The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
We're all about helping create a healthy, positive, and spiritually positive environment for church staff members and leadership teams.
The Healthy Church Staff Podcast
Gen Z Won’t Join Your Staff for the Same Reasons You Did
Gen Z isn't rejecting ministry but redefining what it means to say yes to a church vocation. They're asking different questions than previous generations that reflect their commitment to both spiritual calling and personal wellbeing.
• Mental health is non-negotiable for this generation that grew up amid social media, pandemics, and societal challenges
• Churches with cultures built on burnout, guilt, or martyrdom will fail to attract or retain Gen Z staff
• Financial transparency is essential – they want clear compensation details upfront, not spiritualized vagueness
• Purpose must be demonstrably lived out, not just preached, as Gen Z is skeptical of performative religion
• They crave mentorship and collaborative leadership rather than rigid hierarchy or micromanagement
• Adapting to Gen Z requires changing your posture and approach, not your theology
If you'd like to discuss navigating generational differences on your church staff or need guidance on hiring Gen Z team members, reach out to schedule a 30-minute Zoom call at podcast@chemistrystaffing.com.
Have questions or comments? Send to podcast@chemistrystaffing.com
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What if I told you that your job listing that you just posted on that job website complete with the phrase called to serve is quite possibly turning off an entire generation of potential church leaders? Gen Z just isn't rejecting ministry, they're just redefining what it means to say yes. So we're going to talk about that gap and how to close it on today's episode of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Hi there, my name is Todd Rhodes and I'm one of the co-founders over at chemistrystaffingcom also your host right here on the podcast. All right, let's talk about Gen Z. Okay, they have the same calling but different questions.
Speaker 1:You were probably drawn to ministry back when you got into ministry through a sense of divine calling, something that you just knew, right, gen Z? Many of them still believe in calling, much like what people in my generation or maybe your generation did. But they're just asking different questions. Questions like will this role support my mental health Something I never really considered when I took a job Will I be able to afford rent and therapy? Never really thought about therapy. I thought about rent. Is the mission real or is it just a performance? For Gen Z, for many of them, calling and well-being they're not mutually exclusive. In fact, they believe that the two should go together. And a really important thing and sure it's absolutely cultural, but specifically for Gen Z and we see this in the candidates that we hire is that mental health is not optional. Okay, the generation that's grown up in the shadow of social media and pandemics and school shootings and political chaos, don't think of them as fragile. They're not fragile, they're just simply aware. Can I say that Gen Z will walk away from toxic work environments, even if they're work environments that are set up to be service for the Lord. So if your church culture is built on burnout or guilt or martyrdom, you won't keep them, period. Matter of fact, if they sniff during an interview that your staff culture is negative or burnout or there's guilt or martyrdom going on, they won't come and be on a part of your church team. They just won't. Pastors, this is a discipleship opportunity, not an HR liability. Okay, this is what they want, right? They want transparency. They want pay transparency, not guilt trips. Gen Z is financially aware. They're not afraid to talk dollars, but they've also seen their parents struggle. They've taken financial peace university and, yeah, they want to tithe, but they also want to know what they're signing up for. And if you say, hey, we'll figure out the pay later, or it's about the kingdom, not the cash, you're signaling some financial security, not spiritual maturity, and they're going to see that right away and it's going to be a big turnoff to them. So again, they're just asking different questions, okay.
Speaker 1:Another thing I've noticed about Gen Z is that they really look at purpose and the purpose, especially when they're looking at a job or a job at your church. The purpose must be clear. So most in Gen Z don't just assume your church is on mission. They want to see it, they want to feel it, they want to participate in it. They've grown up in a culture of performative religion, of all this hype without much depth. And if your church is playing that game or just replaying last decade's model, a lot of times they're just not going to be interested. They want purpose that's lived out, not just preached.
Speaker 1:And then, finally, one of the things that I've noticed particularly in Gen Z, of the things that I've noticed particularly in Gen Z, is that they really do. They crave mentorship, not micromanagement. Okay, they don't want a boss. Now, that doesn't mean they're not going to be submissive and they're not going to be a good staff member, but they don't want a boss, they want a coach, they want a mentor, they want somebody that walks with them and walks beside them. And if the culture of your church is you're just hiring people to have under your wings so that you can say, hey, I need you to do this, I need you to do that, but you're never really speaking and you're never really teaching or training or mentoring them, that's going to be a problem for a lot of Gen Z. If your leadership style is control over collaboration or correction over curiosity a lot of Gen Zers are very curious You'll lose them straight up front. They just won't want to come and be a part of your church, particularly be on your staff.
Speaker 1:Gen Z values mutual respect and spiritual formation over that rigid hierarchy that many churches have. So you don't have to change your theology, just your posture. Okay, so here's the bottom line for today. You just have to think differently with this generation Gen Z still incredibly sharp people and they still are saying yes to ministry. But they're asking different questions. And if you're going by other generations or what you've heard in the past, it's probably not going to work. You're going to have to adjust for Gen Z. They are willing to say yes to ministry, but they're asking different questions and they'll only say yes when it aligns with their whole life values.
Speaker 1:If you want your church to have a future, you need to listen to this generation that's already showing up. They're just not always showing up in the way that you had expected. Maybe you'd like to have a conversation about this. Maybe you've got a Gen Zer on your staff and you're like Todd. I just really don't understand. Can you help me, give me some insight? Maybe you'd like to hire some new Gen Z people on your team, but you just this scares the daylights out of you and you just want somebody to talk that through.
Speaker 1:I'd be happy to have a conversation with you and how hiring Gen Z can be a great thing, but they're asking different questions. Let's have a conversation about that. I'd love to do that one-on-one, with a 30-minute Zoom call. You can reach out to me anytime to schedule a call for you and your church. You to me anytime to schedule a call for you and your church. You can reach out to me. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. All right, I hope this has been helpful to you today and maybe you're a Gen Z-er and you're listening to this podcast and you're like Todd, that's not me at all. I would love to hear from you as well. Podcast at chemistrystaffingcom. All right, thank you so much. We'll be back here tomorrow. Hope you have a great day.
