Much has been written in recent years about church culture and the importance in finding staff to fit like a glove. Any search firm will do well to snuff that out so that searches are guided with those principles in mind.

Can we dig deeper, though, than just the notion of a “church culture”? I think so. There is more than meets the eye.

I would observe that the cultural framework surrounding a church is three-fold and multi-dimensional. Here they are.

1. Environmental Culture. Think lesser to greater here. A church is often shaped by the neighborhood or immediate community in which it lives. Zoom out. A city, state, and region often influence a church’s character as well.
   
   Consider differences in values. The closer to a college campus, large city, or coastline that you get, the more likely you are to be in a liberal-leaning milieu. How does a church reach its political climate?
   
   Cultural norms and mores count for something too. I’m from the south. I like NASCAR, saying “yes sir” and “yes ma’am,” and pronounce words a little funny sometimes. If I moved to serve at a church in New Mexico, I bet I would struggle to fit. Sure, we live in the same country, but we just have some cultural differences from region to region. When those align, however, they often grease the gears of relationships.
   
   I applaud the pastor who can be “all things to all people” and serve effectively just about anywhere. Many people aren’t that way. But it may not be as much about the personality of the pastor. It may be more about how that area will receive an “outsider.”
   
   
2. Church Family Culture. The second layer of the church culture cake is what the church family values and how they act.
   
   If I can’t be at a church to observe it in person, I often get to these conclusions by asking questions like, “What would insiders say are the strengths and weaknesses of this congregation?” and “If we asked a brand new person to describe their experience after a Sunday with you, what do you think they would say?”
   
   The things that shape this segment of a church’s culture include buildings and grounds, assimilation strategies, personalities of key leaders, ministries offered, relatability to the community, and more.
   
   
3. Church Staff Culture. In this context, key leaders either do a good job shaping culture and expectations or they take a leadership back seat and watch the staff culture drift. Sometimes it’s in the middle.
   
   Since staff spend more time together, this culture is often more crystalized than the culture at the church level. This culture is defined by ways of working, office and dress expectations, relational boundaries, sayings, shared experiences, and the like.
   
   A church family’s culture will never experience transformation if culture change doesn’t take root at this level. Bottom line for a search: new staff coming in have to be committed to your staff values and experience chemistry with other team members.
   

Certainly, there may be crossover between all three. Certainly, there are differences. Many times, churches swim upstream from cultural expectations in their environment. That’s often a good thing. Many times, the church body reflects the culture of the staff because of strong staff leadership who have cast a consistent vision. That’s a good thing too.

There are also going to be places of misalignment, intentionally or unintentionally. Seeing these three cultures clearly is crucial for understanding who a church is and finding staff that “fit.” This discussion is a major component of Baptist Search Partners getting to know your church so we can find staff for you who are the best fit. Contact us today to learn more!