his disciples. The reality is that you don’t have the time to NOT train people. The best way to do this is to build regular training sessions throughout the month. Do you have a weekly staff meeting? Consider making the first 15 minutes a brief staff training or perhaps working in a longer training time into your next staff retreat.
5.) “I’ve tried recruiting people, but no one wants to help.” Asking someone to help or get involved is different than recruitment. Asking someone to help all too often comes across as desperate and needy. Recruitment is based not on need, but vision. A good recruiter seeks to understand the person in front of them, discover their passions, creatively find meaningful opportunities for their involvement, and most importantly shows the value of the position or ministry. Bottom line, the church is about building people and not people building the church. Master this, and you’ll never lack people to help.
Finally, Pray. Prayer about specific things is the greatest tool you have. Start with Prayer.
Read the whole article at https://lucasmiles.org/2012/01/26/church-planting-101-recruiting-a-team/
Before we look a bit closer at Christ’s recruitment model, let’s first identify the hindrances that seem to prevent greater recruitment success. Church planters – here are the top 5 excuses we use when struggling to recruit the all-star team that we so desperately desire and need.
Top 5 Favorite Church Planter Excuses for Failing to Recruit Others (or the right people).
1.) “I don’t know anybody.” – This is initially understandable since in many situations church planters relocate to launch their plant and obviously it takes time to meet new people. With that being said, if you plan on pastoring a successful church – you’re going to have to meet new people – and a LOT of ‘em! Focus on “watering holes”, you know like on those animal documentaries on the Discovery channel where all the animals come to together and intermingle around the pool of water. What are the watering holes in your community? If you live in suburban America, I’d suggest starting with the local Starbucks, Guitar Center, gym or YMCA, or a large bookstore like Barnes and Noble. But remember, proximity to people probably isn’t enough…you’re going to have to actually say, “Hi”.
2.) “I lack the finances to be able to hire the right team.” – Man, could I ever tell you about this one. I hid behind statements like this for years. Now I’ve realized, when it comes to recruiting the right people, money is nearly irrelevant. If you believe in your vision, then so will others. If you don’t, people will recognize that, and they’ll hesitate getting behind you. We planted our church about 7 years ago and we continue to run with an extremely high percentage of volunteers on our team. They aren’t doing it out of obligation or for the money, but because they love Jesus and they want to see the mission of our church accomplished. Some church planters I meet are afraid to ask people to serve or come on staff without pay – let me remind you that unless you’re part of a large planting organization, my guess is that you have or are currently working and serving the ministry with little to no pay. What made you do it? Why do you think others won’t?
3.) “No one I try to recruit is better at the task that I am, so it’s just easier to do it myself.” Whoa there Lone Ranger! This kind of attitude is certain to solidify the fact that your ministry will never be bigger than yourself. I remind my teams and planters regularly, “The person who thinks that in order to get something done right you have to do it yourself, usually has to.” In the beginning, this might be true, but long-term thinking dictates that we become master delegators. When someone takes over a new task, understand that quality could decrease, but with the right leadership and training, you should expect this person to outperform you in the near future. Delegating is a scary thing, but arrogance and shortsightedness are far worst.
4.) “I don’t have the time to train people.” A close cousin of #3, this excuse underestimates the value of duplication. If Jesus did anything, he duplicated. He went from 1, to 3, to 12, to 72, to 120, to 3,000, to the world. In fact, the majority of what we read about Jesus doing in scripture was focused on training his disciples. The reality is that you don’t have the time to NOT train people. The best way to do this is to build regular training sessions throughout the month. Do you have a weekly staff meeting? Consider making the first 15 minutes a brief staff training or perhaps working in a longer training time into your next staff retreat.
5.) “I’ve tried recruiting people, but no one wants to help.” Asking someone to help or get involved is different than recruitment. Asking someone to help all too often comes across as desperate and needy. Recruitment is based not on need, but vision. A good recruiter seeks to understand the person in front of them, discover their passions, creatively find meaningful opportunities for their involvement, and most importantly shows the value of the position or ministry. Bottom line, the church is about building people and not people building the church. Master this, and you’ll never lack people to help.
Finally, Pray. Prayer about specific things is the greatest tool you have. Start with Prayer.
Read the whole article at https://lucasmiles.org/2012/01/26/church-planting-101-recruiting-a-team/