Caring for Church Staff During the Holidays
by Travis Norton, Pinnacle West Associate
How do you show appreciation for your church staff during the busiest time of the year? We have a staff of 25 people and for years I’ve tried to figure out the best way to support them during the holiday season. Every year we do a staff Christmas party but I’ve found that often it feels more like a burden than a gift to the staff. Coming to a Christmas party means they have even less time to complete their work than before, and during the years that we’ve done it at church, it means that some of them wind up doing extra work to prepare the space and clean up. Add a gift exchange to the mix and you’ve likely just added one more thing on top of their overwhelming to do list. Here are some ideas they might actually appreciate.
1. Publicly thank them.
Make sure your congregation knows who has been working behind the scenes to decorate the church, plan the Christmas program, rehearse the musicians and clean up after all the parties. Do this publicly so that the congregation can follow your example and express their appreciation.
2. Give them a Christmas bonus before Christmas.
Some churches can budget to give bonuses to staff while others send a letter to the congregation asking for donations to give these gifts. Extra compensation communicates appreciation and giving it before Christmas allows them to use the gift to purchase gifts for their family, further reducing a stress inherent to the season.
3. Remind them of the mission.
Everyone gets busy this time of year, but when we are keyed in to the reason we are working extra hard it helps to ease the stress. Jesus came to save the world, relieve our burdens, and welcome us into a life of purpose and love. All the work of this season is aimed to proclaim that good news. Help your staff keep that mission clear in their minds and watch as it strengthens their motivation and gives them that little extra to make it through the season.
4. Lend a hand.
When the senior leader helps set up chairs, or cut up food for the charcuterie or run the copy machine for a minute it communicates recognition and appreciation of your staff’s work. People want to know they are understood and that their effort is seen. Helping the janitor set up a table or giving 20 minutes to fold some bulletins can go a long way in encouraging your team.
5. Throw a party.
I know this goes against my opening, but finding a way to get your team together to celebrate and play together is important. It may be better to do it after the holidays, remember Christmas lasts until January 5th, so doing a 12th night party might be the key. For my part, I threw a party at my house, made them play the game Hitster and cooked them chili over the lunch hour. It was simple and low key, but it gave us a chance to bond and fueled us for the busy month ahead.
If you ever want help strengthening your ministry team reach out to me and our team at Pinnacle West. We’d love to work with you! I can be reached at pastortravis@flccs.net. Merry Christmas!
