7 Trends in Church Staffing

We have a unique perspective on hiring in church settings and associated developing trends. It’s our passion and what we do all day long. Every month, we speak to dozens of church leaders and process as many or more candidates from all over the country. Here’s what the team at BSP is seeing in the trenches. We are not offering prescriptions here but descriptions and anecdotal evidence of tides and changes within candidate interactions and church staffing. Make note, some of these may surprise you.

1. There are more open ministry roles than candidates to fill them. We need more leaders or less churches. Perhaps we need both. Check out this book, this book, and a conference that happened in 2025 that I hope will continue. So, searches are longer and more complex, and we typically have to shift some expectations a few months in. It also means that more non-traditional candidates are being considered for roles or candidate requirements are softening.
2. You probably need a better salary and benefits package than you are currently offering. Inflation was off the charts the past four years and many churches did little to catch up. Use salary comparison tools like Ministry Pay or Church Salary. Pay 75-100% of the staff member’s family health insurance premiums. Have some sort of retirement matching scheme that mirrors the marketplace. If you incorporate a probation period before benefits begin, eliminate that yesterday. Hire someone and be all in with them until they prove you shouldn’t be.
3. Your best hire may be from within. That seems counterintuitive for a search firm to say, but people within your church family know your culture and have learned your ways of ministry. If they have character and a high leadership ceiling, get people on the bus who are already at the bus stop.
4. Part-time leadership is becoming a sound alternative. Check out this blog to read a little more about how to approach this staffing strategy.
5. More church leaders have side hustles. Photography, outside speaking, remodeling, an Etsy business…the sky is the limit for an aspiring weekend warrior entrepreneur. Sometimes because of passions, but often because of financial necessity, some church leaders have taken on other income-generating roles. If you can’t drastically increase your salary and benefits package in a way that justifies a “no moonlighting” policy, you should be prepared to allow this. Don’t sweat it. Put an agreement in writing. Clarify conflicts of interest, use of time, and financial questions and plan to evaluate the agreement yearly.
6. The rise of the Executive Pastor. That line would make for a great Angel Studios motion picture, but for now, I’m talking about Lead Pastors, even at churches of modest sizes, needing a right hand man (or female Executive Director) to carry the day-to-day load. Fifteen years ago, it was unheard of to have an XP or Chief of Staff in a church that had worship numbers under about 1,500. Now, with the complexity of ministry and expectations placed on Lead Pastors, we are seeing more and more churches in the 400+ range invest in this role.
7. Changing views on alcohol and tobacco use. No one we speak to thinks that drunkenness or chain-smoking are holy endeavors. Once taboo activities in Baptist circles, an occasional drink or cigar are now more common, particularly with leaders 45 and under, than you think. Some churches are okay with this. Most are not, so this can be a disconnect between candidates and search committees. We’ve begun asking where churches and candidates stand on this early in the process because we’ve learned not to assume that everyone in Baptist circles are teetotalers these days. If you are a church, ask this question earlier in the process so you aren’t blindsided by a candidate’s assumption. If you are a candidate, and you do consume alcohol or tobacco, bring this up earlier if the church doesn’t.

Finding great staff just doesn’t happen the way it used to. The landscape is changing. If you find that navigating your searches on your own is becoming too tall of a task, let us know. We do this every day. It’s our passion. We love serving SBC churches and organizations, and we love connecting the right people to a vision and role.