by David Brock

Six months ago I was having a discussion with three other men. Among the four of us, there were a camp director, a camp maintenance man, a school administrator, and myself—a pastor. We were discussing ministry philosophy and various aspects of management when we began to talk about maintenance. At the time, some of our ministries were looking for maintenance men and commenting on how hard it is to find good ones. Truly, a qualified maintenance man is one of the most difficult positions to fill in any ministry. It is also one of the positions that is given the least amount of thought by many in management. We all know the saying, “If Momma ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy.” If the maintenance man ain’t getting his work done, ain’t nobody getting their work done. This often-looked-over position is vital to real ministry being accomplished in an effective manner. If the desk is not fixed, the air conditioner is not repaired, the toilets are not cleaned, the vehicles are not maintained, and the landscaping is not kept up, then ministry is going to lose effectiveness on any campus. The maintenance man can torpedo any Sunday message by simply not doing his job. This begs the question then, what are you looking for in a maintenance man? Below are some basic qualifications for maintenance personnel who will be long-term and effective.

He must have a heart for people. Who would want to get paid what most maintenance personnel get paid in ministry and get stuck with all of the dirty jobs on campus? An effective maintenance person must realize that he is investing in a lot more than a piece of property: he is investing in the eternal souls of people. One of our men drives the bus for me when we go to single’s retreats even though I have my CDL. He does this because he wants me to be able to spend time with the young people on our six-hour drive. That is a heart for people.

He must be a communicator. Your maintenance team has more interaction with everyone on staff than anyone else, including the pastor or CEO. They must be able to communicate effectively with others and know how to handle difficult situations. A good communicator can inter-act with different personalities on their level helping them understand what needs to be done or what will be done to fix the problem.

He must be organized. Our maintenance team has a basic policy of fixing things within twenty-four hours if not quicker. This cannot be done unless there is organization. Have you ever walked into the maintenance supply closet for your ministry? That will tell you much about your maintenance personnel. If there is no organization, your maintenance staff will spend an hour looking for the right tool and supplies in order to do a five-minute job. Ministries will also accumulate supplies because they thought they needed more, but they did not realize that they already had five bottles of that chemical underneath the rags in the back of the closet.

He must be mechanically oriented. This qualification is similar to “apt to teach” in the list of qualifications for a pastor. It is the one that usually has the
greatest emphasis when it is the only qualification listed that has much to do with actual hands-on skills. Because most ministry budgets are not able to afford specialized maintenance men, this person needs to be able to do a variety of things. He needs to know a little HVAC, a little construction, a little electrical, and so on; so that costly outside vendors do not have to be brought in to do the job.

He must be teachable. The desire to learn new skills, whether manual or managerial is vital to having someone who is going to be long-lasting and effective. He must have a desire to expand his horizons, to accomplish more, and to do maintenance more effectively. Without a teachable spirit, you may get someone who can repair things, but you will not get someone who will grow with your ministry or be able to manage others.

He must be a man of character. Besides the pastor or CEO, the maintenance personnel often has less accountability in doing their job than anyone else in a ministry. Nobody really understands what they do or how they spend their time; they just see them around. As long as things are not falling apart too much, no one asks questions. Having a man of character will allow you to know that work is being accomplished and money is being spent in a way that is God honoring.

You may finish reading this and say, “I have been looking for someone like that for awhile, but I can’t find anyone.” If so, you came to the basic conclusion that our group of managers came to—you do not find effective maintenance personnel; you develop effective maintenance personnel.