Why Churches Are Often Bad Employers

Why Churches Are Often Bad Employers (but they don't have to be!)

In the last 20 years, churches have come to rely on paid staff, often part-time, to lead and coordinate more and more ministry. Unfortunately, churches, as employers, have been slow to catch up to this reality. In fact, many churches seem to be unaware that they are employers at all.

“We’re like a family,” they’ll say. Or “We’re not a business. We’re a church.”

Yes. Churches are like families (for good and for ill). And yes, churches are churches. But they are also, almost always, employers. When churches neglect the basics of their responsibilities as employers, the mission suffers, the employee suffers, and the church itself becomes vulnerable to distraction and conflict.  

The cardinal sin of church employment is ambiguity.

Ambiguity Everywhere
The cardinal sin of church employment is ambiguity.

Who supervises the staff? You’ll tend to get as many answers as there are people on council.

When was the last performance review? “I’m pretty sure someone did that…sometime in the last year…or two…or five.”

What is my job description? What are staff meetings for? Who has authority to make ministry decisions? Whom do I speak to if something goes wrong?

Little Help from Church Order
In most respects, the Christian Reformed denomination has a beautiful, balanced, wise polity (process of government). But on the topic of non-ordained staff, a group with growing responsibility over significant aspects of our churches ministry and budget, the Christian Reformed Church Order is almost completely silent.

How Thrive Can Help
Thrive is the congregational support agency of the CRC and for decades our Ministry Consultants have been fielding calls, meeting with councils, and walking alongside churches across our denomination in all manner of conflicts and challenges.

Again and again, we have found that the challenges and conflicts were made worse (even made possible) by the neglect of routine employment practices.

We’re not saying every church needs a director of Human Resources. But, yes, every staff person needs a job description. And a supervisor. And a performance review.

Church Employment Essentials
To equip churches to be better employers, Thrive offers Employment Essentials. Employment Essentials provides straightforward checklists for the most basic employment functions churches face, with advice grounded in biblical wisdom while tailored to conform to our polity and to the unique requirements of different federal, provincial, and state law.

To equip churches to be better employers, Thrive offers 'Employment Essentials'  

Sustaining Essentials is our checklist for you to take stock of your current employment practices and make sure nothing essential has been overlooked. (e.g. job descriptions, reporting structures, staff meetings)

Hiring and Calling Essentials provide each necessary step to hire a non-ordained staff person or call an ordained minister. (e.g. checking references, setting pay and benefits)

Endings Essentials guides a church in the delicate process of ending a person’s employment: whether an ordained pastor is retiring or a non-ordained staff person needs to be let go. (severance, exit interviews, farewell)

Crisis Essentials helps a church prepare for and respond to the kinds of employment crises that often derail leadership teams and divide churches. (e.g. communication protocols, abuse prevention, complaints and critical feedback)