By Brent Lacy

Two small churches in the same community. Each has 12 teenagers. Neither can afford a youth director. Both are watching their youth ministry run on fumes, led by a rotating cast of volunteers who are doing their best but burning out.

What if they shared one?

The shared staff model is not a new idea. Circuit riders served multiple congregations for generations. Many rural areas have pastors who serve two or three small churches. But the model is being applied in new ways as small churches face staffing challenges that the traditional model cannot solve.

Here is how to make it work.

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What Roles Work Well for Shared Staffing

Not every ministry role is a good candidate for shared staffing. The roles that work best are those where the staff member’s time can be clearly divided between the two churches and where the work does not require constant presence in a single community.

Roles that work well:

• Youth director. Two churches with separate youth groups can share a youth director who works with each group on different nights of the week.
• Children’s ministry coordinator. Two churches with Sunday school programs can share a coordinator who develops curriculum and trains volunteers for both.
• Worship leader. A worship leader who leads at one church on Sunday morning and another on Sunday evening, or who alternates Sundays between two churches.
• Administrative support. A part-time administrator who handles communications, scheduling, and bookkeeping for two churches.

Roles that work less well:

• Senior pastor. The pastoral relationship requires a depth of presence and community embeddedness that is hard to divide between two congregations. Some pastors do serve two small churches, but it requires careful management and realistic expectations from both congregations.

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The Financial Structure

The simplest financial structure is for each church to pay half of the staff member’s total compensation. If the position requires 20 hours per week and the fair rate is $18 per hour, the total annual compensation is approximately $18,720. Each church pays $9,360 per year, or $780 per month.

That is a number most small churches can budget for. And the staff member earns a sustainable income from ministry work rather than a stipend that requires them to have another job to survive.

The compensation package should also include mileage reimbursement (split between the two churches based on actual ministry miles for each), continuing education (split equally), and any other benefits the churches agree to provide.

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The Agreement You Need in Writing

A shared staffing arrangement without a written agreement is an arrangement waiting to fail. The agreement should cover:

Time allocation. How many hours per week does each church receive? What specific days or times? What happens when one church has a special event that requires more time?

Compensation and payment. How much does each church pay? When? Who is the employer of record for tax purposes?

Reporting relationships. Who does the staff member report to at each church? Who has authority to direct their work? What happens when the two churches give conflicting direction?

Conflict resolution. What happens when both churches need the staff member at the same time? Who has priority? How will this be resolved?

Termination. What happens if one church wants to end the arrangement? How much notice is required? What happens to the staff member’s compensation if one church exits?

This agreement does not have to be long. It does have to be clear. A one-page document that covers these points is better than a handshake agreement that leaves everything to interpretation.

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Making It Work Day to Day

The shared staff model requires more communication than a single-church arrangement. The staff member needs to be proactive about keeping both churches informed about their schedule, their priorities, and any conflicts that arise. The leadership of both churches needs to be committed to the arrangement and willing to be flexible when the other church’s needs create scheduling challenges.

A few things that help:

• A shared calendar that both churches can see, showing the staff member’s schedule and commitments to each church
• A monthly check-in with the leadership of both churches together, not separately, to address any issues before they become problems
• Clear communication from the staff member when they are approaching their allocated hours for one church and need to prioritize the other
• A genuine commitment from both churches to treat the staff member fairly and not to expect more than their share of the arrangement

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The Relationship Between the Two Churches

A shared staffing arrangement works best when the two churches have a genuine relationship with each other, not just a contractual arrangement. Churches that share staff often find that the arrangement opens doors for other collaboration: joint events, shared resources, mutual support during pastoral transitions.

This is not a requirement. But it is a benefit worth pursuing. Two small churches that are genuinely in relationship with each other are stronger than two small churches that are isolated from each other, even if they are in the same community.

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