Feb

How Does Your Church Select Ministry Leaders?

How does your church select its ministry leaders? If you are a start-up ministry, do you have a plan for selecting ministry leaders? Most churches use one of three methods to select leaders:

Vote
Volunteer
Appoint

I grew up in a fairly large Pentecostal church in Philadelphia. In that church, most of our ministry leaders were elected by vote within their ministry. For special programs and short term committees, people would volunteer. As a child that was all I knew, as an adult I’ve had an opportunity to see all three of these methods in action and I have formed an opinion.

Vote: This method of choosing leaders is pretty standard in a lot of churches. Members of a ministry or auxiliary vote on who they want to be the leader. The problem with this method is that it can become a popularity contest. In a popularity contest, the most popular person is elected, not necessarily the most qualified.

Volunteer: This method can be good or bad depending on the circumstances. Some people who volunteer are qualified to lead, some volunteer because no one else would take the position. This method is sometimes known as “whosoever will, let him come.” Volunteer leaders are always appreciated but they are appreciated even more when they are both willing and qualified to lead.

Appoint: All in all, this method seems to be the best choice and appears to be the way Jesus operated. When a ministry leader is appointed, the pastor, board or leadership team has had an opportunity to observe their gifts and talents as well as their level of commitment and dedication.

Ideally, our ministry leaders should be qualified and committed to lead their particular ministry. Their gifts and talents should be commensurate with the purpose of the ministry they lead. God gave us gifts and talents to be used in ministry. Sometimes it just takes a little effort to find those gifted and talented people in your congregation. Make the effort, take the time and train those people to serve in your ministries.

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