Comments on: The Benefits of Hiring from Within

By: THE CHURCH TREND OF HIRING FROM WITHIN-Why Do It and How To Avoid Mistakes If You Do « Beyond the Course

Sun, 21 Mar 2010 12:36:08 +0000

[...] Go to Craig Groeschel’s post “The Benefits of Hiring from Within” [...]

By: Sam Simmons

Sam Simmons — Sun, 21 Mar 2010 11:50:19 +0000

This trend was one of the primary reasons for the launch of Rockbridge Seminary - 100% online. I observed this trend of hiring from within at Saddleback Church during the 90’s and realized it would have considerable implications for seminary education. Staff hired from within can’t leave to attend a traditional seminary unless one happens to be nearby. A fully online seminary program is the only way to make seminary accessible.

By: Hire Staff

Hire Staff — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 00:50:57 +0000

Excellent insight..

By: Best of Church Planting Blogs | Planting Space

Best of Church Planting Blogs | Planting Space — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 20:46:32 +0000

[...] The Benefits of Hiring from Within [...]

By: Links of the Week « My World

Links of the Week « My World — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 15:15:08 +0000

[...] Groeschel on The benefits of hiring from within, the downside of hiring from within, how to hire from the outside and the disadvantages of hiring [...]

By: Joseph Cole

Joseph Cole — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:48:10 +0000

Anyone have anything to say about hiring and working with family in the church as staff? I would love to get some insight.

By: Terese

Terese — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 13:06:53 +0000

Thank you, Carrie! I appreciate your insight…spot on!

By: Gary Don Almon

Gary Don Almon — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 02:41:26 +0000

Hey Craig, its been awhile good to see how God is blessing your ministry…I’m teaching at Southern Seminary directing the Church Ministry Program and I’m an associate Director for the Center for Youth Ministry. After 23 years in ministry I started teaching pastors and in class and with other colleagues this conversation comes up often. Its not a either or but a “both.” The biblical example is Jesus training the twelve which would be considered “hiring from within” but after the start of the church he relied on the original disciples from within but needed to expand their efforts by recruiting from outside of the originals…Paul is a great example. It still amazes me that we have the bulk of inspired text (NT) from people outside of the original folks. It looks like calling, gifting, need and training are the key ingredients to placing people in the right fit in the right place. Now with all that said it looks like that we should be able to train folks mostly from within but we’ll have to go outside periodically to fulfill God’s calling on our ministries. Your ratio of 85% of staff from within but needing to move outside periodically sounds very healthy. God Bless 2nd peter 1:3-4

By: Carrie

Carrie — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:40:29 +0000

Terese- Good question. I don’t know all of the situation, but I’ll share my experience. I have people who I love and am in a relationship that critique my work every day (I help write curriculum content for Lifechurch.tv). And I’m glad they do. Because they care for me and our vision, they give constructive criticism that helps the product to be better. They never lower the bar, but they are respectful in their critiques. It takes humility, security in who you are, and a commitment to the vision. But when all those are in place, I have found that it works and the product is always better for it :) I hope this helps.

By: Terese

Terese — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 14:42:26 +0000

Interesting discussion. Does this only apply to pastoral staff or all staff (custodial, sound and lighting technicians, graphics, etc)? Recently at our church there has been a shift to outsourcing non-pastoral positions because there is a concern that if you hire those within to do a job and it is not done up to par, then it is harder to be honest and confront the quality of a job than it is if it is someone you are not in relationship with. Thoughts? Or is this off-track of the discussion at hand?

By: Chris Hill

Chris Hill — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 13:13:48 +0000

@Kendra Golden, I talked about “hogging the ball” in my coaching network recently. It’s the leadership trap of “If I don’t do it, then no one will” mentality. When actually, if you do it all, then no one else ever will.

(sorry to derail this post….back to you, Craig!)

By: Kendra Golden

Kendra Golden — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:34:13 +0000

I really like Chris Hill’s point. There probably are a lot more people from outside a church familiar with its vision because of the internet. I know I know far more about churches I track online than ones in my town.

I tend to have faith that God has placed the human resources needed into each body. Maybe it’s just that when we aren’t good stewards of those “talents” they get sent elsewhere. I want to find and develop and leverage all of the potential players possible by not “hogging the ball” so much. I’ve found some stud volunteers right under my nose!

By: Stacy

Stacy — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 02:10:30 +0000

trefaulkner,
My husband and I started a church in Northwest Arkansas 4 yrs. ago. Our desire was that God would give us people who would get on the bus because of WHO was on it instead of where it was going! He has done that. We were slow to give away titles and let people’s passion and service work them into positions. We started with outside hires, still have a few outside hires, but I have been amazed to see the people that we’ve ended up hiring from within. The bonus? They already live here!

By: Brook James

Brook James — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 19:10:07 +0000

I love the idea of hiring from within. Sometimes that seems to be very difficult to do unless you are rather large. But I think my biggest concern with focusing on hiring from within is the up and coming people having the ability to think outside of the culture box that may be all they know. Of course that could be thought through and eliminated if a foreseen problem with the interview process, but if people have only known one way for so long, it seems difficult a lot of the time to get them to be able to think outside of that box.

By: Chris Hill

Chris Hill — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:43:18 +0000

Do you think the internet is changing this way of thinking? Through this blog and other lifechurch.tv staff/ministry blogs and twitter updates, the culture/vision is better understood by many more of us than it once may have been.

By: Kevan H.

Kevan H. — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 18:33:57 +0000

Benefits of hiring and developing within we’ve found in Berkeley, Gracepoint Fellowship, are:
1. Confidence in Character. We’ve seen this leader grow, mature, and have intimate knowledge of his/her character and spiritual maturity.
2. Their ability to influence and lead a team of people–how they interact, communicate, teach, correct, receive guidance and input–has already been observed and demonstrated.
3. An important quality which is often undervalued (or not talked about as much) is teachability and correct-ability. Leaders too need to not only receive guidance and instruction, but also be taught and corrected. Being a leader isn’t just “leading” a ministry, it’s also a deep commitment to building a Christlike character and heart as a shepherd and overseer of God’s people. How will this leader receive correction? Does this leader know how to simply be a learner–not just of skills and competencies, but also instruction of the heart and character? What does his/her process of repentance look like? These answers are a little more difficult to ascertain when hiring externally.

Great article. Thanks!

By: Adding Staff in a Small Church « The Pastor Coach Blog: kills 99.9% of germs

Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:21:32 +0000

[...] like the “big guys” and you will reap the benefits Craig lists on his latest blog post: http://swerve.lifechurch.tv/2009/07/27/the-benefits-of-hiring-from-within/ | Coaching Works | July 27th, 2009 | Category: [...]

By: trefaulkner

trefaulkner — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 17:14:40 +0000

Craig,
I am starting a new church in Murfreesboro,TN. I attemtped to raise up a team before coming here to plant. I found two problems with recruiting.
1. What’s the pay?
2. Who else is going?
Well, there is no pay and somebody has to be the first one to go. We have resolved to disciple people as we go and see who rises to the top as we do life together.

We have had 4 preview services and 9 saved. No staff yet…I was very encouraged that you started with a small group in a garage! Great Story bro…

By: Patrick Moore

Patrick Moore — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:48:18 +0000

I like the fact that they will already get “It” when it comes to the vision of the church. I also agree that it encourages others in the body to see one of their own excel and minister to the church in a staff role after serving as a lay leader. You can somewhat steer yourself clear of people who might be in ministry for all the wrong reasons.

By: Craig Groeschel

Craig Groeschel — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 15:37:42 +0000

Brandon, Good insights. Thanks.

Jimmy, I know you’ve done both. You’ve been hired from within and hired by another church so you’re insight will be valuable this week. Thanks for contributing.

Mike, Great thoughts. Thanks!

Brian, I’m going to write about the advantages of hiring outside later this week. There are advantages and disadvantages of both. I pray God leads you to a great place.

Kyle, You raised an important point. If a church is stuck in a rut, hiring from within may not be the wisest thing to do. Bringing someone from the outside might be the best thing in that scenario. Thanks for raising a good point.