This last summer I took the time to do a little unscientific research on staffing ratios in small group ministries around the country. Having just come off the 40 Days of Purpose campaign, I was very tired and worn and I needed to know if I was unduly whining about all the work I was doing, or if I had a genuine concern. My workload nearly doubled after the campaign and I was already doing too much. As such, I wanted to know how other churches were supporting their small group ministries with paid staff, both in the role of pastors and administrative assistants (for future reference, the term pastor refers to both men and women, directors, ministers, etc). I figured I would find plenty of people doing too much work, but probably not more than the average pastor who often finds himself working way too many hours. About the only paid ministry people I know working a 40-hour workweek are those listed as "part-time." As I have said for years, there are no part-time pastors.
I started my research by networking with peer small group people in the area. Like me, they all have other duties assigned to them even if their titles are "Small Group Pastor." They are their church's small group point person, plus one or more other things. Consider this scenario as problem number one.
I also sent out a few emails to friends and acquaintances around the country and asked them the same questions. Besides having multiple job descriptions, just about everyone feels they need more administrative support. Very few churches I contacted, even "mega" churches, have one or more dedicated paid administrative support staff in their small group ministry. Consider this problem number two.
After hearing the same story over and over about problem one and two, I decided to expand my survey by partnering with www.SmallGroups.com. There were 45 churches used in this study. And, although 45 churches by no means represent all of Christendom, I wholeheartedly believe it is representative of most churches with small group ministries.
This survey was done in the late summer, which may have biased the staff to group ratio to the low side since some groups take the summers off and may not be included in the count. The churches ranged from 110 to 18,000 in average weekly worship attendance (AWA). They were located across the country from California to Maryland. The number of small groups in those churches ranged from 4 to 2850. Their small group ministries were as young as less than a year to as old as 30 years.
If this span doesn't include you, please let me know and I will gladly add you to the study. Perhaps I will need to do a follow-up if enough of you let me know more about your situation. You can send your answers to the following questions at pastorrex@juno.com.
In summary fashion, here are the questions:
- 1. Average worship attendance?
- 2. Number of adult small groups (3-14 people, of any type of group)?
- 3. How many people in small groups total (not including duplication)?
- 4. How many paid administrative hours per week (hours by assistants, secretaries, etc. in an average week) are dedicated to those small groups in question 2?
- 5. How many paid pastors, ministers or directors (could be a paid coach, paid division leader, etc) oversee the small groups in question 2? (we want a full time equivalency—meaning your answer could be 1.5)
- 6. Are there any other paid staff members not mentioned in questions 3 and 4 who oversee small groups in your church? If so, how many? (once again we want full time equivalency meaning your answer could be 0.25)
- 7. How many volunteer hours are dedicated to overseeing and directing the small group ministry in an average week? (this number would include volunteer coaches, division leaders, but NOT include small group leaders, apprentices, etc., unless they have assigned duties other than normal individual small group functions, that directly help make the ministry as a whole function and grow).
- 8. How many volunteer small group coaches (overseers of small group leaders)?
- 9. How many years has your church been involved with a small group ministry?
- 10. Would you consider your church to be a church "with", "of", "is" small groups?
- 11. Your small group ministry's greatest need at this time? Please rank the following:
- a. more small group apprentices
- b. more small group leaders
- c. more small group coaches
- d. more paid pastoral staff
- e. more paid administrative staff
I do not plan to address the results of every question in this particular article. However, you can email me and I will gladly provide you with the raw data, and you can draw some conclusions on your own.
The groups to staff (g/s) ratio was figured by dividing the total number of small groups by the total number of paid staff (Full time equivalent (FTE) including pastors and support staff). This may not be the best way to get at the workload many of you carry, but it does reveal some useful information.
The average number of small groups that one 40 hour paid staff person (either/or/both pastors and admin) is responsible for managing is about 44 groups. The lowest group to staff (g/s) ratio of any church was 5.6 (a church of 200), and the highest of any church was 126.0 (a church of 8500). Of the 45 churches, there were 17 churches with an above average group to staff (g/s) ratio and many of those 17 churches have an average weekend attendance (AWA) over 1000. That said, most churches in this study were at or below the average group to staff (g/s) ratio. Of the two largest churches surveyed, one was slightly below average and the other was about 50% above average. Other than these notable stats, there really were not any notable trends. Both large and small churches with large and small group ministries were all over the map in terms of group to staff (g/s) ratio.
There were nine churches in our study who considered themselves churches "with" small groups. Seven who considered themselves churches "of" small groups. And, one who considered themselves a church "is" small groups.
Most churches reported their greatest need is more paid pastoral and administrative staff, not necessarily more "volunteer" staff. The people who responded to the on-line survey felt they needed more paid pastors first, and then more paid administrative help second. The people I talked to on the phone or through email felt they needed more administrative help first and that admin help would solve most of their workload issues.
The first question I wanted to answer was how many groups can one equivalent paid person effectively manage. The average group to staff ratio was 44. If 44 is a good number, then most churches have plenty of support. If 44 is not a reasonable number, then most paid staff working with small groups are way too busy, likely causing their small group ministry to be not as effective as they would like.
In my situation, I was the only pastor responsible for small groups, plus I had one nearly full-time assistant. Our group to staff ratio was well over the average. In my last year of employment at that church I was no longer able to work with small group leaders or leadership teams. I spent all my time working with the leaders of leadership teams (all volunteers). That is the only way I was able to keep the machinery moving, and I was always running on empty. It caused a great deal of stress for me and eventually led me to leave my position to search for another. There are many things I will do differently in the future. And, just to be fair, it was not entirely the fault of the workload or the church.
In the last year of my employment, I resolved to accept my condition and work with it the best I could, knowing I was preparing the way for someone else to come in and benefit from my constant struggle. I used the survey information to educate my peers and my supervisors. I spent three years educating our church on what it takes to have a great small group ministry for a church "of" small groups. Basically I cast the vision for a healthy span of care, not only in the small group setting, but also in my personal ministry endeavors. I resolved to not go to every committee/team meeting, but to only work with people who worked with leaders. I determined I needed to double my volunteer core, which is a worthy goal for any pastor in any church/size setting. I encourage you to do the same with this information as you interact with the leaders of your church.
I cannot say with certainty that this small survey sets a baseline or an average for how many groups one paid person can reasonably manage with volunteer help. I believe it gives some good clues though.
I encourage you to keep praying. God is beyond stats and workload. If you feel understaffed, you probably are. Keep in mind that your ministry is not only to those small group leaders and their small group members, but also to the leadership of your church. The vision you cast to the church concerning small groups must be cast and recast. Their buy-in is vitally important and will pay more dividends than you can imagine. Keep the faith. God is able to do "immeasurably more" than you can do, even if you have the really nice problem of having too many small groups under your direction.
