Make the Move

Darrell Fraley; Carmen Kamrath

First Church's search committee had visited the prospective children's minister's church, checked her references thoroughly, and even interviewed her three different times. The committee was convinced that this candidate was the best person to hire as their church's new children's pastor.

Eighteen months after the new children's pastor came to the church, the senior pastor fired her. In her wake, she left a trail of divisiveness and woundedness. As hard as the committee had tried to know this woman's skills and character, there was just no substitute for the knowledge that comes from working side by side with a person.

The search began again.

A Checkmate Strategy

A solid children's ministry growth and development plan must include a strategy for moving highly committed, Spirit-led, capable volunteers toward paid ministry staff positions. Here's why: Seminary and Bible school graduates don't always have the basic knowledge it takes to operate, lead, or sustain a recruit-oriented ministry. They have much to learn "on the job." Those treasured children's ministers who've learned from the school of hard -- and soft -- knocks by working on a church staff aren't easily released by their churches to move to other church positions.

So the most natural place to reproduce children's ministry staff and leadership is in the place where they currently serve and among people with whom they're most familiar. The top six reasons for hiring church staff from your existing volunteer team:

They know you; you know them. No scary surprises!
Roles and expectations are understood through a relationship over time. Because of that, you already know whether you work well with the person or not.
The volunteer has already bought into your children's ministry's philosophy. A person headed in the same direction will help you reach your goals a lot faster than a newcomer with a different agenda might.
There's a proven track record of service and attitude. No scary surprises!
Familiarity breeds content. Knowing the person's inner circle of friends and family gives you great insight into someone.
You understand the person's strengths and limitations. No scary surprises!

Making The Move

The beginning of your growth and development strategy in adding paid children's ministry staff begins with the very first stages of volunteer recruiting. The best game plan includes locating possible candidates, training them, helping them catch the vision, and moving them toward deeper commitment to Christ. I always approach recruiting in children's ministry with this thought: "Maybe the next person I meet will be the one who'll take our children's ministry to the next level." This perspective instills a spark of hope inside me that motivates me to never give up and to envision the recruiting seeds sprouting into something wonderful for our children's ministry.

It's a continuous cycle. If your volunteer pool is shallow, in addition to developing and disciplining, you must keep on recruiting. The person you're looking for may not be on your team yet. My biggest mistakes in hiring children's ministry staff have come from hiring out of desperation or from hiring people I didn't know or who weren't connected to our ministry. Pulling the trigger to hire too quickly can backfire.

Pray as you recruit and God will make it clear who to call onto your staff. The important thing is not to lose heart or become desperate. Remember that seemingly hopeless situation in the cemetery when Jesus, Mary, and Martha stood before Lazarus' tomb? Out of the lamenting cries of death and grief Jesus yelled, "Lazarus come forth!" And he did. As you recruit volunteers, ask God to "call forth" your needed staff person. He will do it.

How can you tell when a volunteer may be ready to transition to paid staff? Here are eight telltale signs.

Pending career change or between jobs -- God may be working in the volunteer's life to position him for a move.
Financial stability -- A person who can manage her own household well is someone who can manage your ministry well.
Kingdom choices -- A compelling desire to do ministry affects a person's daily decision-making processes. Are the person's choices focused on giving or getting?
Extreme faithfulness -- Does he demonstrate an unusual degree of faithfulness and commitment -- in comparison to others? It's biblical: "He who is faithful in a little thing is faithful also in much."
Complementary training -- Has she completed educational or training goals in a parallel field, such as in elementary or early childhood education? Although this isn't required, it could be evidence of a lifelong passion for children.
Recognized leadership -- How do other volunteers treat this person? Do they have a high level of respect for the person already?
The church's blessing -- Because of her ministry, do the people on your church staff or in leadership positions affirm the call of God on the volunteer's life?
Marital unity -- If the volunteer is married, the active support and encouragement from his or her spouse is a critical signal that it might be time for making the move.

The second step is an appraisal process that can actually identify qualifying elements of candidates for your paid children's ministry staff. There are four elements to the appraisal process I use; each element occupies a quadrant on the "Staff-Hiring Appraisal Grid." This grid will enable you to determine a volunteer's readiness and any areas that need development. The four appraisal areas are Time, Family, Attitude, and Training/Experience.

Look at the grid below. (See printed version of this issue.) The concentric circles indicate the level of proficiency the candidate may have in each of the respective quadrants. The closer the candidate is to the center of the grid in each quadrant, the more proficiency. Hopefully, this tool will help you objectively identify whether the candidate is ready for the transition of moving onto paid staff.

Identifying a potential volunteer as a paid ministry staff person is a combination of art and science. Most characteristics can be taught through example. However, the most important characteristics are in the heart -- characteristics such as servanthood, generosity, kindness, holiness, love for one's neighbor, and wisdom.

I liken the process of moving a volunteer to a paid staff position to baking a cake. All the ingredients have to be mixed well in the pan. Then the cake has to be cooked in the oven. That takes time. You have volunteers in your ministry who have all the ingredients to be great children's ministry staff or children's pastors. It just takes time for those ingredients to bake and for God to help you and them know when it's time to be removed from the oven.

Staff Hiring Appraisal Guide

Each of these four quadrants has five primary considerations. With each "yes" answer to a question, move toward the center of the grid. Mark the point that you stop at after you've answered all the questions.

Any "no" answer to a question could point out an area that needs to be addressed with the volunteer before transitioning them to paid staff.

Time

Does the person show up on time and stay late to clean up?
Has the person ever taken vacation time or days off from work to help with ministry tasks (summer camp, vacation Bible school, mission trips, setup for the Halloween alternative)?
Does the person keep an organized day planner?
If you're in a ministry crunch, will this person make time to help even at a moment's notice?
Does this person help guard your time by not making unnecessary ministry demands or setting unrealistic expectations on you as a ministry leader and friend?

Attitude

Does this person have a gracious, servant attitude when in stressful ministry situations?
Does this person uphold, value, and respect other ministries in the church?
Is this person cheerful and pleasant to be around?
Does this person promote a "can do" spirit when the going gets tough?
Is this person known as an encourager to others?

Family

If the person is married, is his or her spouse supportive of this person's involvement in children's ministry?
If this person has children, are the children respectful of their parent's authority and well behaved?
Does this person place family needs above ministry demands?
If married, does this person have a healthy, happy marriage?
Does this person show stability and balance in family relationships?

Training/Experience

Can this person function as a leader in familiar situations without being told what to do?
Can this person take the pieces of a task and organize them into a ministry program?
Can this person communicate with children and adults clearly, concisely, and with enthusiasm?
Can this person recruit, train, develop, and motivate volunteers?
Does this person have a positive track record of experience in ministry with children?

Love The Church You're With

There were 25 people, with half of them children, in Tami Verville's Kensington Community Church in Troy, Michigan, six years ago. Tami and the senior pastor's wife worked with the children. A year later, the church hired its first Christian education director.

Three years ago, the CE director left and Tami was hired in her place. "It was a gradual process from volunteer to paid staffer," Tami says. "First I worked on writing curriculum, then I found volunteers to teach, then I was the creative director, and now I'm the director."

Tami's church is intentional about developing people. "Everyone on our team has an apprentice who knows what that person does and attends the same meetings. The idea is to 'work yourself out of a job.' "

Transitioning from volunteer to paid staffer, according to Tami, was "God growing and stretching me, my family, and the team I worked with."

The most difficult challenge for Tami in transitioning from volunteer to paid staff has been managing adults and valuing their differences as well as seeing their special gifts.

"If people are used correctly, they'll enjoy what they're doing," Tami says. "It's more than just having a body to fill in a place. If people are in conflict with one another, I ask them if they're not happy with what they're doing. It's often the case that they need to be doing something else that's a closer match with their fits and talents."

Tami's advice before you make the move: "Find a church where you love working and would love to be for the next 10 years -- paid or unpaid. Sooner or later you'll become a paid staffer. Those people who are excited and passionate about what they're doing will be identified. So often when we bring people in from the outside who don't have a good grasp of our vision or mission, they just don't get it. But the people who've been working with us and who are excited about what they're doing are easy to pick out. If people work where they love to work, they'll be an encourager and they'll draw others in. That's the best place to be."

Feeling At Home

Karen Anderle, mother of five, volunteered with the church's preschool and music ministry at Grace Church Roseville in Roseville, Minnesota before the Christian education director ever asked her to be her assistant. Now she serves as the director of children's ministry.

"I'd been an at-home mom for 18 years, and I began to wonder how this would all fall into place," Karen says. "I had taught before becoming a mother, but I never thought I'd be back in the work place. I thought there's no way I'm qualified to do this, but I can't think of anything I'd like to do more."

Karen says the key to an easier transition has been a great prayer team that supports her and the entire program. She is learning how great God is and how "precious the kids are to God."

The toughest obstacle for Karen has been keeping up at home. "My husband has graciously taken on the laundry, and changes in his job now allow him to have a home office so if I'm not home when the kids come home from school, he is," Karen says. "Actually, my entire family has been supportive of this decision, and I need all of their support to make this work."

Karen's advice before you make the move: "I never would have even dreamed that I'd be doing this. I love children and I love what I'm doing. I've learned not to limit God -- to be available where God wants me to be. God is so much more creative than we are. Let God make the match for you with a position or a job. Don't be afraid to start something new, but don't be afraid to say no. Someone else may be more qualified than you are, and that's fine."

Grow With God

When Dana Zoch saw a notice in Houston's Gloria Dei Lutheran Church bulletin about a children's ministry opening, she says "I got everything but the lightning bolt! I turned to my husband and said, 'I want that job!' "

Dana had taught theater for 10 years in the public school system. She had no background in administrative work or a theological education, but the committee saw in Dana exactly what they wanted. She was hired! And she's been the director of children's ministry for two and a half years.

"The toughest thing about making this transition was that the previous person was much more educated," says Dana, "but I feel more confident as time goes on."

Sunday morning services have changed for Dana too. For her husband, it was difficult to give up worshiping with his wife because she was always "on duty." Sunday mornings suddenly lost their family orientation.

As a people person, Dana has always enjoyed recruiting, but the administrative aspects of the job are more of a challenge. "I build relationships with people before I recruit them for a long-term project. The problem, though is planning for the long-term project!"

"My faith has certainly grown as I've been forced to get into the Word and trust God with what I'm doing," says Dana. She's learning to trust God to help her grow in challenging ministry areas.

Dana's advice before you make the move: "If you're a volunteer with a church that has no director of children's ministry, check out what other churches in your area are doing. Go to a major workshop or conference to see if this is something you're really interested in and to talk with others.

"Find out if it's feasible for you to make this move. Look at your finances, your family situation, and the specific duties and roles of other children's ministry directors in your area before you say yes."

Darrell Fraley is the children's pastor at New Hope Community Church in Portland, Oregon. Please keep in mind that phone numbers, addresses, and prices are subject to change.

Print Article