After giving 23 years of my life to local church ministry, I find myself on the outside looking in.  In many other ways, I find myself looking back.

Over the past two years I have looked at countless number of church ministry job offers.  In my mind I qualified for a majority of them, at least according to the posted job description.  So, I’d send my stock resume and a custom-fit cover letter, only to get one of three responses.

First, and most popular, “…We have several applicants whose backgrounds relate more closely to our present requirements; you are not recommended to continue to the next phase of our process.”  My translation is they received so many resumes they had to cut it down to a more manageable list.  The resume was scanned over for specifics.  If such specifics didn’t jump out at them, you received this response.  (Correct me if I’m wrong, please.)

Second in popularity is, “If you are selected for a phone interview for this position, you will be contacted in the upcoming weeks.”  Translated this could mean that you may never hear from them again.  How do they go from 100+ resumes to a select 10 or so?  I’d love to know this.

Finally, a third response, “…we feel that God is leading us in a different direction, so we wanted to let you know as soon as possible that you are no longer being considered as a candidate for our open position.”  This is a great response as long as it is a true response.  Are churches actually praying for God’s direction in regard to every application or resume they receive?

So what are church leaders looking for when new staff positions become available?  Are they looking for a heart for ministry or a talent for ministry?  If a heart for ministry in their open position is their primary criteria, do they need a particular talent in order to successfully do the job?  However, if a heart for ministry is merely implied at the outset, then talent becomes their primary search criteria.

Churches search for candidates many different ways, depending on size and need.  Here are a few techniques.

Many churches search for candidates by committee.  When resumes are received they are divided up and different individuals pick the best from their given stack.  Seven committee members with 15 resumes each could mean your resume might have been chosen by, say, four out of the seven members, but yours was in the stack given to one of the other three.  Oh well.

Where do all these resumes come from?  Churches go fishing.  Churchstaffing.com and YouthSpecialties.com have extensive job listings of open positions.  Posting an opening will bring you a flood of resumes within a very short period of time.  The net is full but you can only keep a few.  Key words and good name-dropping come into play here.

A growing trend is by personal connection.  Networking and personal contact may lead to opportunities down the road.  Knowing and connecting with the right people can really pay off in the long run.

So, with so much competition for jobs, even in the ministry, I’ll ask what one pastor asked me.  “What do you have to offer us?”  Well, when it comes to presenting yourself for an open position, here’s the short list of things you simply have to offer:

  • A resume that really stands out.  It will get you noticed and that’s only a start.  One church told me when they advertised for a position that they had over 200 resume submissions within the first week.  How does one sift through that stack?  I don’t know. I once had my resume “rejected” within 2 hours of submission.  I thought, “How much prayer went into that decision?”  In at least one case, not very much.  I was judged and rejected solely on the basis of my initial resume.  (What was he looking for?)  Sometimes a professional resume service is helpful.  Expensive, but helpful.
  • An online presence.  It will get you looked at.  Facebook.  Twitter.  LinkedIn.  YouTube.  Flickr.  Viddler.  Where can you be found online?  Oh, how’s your blog coming along?  Keep it current, regular and visually appealing.
  • Really good media of you doing what you do, as well as what makes what you do unique (see niche below).  Read that sentence again slowly.  Sharply edited, compelling and very impressive.  This is one way a search team can get some initial assessment of your personality and public persona.  Video, audio, podcast, PowerPoint (Yes, I said PowerPoint.  It is a tool to be mastered), the list goes on and on.
  • Connections.  I hate to even have this on the list but it’s true.  It’s probably one of the most necessary items on this list.  Who do you know?  Who knows you?  Work at expanding your network.  Initiate connections and then work at keeping those connections fresh.
  • A niche.  Something you can do that few other people can.  And not just that, but it has to have some “flash” to it.   It seems just about everybody is “called” to ministry.  And every “called” individual has a passion for ministry.  So what’s your niche (specific appeal)?  Are you an amazing artist?  How many instruments can you play?  What is your “flash” appeal?   The “flash” is your noticed niche.  My niche is that I’m a certified project manager, but there’s absolutely no flash appeal to that concept so I have no perceived  niche.  I’m thinking about buying a guitar.
  • Positive field experience, but not too much experience.  As an example, 10 years in youth ministry makes you a seasoned veteran.  20 years in youth ministry means you’re too old to be effective in youth ministry.  At least that’s the initial perception.  It is extremely hard for a youth pastor with 20 years on his resume to make it past the initial “screening process.”  Why?  The translation is that he/she is too old to relate to the youth, if the job is for a youth ministry position.  Now, if it’s for another staff position or a lead pastor position, the perception is that he has “just” been a youth pastor with no experience in other areas in the church.
  • A match to the position being offered.  You may be thinking, “I matched that job description but never got past the initial screening.”  Although this is a key element over which you have no control as an applicant,  your uniqueness as outlined in the previous six points are what makes a search team say, ”We could use this person and his uniqueness to expand on the position we initially advertised.”

Something not yet mentioned is the application process some churches require right from the start.  Most of it is repetitive as it is already in your resume.  Committees especially, like to compare apples to apples and the application is a way to do that.

So, what do churches look for in adding staff members (part-time or fulltime)?  Do they look for talent or to fill a specific need?  Do they look for heart or passion for a specific need?  Does a person have to have it all to fill the need fully?

The answer is:   Yes. Everything is looked at, if they hang on to your resume long enough and your initial contact is impressive enough.  (Yes, I am serious.) Churches are looking for all of it, or as much of it as they can find, to fit their perceived need.

The downside: It’s an absolute jungle out there.  The competition is fierce.  What you may consider to be your niche, others may not see as valuable at all.

The upside: Keep looking and praying.  I believe God has the right place for you in ministry.  Keep tweaking your resume and online presence.

The payoff: What happens on your knees and in your heart is what’s most important.  Are you looking for a job or for God’s will?

Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to go tweak my resume one more time.

What are your thoughts and input of the subject?  I’d love some good feedback from your point of view.   Especially from lead pastors, executive pastors or search committee personnel.