When most of us think of ministry work, we think of shepherding people, leading souls to Jesus, and teaching and preaching God’s Word. Yet for these essential roles to be successfully fulfilled, there is an unglamorous, easily-neglected side of local church ministry—the administrative side of managing projects and processes. It’s the daily grind, and, frankly, it doesn’t come naturally for many ministry leaders. But local church ministry benefits from intentional strategies and processes.
Administration
By Dr. Paul Chappell, Monday, May 14, 2018
Administration Is a Necessary Part of Leadership
When I first became a pastor, I faced fewer administrative responsibilities than I do today. It’s not that my schedule wasn’t full. (In those early days, I preached three times per week, taught Sunday school and soulwinning, and knocked on a minimum of five hundred doors each week as well as following up with guests from services.) It’s just that the week-to-week responsibilities of ministry were primarily sermon preparation and personal outreach and followup.
Category
By Bruce Burkett, Wednesday, May 2, 2018
This past summer, God opened the door for us to be able to have a summer ministry intern come serve in our church. For the past couple of years, it has been something that I had wanted to do, but was uncertain about whether it was worth the financial burden on our church and the administrative burden on me.
Category
By Dr. Paul Chappell, Monday, December 4, 2017
Without question, the greatest responsibilities a pastor carries are prayer and preaching. Even so, administration is part of the leadership package as well. In fact, this administrative aspect is captured in the New Testament word for pastors of bishop, which means “overseer.”
Category
By Gabriel Ruhl, Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Spiritual Leaders Work to Close the Back Door
In Matthew 18, we are introduced to a shepherd that has lost one sheep and leaves his flock to go find it.
Category
By Lisa Stoner, Saturday, March 1, 2014
Developing an Organized Church Office—Part 3
Teach yourself to constantly ask, “How would Pastor want this done?” The answer is not, “hap-hazard,” or “mediocre.” Certainly the answer is, “with excellence.” Don’t allow yourself to accept “good enough.”
Category
By Dr. Thomas Shepherd, Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Considering Long and Short-Term Objectives
When people enter your church, do they sense a clear mission and direction? Is it immediately obvious that the church has a focus and goal behind its existence? The purpose of administration is to build a successful, thriving church centered on glorifying God to the very best of our abilities.
Category
By Lisa Stoner, Saturday, February 8, 2014
Developing an Organized Church Office—Part 2
In this article, we will see tools that can help your office be more organized and run smoothly when they are implemented into your daily workflow. What systems can help your office be more organized?
Category
By Lisa Stoner, Friday, January 24, 2014
Developing an Organized Church Office—Part 1
If you serve on the support staff of your church, you play a critical role in the daily success of the ministry! Don’t forget as you are daily mired in details, questions, problems, lists and the needs of people, that you are helping your pastor do the work of the ministry.
Category
By Dr. R. B. Ouellette, Thursday, December 5, 2013
How You Deal with a Problem Often Determines the Outcome
No one likes confrontation. And yet, the Bible tells us that the reproofs of instruction are the way of life. All of us face situations in our ministry where we must deal with a situation, but we know that when we do so, it is quite likely to cause trouble.
Category
By Bonnie Ferrso, Friday, September 28, 2012
Good Support Staff Allow the Pastor to Be More Effective
John Kenneth Galbraith was a noted economist in the early 1900s who was called upon by many dignitaries to help sort the economic markets. He wrote the following story in his autobiography about his housekeeper:
Category
By Dr. Paul Chappell, Tuesday, January 18, 2011
Followthrough Is Key
I am an advocate of setting goals before the beginning of a new year. Philippians 3:13 encourages us to be constantly, “Reaching forth unto those things which are before.”
Category
By Chris Edwards, Wednesday, July 21, 2010
4 Ways to Help Volunteers Serve the Lord
An old proverb states, “For want of a nail the shoe was lost, for want of a shoe the horse was lost, for want of a horse the rider was lost, for want of a rider the battle was lost, for want of the battle the kingdom was lost, and all for the want of a horseshoe nail.”
Category
By Lisa Stoner, Friday, January 15, 2010
Consistency in the Office—Part 3
The phrase I want to key in on here is, observe to do. There are two parts here – observing and doing.
Category
By Lisa Stoner, Friday, January 15, 2010
Consistency in the Office—Part 2
The phrase I want to key in on here is, “in the way.” It says, “I am here.” Sometimes my dog is in the way. She is blocking the path on which I want to walk. In this post, “In the way,” doesn’t mean being an obstruction, but it means you can find me and I am approachable.
Category
By Lisa Stoner, Friday, January 8, 2010
Consistency in the Office—Part 1
The dictionary is one of my favorite resources for unlocking the meaning of Bible words. Recently, I studied the word consistency. If, before I started studying the word, you asked me what consistency meant I would have said
Category
By Dr. Jerry Goddard, Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Taking Inventory of Your Classes
Do you know what your third grade teacher is teaching this week? What bulletin boards are on the walls of your seventh grade homeroom? How has the rowdy student in tenth grade been behaving lately?
Category