Michael Chanley Talks About Hiring In Children's Ministry

Churches face a difficult task when searching for paid staff. Many Senior Pastors will admit the hardest role to fill on their staff is that of a Childrens Ministry leader. The challenge can even be more daunting when seeking a “leader of leaders” to grow your Family, Next Gen, or Childrens Ministry.

Here are a few of the 5 challenges when searching for the right person:

1. Are they the right fit for your unique church culture?
2. Will they create a safe environment for the childrens ministry in your church?
3. How do you determine if the new hire has the leadership skills needed for the job?
4. What happens if we hire the wrong person?
5. How are we going to find the time to do a proper search?

It’s a daunting challenge… and, let’s face it, the risks are tremendous.

What’s the Typical Process?

Imagine this, you enlist several volunteers to begin the search. Perhaps they are elders or deacons in your church? The search committee is already committed to their families, full time careers, lay ministry at church, and now… they are going to squeeze into their busy schedules one of the most important tasks of the church: finding the right person to lead.

The deck is stacked against them from the start…

• How many hours will they invest in their search… will they give it the attention it deserves?
• How well equipped are they for finding someone with the right stuff to lead your childrens ministry?
• How long will it take for them to complete the search process?
• Where will they find potential candidates and how will they screen them?

Sound familiar?

Why Not Get Some Help?

If your church or organization is facing the many challenges of hiring a Family, Next Gen, or Childrens Ministry leader, let me urge you to make the right decision… don’t do it alone.

Try connecting with others in the children’s ministry community. Ask around on CMConnect. It’s a free online community, is a social network of almost 7,000 Childrens Ministry, NextGen, and Family pastors.

If you’re really serious about finding the right person, check into a professional service like the Vanderbloemen Search Group.