What is the retention rate of ministers in your ministry? Is the turnover high? I know at this time of year, as the one year commitment that we ask our ministers to make comes to an end, you might wonder how many of your ministers will return.
Recently, I’ve been please with the low turnover of ministers in our ministry. It seems we get more ministers than we lose and the ones we lose are due to life change. So what’s the secret to keeping them? It’s to make them BIGGER and BETTER. When you can do that you will not only make your ministry stronger, but create a culture of bigger and better ministers.
So how do you make them bigger and better?
- Make Them Feel Special – This is difficult because you can’t give all your ministers the same amount of attention without it coming off forced. But no one said you had to invest in all your ministers at the same level. Look at Jesus, he didn’t take everyone up to Mount Tabor or the Garden of Gesthemane and Peter was the only one he asked to lead his sheep. When you can invest in a few, they’ll want to do the same for others. They’ll want to make bigger and better ministers too.
- Give Them A Job With Purpose – Don’t just give them duties, but give them a job that they look forward to fulfilling. The way you give a job purpose is first through a job description and second by giving the job vision. What kind of impact can this job have on your ministry and community?
- Tell Them How They’ve Grown – You might thank them for everything they’ve done, but if they don’t know how they are progressing it can create uncertainty. You don’t want your ministers feeling like you don’t care or have interest in what they are doing or how they are growing. You want them seeing the benefits of growth in ministry.
- Challenge Them – Give them a project or task that could lead to failure. In fact bigger the risk, bigger the reward. If they crash and burn, be there to pick them up and tell them to go at it again but with a new perspective. If they succeed give them something else, give them a piece of your pie and reward them for how great they are doing.
There is no deep, hidden secret to creating bigger and better ministers. In the end it boils down to how much time and attention you give them. But the biggest benefit to investing in your team is how they can pass on that same attention to the people serving around them. In fact as you develop a bigger and better minister, encourage them to take what they’ve learned and pass it on to someone they believe in.
How do you grow bigger and better ministers? Please Share.