One of my passions is helping pastors and leaders who are just starting out. Although new churches may lack the resources of larger, more established ministries, they can still have significant impact. Effective leadership in the early stages of growth is vital to the health of all our churches. One pathway to effective leadership in new churches is to balance what you do in-house against what you can outsource.

The first step is being honest about your own abilities. In order to be an effective leader at any stage of your growth, you must be aware of what you are capable. Each leader comes into a new position or church launch with a specific skill set. Some people are naturally gifted at administration and planning, while others find personal counseling to be second nature. If you know what God-given abilities you bring to the table, this will help clarify what can stay in-house and what needs to be outsourced.

The next step is being honest about your capacity. The startup stage of ministry is ripe with temptation to do it all yourself with no one’s help. But an effective leader knows when to take a step back, raise his or her hand, and ask for help. And help can come from two different places, either outside the organization or within your ranks.

What Should We Outsource?
Of course, your natural abilities will often define what you can keep in-house and what needs to be outsourced. However, even the non-ministry essentials that you excel in can take away from your main focus. For instance, you may be a very competent and talented accountant. But if you spend 10 or 20 hours a week in the books, it will take you away from your main tasks of ministry.

Here are a few areas that are easily outsourced. This isn’t exhaustive by any means, but it should help you start thinking in the right direction.

Graphic arts, website design and video production
More established churches not only have a bigger bank of volunteers, they usually have a higher capacity to bring on a staff member solely focused on these areas. But just because you’re at an earlier stage of growth doesn’t mean you have to go without the look and feel that draws people to your message. Find a company that specializes in helping churches find their niche and developing a look and feel to go along with it.

An effective leader knows when to take a step back, raise his or her hand, and ask for help.

Accounting and bookkeeping
This is often the most overlooked of any area of focus in younger churches. But it’s one of the most important. Getting off on the right foot financially can be difficult, and it takes people with the knowledge, skill and experience to do it right. There are some solid organizations out there, like DIME, dedicated to helping churches stay on track financially.

Marketing and campaigns
Chances are you’ve never handled a citywide campaign. But marketing doesn’t have to be put on the back burner in newer churches. Find a company dedicated to helping you get the word out about you mission and vision. And when the time comes, look into hiring an organization dedicated to leading a building campaign. This can put you ahead of the curve when it counts.

What Should Stay In-House?
You may have the manpower in-house to take care of some of the things listed above. But just like any resource, human resources need to be stewarded. You wouldn’t survive very long by overspending your budget. The same goes for your staff and volunteers.

This requires constant assessment. Who do you have and what are they good at? This includes staff members, key leadership in the church, and all your volunteers. Constant assessment does two things. First of all, it’s a way to uncover hidden talent in your organization. You may never find out that your nursery worker is also a great graphic designer without assessment. Secondly, it allows you to manage their workload, expectations and fulfillment. Without assessment, you may be pushing your workers into the red zone.

To better steward your human resources, stay team-focused and flexible. The health of your team is the most important thing, both spiritual and physical. Remember, you’re their pastor first and foremost, even if you’re their team captain or employer. Remain flexible with your expectations and their schedules. Allow them to put in the number of hours they feel able to handle, and you’ll find they’ll give you more than you expect.

Assessment and flexibility will naturally create teams of volunteers who rise to the level of their strategic skills. Once you start placing people in their sweet spots, you’ll begin to see what can be handled in-house without compromising any other areas.

What Never Gets Outsourced
Finally, there is one thing that you should never outsource at any time, and that’s the mission and vision of your church or organization. When God called you, He called you for a specific goal and with a specific game plan. The mission of your church reflects why you exist and the vision tells the world how you intend to accomplish it. Never allow anyone else to dictate that.

No matter how many other organizations, businesses or individuals you bring onto the team, you’re the one holding the clipboard. Effective leaders are those who understand where God has placed them and why they have been chosen for this job. That’s how you stay the course through any stage of growth.

Don't miss part one in this four-part series.