Results from Unstuck Church Staffing Report
Joe Park, the CEO of Horizons Stewardship, recently sent me the results of the Unstuck Church Report. Every quarter, The Unstuck Group compiles data on trends in churches in the United States. This quarter’s report focuses on questions about staffing, structure and team. The results are both helpful and eye-opening.
1. Average church attendance increased by 17% in the last 12 months.
2. Giving is increasing faster in large churches.
3. The average church employs one full-time staff person for every 62 attendees.
4. The average church has one volunteer leader for every 19 attendees.
5. The average church invests 54% of its total budget in staff salaries and benefits.
6. The average staff turnover rate for all churches in the last year was 12%.
7. The Unstuck Group and Horizons both recommend limiting staff expenses to 50% of total income.
8. The most common staffing challenges church leaders face are financial restraints, finding qualified staff, structure and organizational challenges, staffing for growth and change, and cultural and communication issues.
9. Givers who attend worship at least once a month and who are also active in either a small group or a serving ministry give three to four times as much as someone who only attends one or two times per month.
10. Larger churches are growing both giving and worship attendance in smaller venues through multi-site strategies much more successfully than smaller churches in similar situations.
11. The prevalence of Millennials, Gen X, and Boomers in staffing roles reflects generational diversity and potentially differing perspectives and approaches within the church environment.
12. A best practice is to reflect the diversity in your staffing by mirroring the demographic your church is targeting. Churches often staff in a way that mirrors what already exists versus what they are trying to attract.
13. Implementing best practices like succession, team restructuring, staff development strategies and empowering senior leadership in personal decisions is being successfully used by high-performing churches as part of a strategy to achieve their vision and goals versus cost-cutting measures to balance the budget.
14. Attendance and growth trends highlight the need for churches to adapt their staffing strategies to increase engagement in worship, spiritual development, community and serving to a clear and compelling vision.
What should leaders do next?
- Optimize staffing to achieve the vision – create a staffing model focused on what is needed to bring God’s vision to the life of your church
- Enhance volunteer leadership
- Staff retention policies – focus on fostering a positive work culture, professional development opportunities and competitive compensation packages.
- Diversity – be intentional about developing and leveraging diversity in staff teams to resonate with the demographic groups prioritized in your ministry plan.
- Ask for help when you need it.
Compiled by the Rev. Tommy Herndon
Vice President, Legacy Giving & Stewardship Development
Images: Adrian Delgado, Nick Fewings & LinkedIn Sales Solutions, courtesy of Unsplash
