Episode Details

Welcome back to another episode of the unSeminary podcast. We’re talking with Amy Anderson, the managing director at The Unstuck Group. Unstuck helps pastors grow healthy churches by guiding them through experiences that align vision, strategy, team, and action.

Is your church feeling stuck or overwhelmed by its growth? Wondering if you have the right people in the right roles to move forward? Tune in as Amy shares valuable insights on how to assess and rethink your church staff and structure to enhance growth, productivity, and alignment with your vision.

• Assessing and restructuring for growth. // Unstuck provides resources like podcasts, webinars, and quarterly reports to help pastors identify growth areas. However, their core work is on-site assessments that pinpoint where churches are stuck and how they can move forward. By conducting staffing and structure reviews, they help churches organize and leverage their most valuable resource: their people.
• Create a staffing plan. // Many churches struggle not because of ministry but due to ineffective structure. They unknowingly hinder growth by keeping staff in the wrong roles or overloading certain areas. Evaluate your staffing strategy and proactively plan for future expansion. Create a staffing plan to strategically shift where people will be placed as your church grows.
• Key indicators to watch. // Two primary warning signs suggest a church may need structural changes. The first is your staffing budget. If more than 50-55% of a church’s budget is allocated to staffing, a strategic review is needed. Second, look at how many staff you have per average attendance. A best practice is one full-time staff member per 75 attendees. As this number drops, overstaffing becomes a concern.
• Common areas of overstaffing. // Churches often fall into the trap of hiring more staff to compensate for inefficiencies rather than developing existing team members. Overstaffing in next gen and adult ministries is a common problem area. These ministries frequently see unnecessary staff increases due to ineffective volunteer mobilization.
• Leadership and span of care // The number of direct reports a leader should have depends on leadership capacity and style. Leaders should maintain a manageable span of care to ensure effectiveness. Balance strategic oversight with personal engagement, ensuring you are working on the ministry rather than only in it.
• Building strong lead team relationships. // The relationship and trust built between the lead and executive pastor is crucial at any church. The executive pastor is responsible for executing the lead pastor’s vision and ensuring that strategic goals translate into action. If an executive pastor disagrees with their lead pastor, the executive pastor should echo what matters to the lead pastor before presenting alternative solutions. It’s also critical that the lead pastor engages with the senior leadership team regularly. These leaders need to hear the heart and perspective of their lead pastor because that’s how culture gets transferred.
• A free roadmap PDF. // Amy and her team have created a free PDF, How to Restructure Your Church Staff for Growth, offering a step-by-step roadmap. This guide covers assessment strategies, staffing evaluations, decision-making frameworks, and structural planning to