Why Churches Should Hire 20 Somethings

Why Churches Should Hire 20 Somethings

Apr 25, 2016

I wholeheartedly believe that young adults are the engine of the church. A young adult generation will never have more disposable time and income than they do in this current season of their lives. They’re not lacking in physical energy either! Yes, these tenets and others are why churches should have more 20 somethings on their paid staffs.

These are in no particular order:

Young adults are contagiously energetic. Young adults have boundless energy and that is multiplied when giving the opportunity to fulfill the work of God. This energy will make your office environment, and in particular, your meetings come alive. Their passion and elation will reinvigorate you. Over time, it will rub off on everyone. Lastly, you will find that most young adults will go beyond what is required of them, which will pay HUGE dividends for you and your staff. They’ll do this because they have more disposable time than us in our 30’s & 40’s with young families.

Young adults are imaginative. Young adults can think up some of the craziest things, especially when it comes to ministry ideas. Frankly, their ideas aren’t safe, boring, and lacking risk like many of our ideas. If nothing else, the idea sharing will be a great benefit to you and your team.

Young adults are elastic. Have you seen the movie The Incredibles? If so, do you remember Elastigirl? Mr. Incredible’s wife – Helen, can stretch any part of her body up to 100’ (34 m) and can be 1 mm thin. She can also reshape her body in a variety of ways. In the movie, she becomes a parachute and a rubber boat and has used her arms for swings and a slingshot

If you instill the truth that failure is inevitable and that taking risks are permissible, you will find that most young adults are like Elastigirl. They are adventurous, embrace new principles, and willing to take risks. They embody reinvention and can be a strategic tool in the reinvention of a brand, ministries, local efforts, etc. This elasticity will erode at the rigidity that we all develop as we get older. Well, hopefully!

Young adults are affordable. I wouldn’t go as far as to suggest this is cheap labor, rather, it is certainly more inexpensive than hiring someone with a seasoned career.

Young adults are technologically savvy. This highly mobile and tech savvy generation are digital natives. Technology has shaped their world view and the odds are that everyone else on your staff is a digital immigrant, like me. We grew up with a landline and it was cool to have a pager in high school. Young adults were raised in a Starbucks crazed, smartphone, and mobile world. From APPS, to employing certain strategies, and social media utilization – young adults are leading the way.

Young adults are culturally relevant. Innovative and relevant approaches are necessary if the church is going to continue present His life-changing gospel in ways that the unchurched can understand. Young adults understand the intrinsic dynamics of our culture better than anyone. Even if they are unable to articulate it. This will influence your methods and results.

Have you had any experiences with hiring 20 somethings? If so, share your experiences with us.

#GoBeyondReason

Communicating With A Guest Speaker

Communicating With A Guest Speaker

Apr 18, 2016

Whenever I have had a guest speaker for our local church or a conference, I have always endeavored to remove any obstacles that would hinder their complete and total focus on the reason why I have hired them.

Having been on both ends of this equation, here are some of my personal takeaways. This is not an exhaustive list of what to do, however, there are some objectives you should consider. Check out the resource and let me know what you think.

  1. Make sure that your communication is clear. If you communicate business casual is the attire for a particular session, what does that mean? Business casual could mean a suit without a tie and for others it could mean a button down Oxford with khakis. There are so many variables that influence our interpretation of business casual. Tell them what you want them to wear. A good place to start… Tell them what you will be wearing. As a guest speaker, I’ve shown up before, the only one underdressed or overdressed and it is no fun. More importantly, it diverted my energy when it could’ve been avoided.
  2. What is the stated objective of your event? Your speaker needs to know your desired outcome. The benefits to this are innumerable. Ambiguity isn’t empowering! Be specific. If you need help with this, revisit why you are having this event to begin with. It all started with a “why?”.
  3. Is the event branded? Is there a theme? If so, please don’t minimize your brand or theme by going through a ton of marketing effort and then tell your speaker to speak on whatever he/she may feel. If God has given you a particular brand or theme, give your speaker the details and adequate time so that they can pray to get their heart around your God-given burden.

Here are a few other tasks that you should consider for your guest speaker.

  • Discuss and confirm the travel arrangements with your guest speaker. Most prefer to secure their travel arrangements themselves, however, you should clarify. If your budget requires they purchase the most affordable rate, clearly convey that. Help them by sharing Kayak, Hotwire, or other travel search engines pricing. The occasional sale from Southwest can save you tons!
  • Arrange transportation to/from the airport and accommodations if necessary.
  • Provide your speaker with final travel documents and directions to the event site.
  • Discuss the objective, setting, length—clearly agree on expectations for each session they are speaking.
  • Assess the needs of your speaker: Will they use props, certain splash screens, certain stage elements, etc.?
  • How is the transition going to be done? (I.e.–verbal from onstage OR prompted by a stagehand?)
  • Do you want your speaker to mingle after the event?
  • Does your speaker require a table and/or volunteers for product sales?
  • Provide your speaker with the church and pastor contact information, including after hours and/or cell phone numbers in case of emergency.

Check out a sample communication I sent to a speaker recently here.

What do you think? Feel free to utilize it and make it work for you and yours.

#GoBeyondReason