What does your church staff consider important? Hopefully, some things will come to mind immediately, such as the Great Commission, the Great Commandment, and the vision of your local church. Have you ever considered the values that help you work together as a staff? Have you considered how you press towards these essential goals?
Staff core values can help you focus on what’s vital for you and your staff. These values can keep you on task, eliminate distractions, clarify your direction, and draw your staff together. Quite simply, core values help you identify what’s important.
At First Baptist Church Bartow (the church I pastor), we are guided by eight core values:
-
- We will work as a team. A church staff must be committed to teamwork. Ministry silos are not conducive to effective local church ministry. At our church, we intentionally look for ways to help one another. There are no doubt times when we must focus on our particular areas of responsibility. By and large, however, we seek to serve as a team.
- We will be loyal. Loyalty is integral to our church staff. Our loyalty does not extend to concealing anything immoral or illegal. However, it does extend to giving each other the benefit of the doubt and having the backs of one another. Jesus is loyal to His followers, and we believe his followers should be loyal to one another, particularly those serving on the same staff team.
- We will be encouragers. There’s a lot of discouragement in our world. A church staff should not be a source of additional discouragement. Instead, a team of gospel workers should be a source of encouragement. When staff members lift up one another with godly joy and encouragement, greater ministry effectiveness can occur.
- We will work hard. It is heartbreaking to see a church staff not reaching its potential because of laziness. No workers should be more committed than ministers of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Make no mistake: working hard does not equate to overworking. Our staff is committed to hard work so that when it’s time to rest, we can rest well.
- We will communicate well. Poor communication can destroy a church staff and, at times, destroy the church itself. Our church staff is committed to preventing this from happening. We seek to communicate well. We follow up. We clarify. We have the extra conversation. We answer emails, texts, and calls. Healthy communication is essential to healthy church work.
- We will be guided by humility. At our church, we believe the closer you get to arrogance, the farther you get from Jesus. We seek for all our staff members to be guided by humility. Humility is not always easy. Our natural inclination is to think of ourselves first and foremost. The fight to be humble is a struggle worth pursuing.
- We will have fun. This value is one of my favorites. Our team has fun together. We joke around. We share meals together. We celebrate birthdays. We sit and chat about a movie or memes. None of this is to the detriment of our other core values. Quite the opposite. Having fun together weaves a relational bond that undergirds all our other core values. It also produces a joy in our hearts that feels like a gift from God.
- We will serve with integrity. We believe that consistency and character matter. We aim to practice the other core values and live godly lives, even when no one is watching. If our integrity is compromised, the entire ministry could be compromised. Our church staff serves in a way that is above reproach and unashamed.
What values are significant to your church staff? What are your thoughts on the values listed above? I’d love to hear feedback from you. If you are seeking to develop your church staff in a greater way, consider checking out My Church Staff from Church Answers. Building an effective staff may be easier than you think.
