Hire From Within

After two and a half decades of supporting churches in your worship ministry, we’ve noticed something. The longer we’re around, the more the church personnel change. While we do know some leaders who have been at the same church since 2002 (when Ad Lib started), many have moved on. Even though some leaders feel like fixtures, even they are no longer leading worship.

Some of this is natural and good, but any transition is still a transition. When a staff leader departs, the typical route a church takes is to hire another. Duh. Often, the lead pastor takes on the role of finding the new leader. Sometimes a search team is formed. And other times, an outside company is hired to handle the open position.

Typically, Ad Lib takes a hybrid approach: we’re not headhunters taking care of business, nor do we leave the church alone. We come alongside the church and its team as “intelligent discernment partners,” with extensive experience and a proven process to find a good fit. We do this to help churches avoid frequent hiring mistakes, provide practical support with the legwork of the process, and care for leaders who are themselves in transition, as any leader seeking a new role always is. You can certainly bring us in to help you with this.

But I want to encourage you to think differently about hiring.

His Church

The starting point for any staff (paid or unpaid!) is a very crucial understanding. Jesus said something about this that we must take to heart. He said, “I will build My Church.” Let that settle you.

In fact, when we’re helping a church hire a leader, we have a weekly reminder that says, “The LORD will provide a leader. Use this as your prompt to pray, asking the LORD for direction on where to look and whom to talk to about being a worship leader here.”

The Lord will provide a leader. He’s not a bad father who sends a son on an assignment without providing the needed resources. It’s His Church. He cares way more than we do about it and will build it in His time in His way. So relax.

Hire From Within

Why not consider someone who has already bought into the mission and vision of your church? Someone who already has relationships with your community and has shown commitment and faithfulness to that specific congregation. There is very often someone who has SOME of the skills needed to do this job, but lacks everything they need to be a complete choice. (Hey, if they had all the skills already, you’d hire them immediately.) But look for a leader with the capacity to grow, who could become the leader you need. The Church is, after all, called to disciple believers!

How do you move from where they are to where you need them to be? With a coach! Hire a coach, identify a leader (or a few leaders), and have your coach bring them to the place where they can serve fruitfully. You’ll save so much money and have a longer tenure. It’s a win-win!

Yes, you can have Ad Lib do this. But what I really want to encourage in this Fertilizer is that we think differently about today’s shortage of worship leaders. (Whether you need one today or will need one in six or seven years from now!)

Rather than our go-to being, “Well, we need to hire a leader from somewhere else (leaving a hole there),” to “Who from among us is the Lord spotlighting for us to begin to nurture and develop to serve in leadership at this church?” Knowing that there’s a real way for this leader to be developed (through coaching) will help relieve the concerns that they aren’t fully ready...yet.

Did someone come to mind?

-Dave Helmuth
Author of the Five Faders and Founder of Ad Lib Music

Hire From Within (Nº 471)