by George Welty
The year before Covid started, I was talking to a pastor friend on the phone, and said, “Why don’t I just come pick you up at the office and we can go to Panera?” to which he replied, “My office is Panera.” I had never heard of such a thing. Now, several years past Covid, the “work at home,” or “hybrid” model, doesn’t seem as strange. Many folks in our congregations are experiencing this, and it has even carried over into some of our church staff cultures.
This is more than just walking into your local hipster coffee shop and looking for the pastors working on laptops. Trust me, you can tell who they are. Instead, this is an intentional strategy by more and more churches that are beginning to consider this as a permanent solution to where their staff is going to get work done. Some are church plants that rent worship space and don’t have access to offices, others are churches that are on a tight budget and are looking to the hybrid model to keep office expenses down.
If you are in this situation, or your congregation is considering moving to this model, here are seven things to keep in mind for overcoming some of the challenges of a hybrid working space. Why seven? Well, it seems like a godly number, and I couldn’t think of twelve.
Embrace Accountability
If you are working from home or your local coffee shop, there will be no one in the room with you who cares if you get to the end of your to-do list. In these situations, you have to find a way to be accountable to yourself or to seek a church leader who will check in on your progress. When I first became a teacher, my principal once reminded us that what we fail to document, never happened. Maintaining a record of your progress will help.
Find Community
One of the things people miss most from working from home is the camaraderie of the office environment. One of God’s first comments about humanity is that we were not meant to be alone. We work better in collaboration with others. In the hybrid model, you have to be intentional about maintaining a connection with the people you want walking beside you in your ministry.
Plan to Communicate
Healthy communication becomes more difficult when you can’t just walk down to someone else’s office and ask a question. When we use only emails, we lose the information we gain from tone of voice, inflection, and body language. To make up for that, you need to over-communicate. Make sure that you are being precise with your words and are clearly expressing your meaning.
Leverage Technology
I love Zoom, and I hate Zoom. However, there’s no doubt that it changes the way we are able to communicate. There are so many other technologies that help with workflow and managing teams. It might help to find someone in your congregation working from home and ask them about technologies that have helped them.
Monitor Your Own Spiritual and Mental Health
This is true of church work in general. It’s no one’s job at your church to monitor your spiritual and mental health. In a perfect world, that would be your elders, but in many cases, they are also your employers. I feel like every minister, whether they are in a traditional or non-traditional work environment, must examine their own health and stay in close touch with a mentor or spiritual director.
Set Healthy Boundaries
As ministers, we know, there’s never an end to our to-do list. Unfortunately, many churches seem fine with their ministers becoming workaholics. If you never “go” to work, then if you’re not careful, everywhere you go will be work. Find a way to make clear delineations of when you are on the clock and when you are off. If you have a spouse, allow them to speak into how all of this should work. These kinds of boundaries are vital for all ministers, but are even more important in a less structured work environment.
Embrace the Future/Past
Companies and organizations all over the world are rethinking their workplace strategies. This trend isn’t going away anytime soon. Here’s the good news. Jesus never had an office. So, if this is the direction your church is going, embrace the change, learn the differences, and thrive. No matter where you get your work done, the work of the kingdom will continue.
About the Author
George Welty spent twenty-five years walking alongside teens as a teacher, coach, and youth minister. Today, he serves as the Lead Minister at the Northwest Church of Christ in St. Petersburg, FL—though he likes to say he’s really a youth minister for adults. George is passionate about exploring the beauty of God’s story and using his words to invite the curious to join the adventure.
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