Before You Fill the Vacancy
OPENING REFLECTION
A church I worked with had a forward-thinking and strategic pastor. Staffing changes left a couple of positions open. Rather than immediately fill them, the pastor asked the board for time to seek God’s direction for the church as it entered its next season. The board agreed.
Volunteers and temporary staff filled the gaps. The resulting salary savings created a surplus that funded other needs while the pastor considered what the next roles should look like.
When the right people became available, the funding was there to hire them. Some of the temporary arrangements also continued because the new staff members were not gifted in every area those arrangements covered.
The point is not that nonprofits and churches should delay hiring to save money. In this case, waiting gave the pastor and board time to discern the roles before committing resources to them. The budget preserved their ability to act when the direction and the right people became clear.
MAKE ROOM TO SEE WHAT IS NEEDED
When someone leaves an organization, the immediate question is often, “Who will replace them?” But filling the position too quickly can close off an opportunity to learn.
A vacancy sometimes creates room for someone else’s gifting to emerge. A volunteer or staff member may step forward and demonstrate an ability that had little opportunity for expression while the role was occupied. What begins as temporary coverage may reveal a lasting contribution.
The transition also creates space to evaluate the work itself. Which activities remain essential to the mission? Which should change? Which have continued largely because someone has always been responsible for them? Before deciding who should do the work, leaders need to consider whether—and how—that work should continue.
That changes the hiring conversation. Rather than looking for someone who can reproduce everything the previous person did, leaders can consider the gifts already contributing and the needs that remain.
For a church or nonprofit facing a vacancy, three questions can guide the discussion:
What essential work needs coverage now?
Whose gifting is becoming evident as others step forward?
What should continue, change, or end before we define the next role?
This is not an argument for leaving positions open indefinitely. Temporary arrangements need support and regular review so that a period of discernment does not become an open-ended burden on others.
The budget’s role is to preserve the ability to respond. Temporary salary savings may help meet other needs, but leaders must also consider what funding will be needed when hiring resumes.
A mission-based budget supports more than the positions and activities already in place. It gives leaders room to recognize emerging gifts, reconsider familiar work, and commit resources with greater clarity.
A RESOURCE FOR THE CONVERSATION
Use the Purpose-Driven Budget Rubric to consider whether your budget supports the organization’s priorities and leaves room to reconsider existing commitments.
INVITATION
Join me September 24, 2026 from 3–4 p.m. Eastern, for the Mission-Based Budgeting workshop, where we will explore how to connect mission, priorities, and financial decisions.
As you prepare the next budget, give your team time to consider what the work needs now—and whose gifts might help carry it forward.
A staffing vacancy can reveal overlooked gifts and create space to reconsider the work before hiring.
