In this Growth Mechanics session, Dave Miller, longtime ministry consultant and former executive search recruiter, for an extremely practical conversation about how church leaders can think like recruiters and build the teams their growth requires.

Dave has conducted 2,000+ interviews, led 107 full searches, and helped churches of every size solve staffing gaps. In this call, he shared the recruiting mindsets and habits that actually work in today’s labor climate — one shaped by post-COVID staffing shortages, Gen Z mobility, and the reality that “all is fair in recruiting, even in the church”.

1. Recruiting is like farming.

Good hires rarely happen overnight. They emerge from consistent, proactive cultivation: asking, following up, planting seeds, nurturing relationships, and building pipelines over time.

2. Think like a candidate.

Every candidate ... from an intern to an executive pastor ... is looking for the same six things:

A boss • A team • An organization • A place • A challenge • A number (compensation).

Great recruiters understand these motivations and speak directly to them.

3. Always be recruiting (even when you don’t have an open role).

The churches that win at hiring keep a simple landing page open year-round, with a name + email form so people can raise their hand at any time. Then they run a drip-campaign to engage, encourage, and build rapport with candidates over time.

4. Your best recruiters are already in your church.

Dave outlined how to create an internal “recruiting team” made up of high-relational volunteers, new staff members, recent candidates, and power-connectors who each invest one hour a week working their network.

5. Your turnover rate is your teacher.

Whatever staff turnover your church has experienced over the last 18 months is likely to continue — especially as your church grows. Growth = change, and change = staff transitions. Planning for this reality avoids panic later.

6. Compensation and location matter more than ever.

Dave challenged leaders to rethink compensation in light of modern cost-of-living realities. His “Son-in-law Test” asks: Would I want my daughter and grandkids to move here for that salary?

If not, the compensation package probably needs to increase.

Time-Coded Highlights

• 0:00 — Introduction to Dave Miller + why recruiting matters in growth seasons
• 6:00 — Why most hiring “miracles” are actually the result of months of cultivation
• 12:00 — The six things every candidate is truly looking for
• 20:00 — Always recruiting: how referrals outperform job boards
• 26:00 — The 18-month turnover reality & how to calculate your staffing future
• 32:00 — Why growing churches must rethink staffing assumptions
• 36:00 — Building year-round recruiting pipelines
• 41:00 — What a great landing page looks like (and what NOT to include)
• 48:00 — Internal recruiting teams: who to include and how to mobilize them
• 56:00 — Q&A: compensation, location myths, Gen Z expectations
• 1:05:00 — Why residency pipelines are the long-term staffing solution
• 1:07:00 — Wrap-up and preview of next week’s Christmas check-in

Recruiter’s Edge Keynote

This is the full slide deck Dave taught from during the session, outlining the Recruiter’s Edge framework — why recruiting is harder than ever, how to think like a recruiter, and the CGI staffing formula (turnover + growth × vision). Use this to review the visuals and main concepts discussed.

A fill-in-the-blank worksheet designed for team training. It summarizes the session’s big ideas such as “always recruiting,” the six factors candidates look for, and the steps to begin creating a referred-candidate pipeline. Great for personal reflection or leading your staff through the material.

A complete, customizable example of a four-email automated sequence you can use with your recruiting landing page. These emails model engagement-first recruiting, helping candidates clarify their sense of calling while building your warm pipeline. Includes prompts, sample language, and timing recommendations.

Recruiter’s Tracking Sheet — PDF + Excel

A simple but powerful tracking template for managing your referral list. Use it to log contacts, who they know, notes from conversations, action steps, and when to follow up next. This supports Dave’s “every three weeks” repetition rhythm for generating candidates through networks.

Landing Page HOW-TO Guide — PDF + DOCX

A practical guide for building a high-converting recruiting landing page. Covers placement, messaging, what to include (and what NOT to include), how to automate follow-up, and how to build a segmented recruiting audience over time. This is the backbone of creating an always-on recruiting system.