Episode Details

Thanks for joining the unSeminary podcast. Today we’re talking with Andy Hill, the Executive Pastor at Mobberly Baptist Church in Texas.

How do you keep your church’s staff aligned? The more your church grows, the more challenging it is to keep everyone connected and moving in the same direction. In this episode of the unSeminary Podcast, Andy delves into practical strategies for communication, unity and relationship-building on staff, and encouraging self-care.

• Gather staff to stay aligned. // Mobberly Baptist Church, which is located in East Texas on an 140-acre campus, may seem big at first glance. However, the church strives to maintain a smaller, more personal feel, desiring for both attendees and staff to feel seen and connected. While leading a large staff team can be beneficial, there can be practical challenges as well. At Mobberly the staff can’t be housed in one office building and so are scattered throughout the campus. As a result, staff members have to be intentional about time together. Mobberly holds a Ministry Leadership Team meeting once a week where 20-25 leaders gather to discuss key issues, worship, pray and laugh together, and develop their leadership.
• Connection and planning. // The weekly Ministry Leadership Team meeting is held on Tuesday mornings for about two hours. The first half is facilitated by the lead pastor and includes prayer, a devotional and other activities that foster personal connection. The second half of the meeting is the tactical part and led by Andy.
• Send out an agenda ahead of time. // In addition to personal connection, communication plays a critical role in keeping staff aligned. Every Monday, Andy meets with the lead pastor to talk about what needs to be discussed in the Ministry Leadership Team meeting the next day. They then send out an agenda to the leaders so everyone knows what will be covered.
• Have fun and get to know each other. // Andy believes a staff team shouldn’t just do ministry together but get to know each other and build friendships. You don’t always have to see eye to eye and get along, but you should know more about your team and care about them. One of the unique aspects of Mobberly’s Tuesday meeting is the “hot seat” segment, where a staff member is put in the spotlight to answer a series of fun and light-hearted questions. This practice is designed to build a sense of camaraderie among the team members. Questions can range from: “How did you get your first name?” to “What is your favorite movie?” or “What is a quirk you have?”
• Communication is key. // You can communicate in a lot of different ways and preferences often vary across generations, with some staff preferring emails while others respond better to texts or phone calls. Be mindful in the way you communicate with your staff team, understanding and catering to the communication preferences of different team members.
• Communicate value. // How and when we communicate, or our lack of communication, will then communicate value to someone. If we don’t relay information to our staff in the right order or right way, they can feel frustrated, disempowered, and conclude that they don’t matter in the ministry.
• The foundation for effective ministry. // Self-care is critical for all church staff. A healthy relationship with God and personal well-being are foundational for effective ministry. Andy encourages staff to prioritize their spiritual growth by setting aside time for personal devotions and prayer, separate from their responsibilities to prepare for sermons or lead Bible studies. Without caring for the different aspects of their being, church leaders’ capacity for life and ministry will be diminished.