Ninety-five percent of those seeking ministry and church jobs use unproductive methods for finding openings. On average, people change jobs eight to ten times (or more!) in their lifetime, so learning and using the best strategies to cut your job search in half makes sense. In this article, we will explore how you can avoid unproductive job search methods and instead plan your job search around using the best strategies to find the right church jobs and ministry openings.
The Two Job Markets for Ministry and Church Jobs
There are two job markets in which jobs are found: the advertised (or organized) job market and the hidden (or disorganized) job market. Understanding and utilizing both job markets will allow you to find job openings more expediently and efficiently.
The Advertised Job Market
The advertised job market is the most familiar one. It includes jobs found on the Internet on websites such as ChurchJobsOnline.com and ChristianCareerCenter.com, as well as through employment and recruiting agencies. The advertised job market is the most popular because it is easy to access.
Other benefits include:
-The ministry and church jobs are organized and readily accessible for candidates;
-Ministries and Churches receive qualified candidates who would not have known about the opening otherwise;
-Job boards like ChristianCareerCenter.com and ChurchJobsOnline.com allow you to set up “alerts” so that new jobs matching what you are seeking are emailed to you;
-Also, a niche job board, like ChurchJobsOnline.com, is a website that provides a simple way for Christian candidates, churches, and ministries to connect.
Because job boards are familiar, 95% of job seekers use them for most job searches. However, this can result in a much longer job search, as only about 20-30% of jobs are advertised. Knowing this information can help job seekers adjust their strategies and limit their use of job boards to about 40% or less of their job search time.
The Hidden Job Market
Some job seekers have heard of the hidden job market, but few job hunters know the strategies for finding jobs that exist in it. Even fewer understand how to create a job search plan to find these jobs intentionally.
While the majority of job hunters (up to 95%) seeking church jobs rely on the advertised job market, as was described, only 20-30% of the available jobs are advertised. As you can imagine, only using the advertised job market makes the job search process slower and more frustrating. Not only is there a smaller percentage of ministry and church job openings listed online, but applicants will find more intense competition because of the many job hunters who use Christian job boards and other general job boards like Indeed.com. Some job hunters even give up searching for ministry and church jobs because they either see no openings on job boards for the type of work and location they seek or get no responses to the resumes they have sent.
The high percentage of ministry and church jobs available at any given time are found in the hidden job market. The jobs are "hidden" because they are filled without churches advertising them online. Finding these jobs involves a more proactive and strategic approach. Job seekers find out about job openings by talking with personal contacts and contacting employers directly (whether or not a ministry or church is advertising job openings). Phone calls, emails, referrals, and interviews are the keys. This market is more challenging but yields much more fulfilling and rewarding work.
While many ministries and churches find that their investment in promoting openings on job boards is effective, some do not use job boards and instead rely on referrals, networking, and sometimes recruiters. Besides the expense of advertising a position, a job posting online can bring in resumes from unqualified people. This occurs because many job boards allow job seekers to apply for a job with the click of a button, resulting in unqualified applicants.
Even when churches and ministries post job openings online, they often hire someone they already know or someone referred to them. Many positions are filled through personal connections or by candidates who proactively learn about the opening and reach out directly. By contacting a church or ministry with an unadvertised vacancy, you could position yourself as one of only a few candidates being considered, significantly increasing your chances compared to competing against hundreds of resumes submitted for a public job posting.
How to Find Jobs in the Hidden Job Market
You may have heard the saying that it is not what you know but rather who you know that leads to success. This is often true when finding out about ministry and church job openings. However, what is more accurate is that it is not who you know but who you are willing to get to know that can lead to success in landing a ministry or church job.
This has worked for many of our clients by intentionally developing an effective networking plan. A networking plan may look like this: You contact Bill, letting him know you are currently exploring teaching pastor jobs, and ask him about any churches he knows are hiring. You also ask Bill if he knows of people who work at churches who would be good for you to contact. Bill may say that he doesn’t know of any churches hiring; however, he says it would be good for you to talk with Andy because Andy works in a large church and may know of a teacher pastor opening at his church or other churches. You asked Bill for Andy's contact information and if it is OK for you to tell Andy that you were referred to him by Bill. You then contact Andy, and Andy says, “You know who you should talk to is John.” You contact John, and John tells you about an opening at their church and how you can apply.
The goal of contacting any given person is to get the names of a couple of other people whom it would be good for you to contact. Doing this intentionally will teach you about ministry openings you would otherwise not have known. Jobs identified in this manner would be examples of ministry and church jobs in the hidden job market.
Most people have an online and offline network (LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.). Spending a few minutes each day adding new connections on LinkedIn, Facebook, or other social networking sites is a good strategy. If you only have time to focus on one of these sites, it is recommended that you use LinkedIn. LinkedIn is the best place to network with people professionally.
To expand your network each day, start by listing people you know who might be helpful in your job search. Include everyone—family, friends, colleagues, or acquaintances—as you never know who might have valuable information or connections. The key is asking the right questions to uncover opportunities. It’s also important to remember that networking is more than who you already know; it’s about who you’re willing to meet. For instance, introducing yourself to someone at church might lead to them mentioning a ministry looking for someone with your skills, opening up a new opportunity.
Here is a trigger list of categories to help you brainstorm people that you know:
Family (parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins, distant relatives)
Friends
Neighbors
Current coworkers
Past coworkers
Your significant other’s family and friends
Friends of your parents
Former and/or current classmates, professors, teachers
Builders, plumbers, electricians, hairstylists, etc.
PTA members
Association/society members
Parents of your children’s friends
Current and past coworkers
Church groups and members
Pastors, priests, rabbis, and other religious leaders
Current and former employers
Former clients and/or customers
Librarians
Professionals (Doctors, Dentists, Attorneys, CPA, Psychologists, Bankers, Veterinarian, Realtors, Insurance Agents, etc.)
Chamber of Commerce members
Owners and staff at stores you frequent
Most people can write down a hundred or more people whom they know. Some of these people you identify will be on LinkedIn. If you are not already connected with them, send them a LinkedIn connect request. There will be other people you identify who will not be on LinkedIn. These people will also be valuable for your networking. Remember, networking will work for you even if you can only write down a few people.
Other ways to enlarge your personal contact network include searching online for those who oversee denomination headquarters, attending professional association meetings related to churches and para churches (here is a list of conferences from ShareFaith Magazine), and joining LinkedIn groups for denominations, pastors, and other church job areas (examples include
Once you have a good list of contacts, aim to contact a few by email and/or phone daily.
When you talk and/or email people in your network, start by sharing a little bit about your work experience and skills that relate to your target job, and then always ask these two questions: 1) Do you know of anyone that would be good for me to contact related to _____________jobs? 2) Do you know of any ministries and/or churches (depending on your job target) that would be good for me to contact? If they provide you with any names, ask for their contact information and if you can tell the person they referred you to him or her.
Networking with a few people intentionally every day or every week (if you work full-time) will ultimately produce results. The key is to be persistent.
How to Find Jobs in the Advertised Job Market
Does this mean you should avoid using church job boards and other secular job boards? Of course not! The advertised job market does contain approximately 20-30% of available job openings, and they are organized so that it is easier to find positions for which you qualify. You can also allow recruiters and church search committees to find you by posting your resume on sites such as ChurchJobsOnline.com and ChristianCareerCenter.com. In addition, sign up for newsletters such as ChristianCareerCenter.com’s newsletter and job alerts, which will keep you updated on new church jobs and other ministry openings.
In addition to ChurchJobsOnline.com and ChristianCareerCenter.com, there are several other church job boards: ChurchStaffing.com, ChurchJobFinder.com, ChurchJobs.net, and MinistryEmployment.com.
Another great way to find church jobs online is to Google the type of job you seek and add the word "jobs" - for example, “pastor jobs.” Google will then provide results that include “pastor jobs” in your area.
Also, Google provides an option to “turn on email alerts for this search.” This is a great way to get updates as soon as new church jobs are posted online by any of the thousands of job boards with church jobs.
Planning and Organizing Your Job Search
To use your job search time wisely, it is critical to get organized. This means initially having a plan using both the advertised and hidden job markets. Thus, if you have 10 hours a week for your job search, your plan may be to invest 40% or 4 hours a week using strategies that help you to find jobs in the advertised job market and 60% or 6 hours a week using strategies to find jobs in the hidden job market. By thus dividing your job search time, you will increase your chances of finding employment in a church job more quickly.
An effective church job search campaign can involve making hundreds of contacts with employers and personal contacts. Imagine how difficult it becomes to track when you apply to different jobs, which churches you need to follow up with, the personal contacts who ask you to follow up in a week, etc. You might try to keep all this straight as notes or even use an Excel spreadsheet. While there are many ways to track resumes you have sent, employers you need to contact, and interviews that have been scheduled, one of the resources is Teal. Teal includes an AI resume builder and a job search tracker. There is a free version that you can use and also a premium version that has some added features.
The Importance of Persistence in Prayer and Action
Philippians 4:6-7 tells us, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Matthew 17:20 says, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”
In Luke 18:1-8 we find the parable of the persistent widow who got justice from her adversaries because of her persistence. It is clear that prayer moves mountains, and your persistent prayers to our great and good God will yield results.
The other side of prayer is taking persistent action. Persistence has been described as the greatest trait of a job seeker. Tom Jackson describes the job search as looking like this: “NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO NO YES!” This description should be encouraging because: 1) Everyone will hear NOs during a job search. Don’t take it personally. 2) Every NO is getting you closer to hearing a YES if you use the best marketing tools and job search strategies. 3) If you want to hear more YESes, work on hearing more NOs faster.
Without persistence, the networking strategies for job search will not work well. Many job hunters have given up because of discouragement. Job search work is hard even when you are using all the best marketing tools and job search strategies. But be encouraged that persistence in prayer and action will help you to find your next church calling faster.
Getting the Support You Need for Finding Church Jobs
Using these techniques to find church job openings effectively can maximize your efforts in finding a church job in less time. But remember--knowing this information is not enough; you also need to be persistent in implementing what you have learned. Finding a new church job is rarely easy; most people need support, encouragement, and accountability as they search. Create your support network of friends, family, and a Christian professional career counselor/coach. For many, a career coach has given them the winning edge in finding work that isn't just a job but a calling. You can schedule your own free career services consultation today.
© Article copyright by Kevin and Kay Marie Brennfleck, www.ChurchJobsOnline.com, www.PastorJobs.net, www.ChristianCareerCenter.com, www.ChristianJobFair.com, and www.LiveYourCalling.com