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Ten Advantages of Hiring a Female Staff Member

Material excerpted from an Ohio School of Ministry workshop taught by Rev. Donna Barrett

Pastor, did you know that adding a female member to your pastoral staff …

1. provides a good model for a mixed-gender workplace?
   When pastors implement the obvious boundaries of integrity, professionalism, and courtesy that keep the workplace morally safe, it provides an example for men and women in the congregation to do likewise in their dual-gender workplaces.
2. creates moral safety in counseling?
   Every pastor knows there are high-risk counselees. A female staff member can join you in counseling, or take the referral from you.
3. makes hospital visitations more comfortable for the patient and the pastor?
   It is often awkward for everyone when a male pastor visits a female patient, especially when she has had female reproductive system surgery.
4. may be an economic advantage for your church?
   With a husband’s income/benefits, more women may be able to work for what your church can afford to pay. (This is not a suggestion to pay women less.)
5. gives you needed prayer help around the altars?
   From teenage girls needing answers to weary single mothers, having a female pastor removes awkwardness and leaves all the focus on God.
6. gains the benefit of a woman’s vantage point on committees and staff issues?
   A diverse staff sees one another’s blind spots, offers unique perspectives, and maximizes the benefits of committee operations.
7. adds a current, progressive look and a visitor-friendly image to your church?
   When young professionals visit and see your staff, what do they think? A female on staff helps the church stay culturally sensitive.
8. offers good role modeling for young people?
   When Paris Hilton, Lindsay Lohan, and Angelina Jolie are the women our youth culture looks up to, churches need to provide Christian females as role models.
9. capitalizes on a woman’s natural instinct to be nurturing and helpful?
   Much of what a pastor does requires a nurturing nature. Also, many women find it easy to be supportive, secondary players. We all need people like that around us.
10. preaches a great sermon to your congregation?
    When a pastor brings a female into his work arena and treats her with dignity, respect, and equality, he is preaching a sermon for every husband, father, employee, and manager who sits in his congregation.

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