executive reports
Category: Office
March 9, 2010Leading a Holistic Church Staff
Focusing on individual gifts may yield better results.
Charlie couldn’t lead the church staff. The harder he tried, the more he failed. With 3,000 people in worship each week, the church seemed healthy. The staff, however, seemed emotionally sick and suffered from high turnover. When people left the church staff, they invariably stepped out of full-time ministry. Former staff members expressed bitterness and unhappiness with how they were treated. Charlie knew his ministry was failing. He couldn’t lead and mentor the staff. Charlie couldn’t release the staff to each person’s potential, fully using their gifts for ministry in the church.
Stories like Charlie’s always get our attention, but they don’t provide much positive traction for growth.
I spent some time recently talking with some executive pastors of significant churches around the country to discover their best practices for leading staff. What I found surprised me—not the best practices themselves, but the fact that my independent interviews, without any prodding by me, all connected to one common thread: holistic staffs.
Let’s look at how these leaders develop and oversee holistic staffs, and the lessons we can learn from them for our own ministries:
Responding to Negative Coverage in the Media
Two church communications professionals offer tips.
Editor’s Note: On February 4, a local television station ran a story about Ed Young and Fellowship Church, the Grapevine, Texas, where he leads. The piece, citing anonymous former staff members, among others, suggests Young leads a lavish lifestyle. Young responded that same day through a post entitled “No Secrets,” on his blog, then addressed it from the pulpit on February 8.
Kevin Hendricks from ChurchMarketingSucks.com, the blog for the non-profit Center for Church Communication, took the opportunity to ask a bigger question—when a church faces negative coverage in the media, how should it respond? Below is an excerpt of the interview Hendricks did with Kem Meyer, the communications director at Granger Community Church in Indiana, and Kent Shaffer, the founder of Church Relevance (you can also read the full version):
If your church were attacked in the local media, how would you respond? We asked two Center for Church Communication board members, Kent Shaffer and Kem Meyer, to offer their perspective:
Continue reading "Responding to Negative Coverage in the Media" »
Church Finances Remain Pinched in Early 2010
Nearly a third say December giving fell short of expectations.
A “new normal” is emerging in the church world when it comes to giving, budgets, and generosity initiatives, according to an ongoing survey conducted by Maximum Generosity and Christianity Today International’s Church Finance Today and Leadership journal.
Nearly 800 churches have responded so far to the second annual “State of the Plate.”
Five major developments are emerging from the survey, which asks church leaders and pastors to report on how their giving efforts concluded in 2009 and began in 2010:
1) The poor economy is hurting a growing number of churches. While the headlines may say the economy is improving, its impact hasn’t shown up yet in the offering plate:
- The number of churches reporting a decline in giving this past year has increased to nearly 36 percent of churches surveyed, compared to 29 percent at the same time a year ago.
- Only 38 percent of churches saw giving increase this past year, compared to 47 percent a year ago.
2) Many churches say December year-end giving fell short. While Rick Warren’s December appeal to more than 100,000 e-mail recipients helped his church adequately close the gap on a year-end budget shortfall, many other churches weren’t so fortunate. In the “State of the Plate,” 30 percent of churches surveyed said that their December year-end giving “missed” their expectations. Only 24 percent of churches indicated that year-end giving surpassed their expectation. With nearly a third missing expectations at the end of 2009, many churches likely entered 2010 looking for ways to slow their church spending.
Continue reading "Church Finances Remain Pinched in Early 2010" »
Stetzer: Churches Struggle with Fostering Young Leaders
Research on how well churches are developing the next generation.
Recently, LifeWay Research surveyed pastors about the church's leadership development and mission. We asked them to rate their agreement in the following three areas:
1) Investing in leaders through the church
The survey asked pastors to respond to this statement: "I am intentionally investing in leaders who will emerge over the next ten years."
Pastors strongly believe they are doing just that—67 percent strongly agreed and 26 percent somewhat agreed. Wow! That's 93 percent who are convinced that they are investing in emerging leaders. They also affirmed that the church has a responsibility to develop future leaders.
But when asked to evaluate how well the church is accomplishing the task of leadership development, most agreed, but not nearly as enthusiastically. We posed this statement: "The church does a good job fostering and developing new leaders." This time 26 percent strongly agreed and 52 percent somewhat agreed, a drop in overall agreement of 15 percent. In addition, a significant amount of disagreement starts to appear—21 percent either somewhat or strongly disagreed with the statement.
While pastors believe that the church is a place where leaders need to be developed and they see themselves investing in this task, they generally recognize a real deficit in the church's effectiveness in accomplishing it. Although efforts are being made, pastors are not confident that the church is nurturing and growing new leaders adequately.
This article first appeared in our sister publication Leadership journal. Continue reading "Good News, Bad News in Raising Leaders," on LeadershipJournal.net, where the full version appears for free.
How One Question Can Make the Recession an Ally
A Harvard concept may help churches clarify, prioritize
During this season of economic turmoil and ambiguity, one question may have the power to bring clarity—and better priority-setting—for the churches where executive pastors, business administrators, and pastors serve.
That question: What exactly are we trying to accomplish?
David Fletcher, the executive pastor of The Chapel in Akron, Ohio, and a Your Church contributing editor, shared the question last week at his annual XPastor.org conference in Dallas, where about 125 people gathered.
The concept, dubbed “Question Zero,” comes from the Harvard Business School. Fletcher said the timing couldn’t be better for churches to use it. In good times, church leaders usually ask how to make a program or event bigger and better, or how to create the next big thing. But this often results in a focus on “the number of cups of coffee served, rather than the number of people who come back for a second cup,” he told participants.
“We get confused when we try to cater to people,” he said. “We lose track of our mission … How are lives being changed?”
Now, with the hardest economic environment to hit the United States since the Great Depression, church leaders have an opportunity to establish a better focus. “You want the recession to help your church,” Fletcher said.
Continue reading "How One Question Can Make the Recession an Ally" »
Top 10 Leadership Books from 2009
Useful titles for the inner and outer lives of church leaders.
Pastors and church leaders are bombarded by the myriad books published every year and don't have the time and resources required to sift through, purchase, and read all that are of interest. For this reason, Leadership journal (a sister publication of Your Church magazine at Christianity Today International) released the Golden Canon Awards. This is a collection of the top 10 books most valuable for church leaders from 2009.
The 2009 winners were selected by a diverse group of more than 100 pastors and leaders, including contributing editors to Leadership journal. The list divides into two different sections—the leader's inner life that focuses on communion with God, and the leader's outer life that points to church leadership's best practices.
The top inner life book for 2009: Knowing Christ Today: Why we can trust spiritual knowledge, by Dallas Willard (HarperOne).
The top outer life book for 2009: Deep Church: A third way beyond emerging and traditional, by Jim Belcher (IVP).
To view all of the Golden Canon Awards, pick up a free trial of Leadership Journal or see the entire list of winners on LeadershipJournal.net.
"There are countless books published for pastors each year, and we appreciate the chance to recognize and honor those most deserving of attention," says Marshall Shelley, Leadership journal's editor. "We feel these books provide clarity and wisdom in presenting the gospel and leading a church wisely and well."
Discerning Eyes for Church Law, Finance, and Administration
Known, respected leaders to help guide CTI resources.
Christianity Today International's church management division, which publishes Your Church magazine, the Church Law & Tax Report and Church Finance Today newsletters, plus resources, such as the annual Church & Clergy Tax Guide and ChurchSafety.com, recently formed two important boards for its publications and resources.
CTI invited well-known and well-respected members from church legal and financial circles to an Editorial Advisory Board to bring authoritative and qualified eyes to its work.
The 14 advisors will regularly contribute to the church management division’s publications, websites, and resources, and also will regularly provide ideas, thoughts, and feedback, shaping the articles, videos, books, blog posts, and other resources that guide church leaders on important legal, financial, safety, and administrative decisions.
Noted church and business leaders who will lend their expertise include:
Continue reading "Discerning Eyes for Church Law, Finance, and Administration" »
New Survey on Church Staffing
Understanding how lean personnel costs are--or aren't.
How lean is your church staff? How does it compare with other church staffs? If you've ever wondered about these questions, here's your chance to find out.
The editors of Christianity Today International's Your Church magazine and Leadership Journal are collaborating with Leadership Network to learn about healthy ways churches keep staff costs down. If you'll take a few minutes to tell us about your church, you'll receive a copy of the findings, showing you what other churches have said.
Your replies will be held in the strictest confidence. The final report, and any subsequent articles and presentations, only will give group totals.
Please complete the survey by January 25, 2010. If you have questions or comments, there is contact information provided on the first survey page.
Your Church's Top 10 Articles of 2009
Looking back at the articles you read most this past year.
Last week, we wrote about the Top 10 most-read posts on TheYourChurchBlog.com during 2009. This week, we're taking a look at the Top 10 most-read articles from YourChurch.net, the website for Your Church magazine.
For a year riddled with bad economic news, there are a few surprises in these results (hint: Our No. 1 ranked story has nothing to do with the economy, or finances for that matter). What can we conclude from this? Probably not much. Except the fact that church administrators, executive pastors, pastors, and lay leaders wrestle with a variety of challenging, and often complicated, questions on a wide array of topics.
As a not-for-profit ministry, Christianity Today International is thankful it's in a position to help you answer these questions through Your Church, YourChurch.net, and TheYourChurchBlog.com, as well as Church Law & Tax Report, Church Finance Today, ChurchSafety.com, BuildingForMinistry.com, and YourChurchResources.com.
It's our desire to help you keep your church safe, legal, and financially sound. Here's looking forward to 2010!
And now, the Top 10 most-read articles on YourChurch.net during 2009:
10. Why Church Secretaries Quit
The Top 10 Church Administration Posts for '09
A look at the hottest topics facing pastors and administrators.
As 2009 draws to a close, here's a fun look back at the year's 10 most-read posts on TheYourChurchBlog.com. Doing this kind of review often helps us understand the most pressing issues facing church administrators, executive pastors, pastors, and leaders.
And, it's a nice way to showcase topics that you may have missed the first time around.
Here's the Top 10:
10. How to Interview Your Next Church
9. Report: Giving Steady at Two-Thirds of Churches
7. Free Excerpt: The Essential Guide to Church Finances
6. 5 Leadership Books Worth Reading
Continue reading "The Top 10 Church Administration Posts for '09" »
Zero Tolerance for Church Embezzlement
Extended sentences put churches on notice.
A sad story emerged last week out of Indiana, where a 37-year-old woman accused of stealing more than $350,000 from a church while working there as an employee received the maximum sentence allowed by the state.
According to an article in the Greencastle Banner-Graphic, the local paper, the woman was convicted on six counts of Class C felony charges and six counts of Class D felony theft, resulting in 10 years in the state jail, followed by 5 years of probation.
The woman began stealing from the church shortly after getting hired in late 2004 as the church's financial and administrative secretary, according to the article. She forged signatures on 192 checks, doctored bank receipts to cover it up, and also made unauthorized charges on church credit cards, the paper said.
This case is similar to one covered by Richard Hammar in November's Church Finance Today in which a woman employed as a church office manager for seven years stole $450,000. She received a 15-year sentence, which included an upward adjustment "for misrepresenting that she was acting on behalf of her church," according to the article.
What's the takeaway for church leaders from these cases? Aside from the need to implement strong financial controls, if such controls aren't already in place, Richard explains three reasons why church leaders should learn from cases like these:
Resolving Conflict in the Church Office
5 ways to biblically approach a disagreement
The scenario that got both Sally and Jim both terminated from their company could have run like this:
Jim: All I said was that I needed the documents, completed and signed, by tomorrow night.
Sally: Don’t tell me that’s all you said. You demanded it!
Jim: I asked nicely.
Sally: Yes, but when my boss was here you kissed up to him really well and then asked me nicely. But your e-mail screamed at me.
Jim: Well, you made me do it because you didn’t write back to me.
Sally: I’m your boss and don’t have to get back to you. I tell you what to do.
And so it went, until the screaming attracted the attention of the entire office. Most office conflict doesn’t spiral out of control. But everyone has a conflict in the office from time to time. Even if you don’t have frequent conflict with others, you will be around people who do disagree with one another.
In office conflicts, there are “only” three major causes of conflict. If your office has any of the following, then you will have conflict:
• Money
• Power
• People
Humor aside, everybody is going to have conflict. The book of James gives another example of the source of conflict:
What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. —James 4:1–2 (NIV)
Conflict begins when someone shares their salary with a co-worker, who then becomes envious of the other. Or, one person gets a promotion, while the one who doesn’t takes out their angst on the new boss. It also can start when a subordinate continually makes insulting jokes and jabs, undermining morale.
What should we do when conflict happens? Here are some typical steps to consider when conflict happens in your office:
Continue reading "Resolving Conflict in the Church Office" »
5 Leadership Books Worth Reading
Among the crowded field of books on leadership, some stand out.
Recently I talked with a senior partner of TAG Consulting, Kurt Andre. Among his many talents, Kurt is a certified Executive Leadership Coach. So I asked him which books on leadership he finds the most helpful. Here are his top 5:
1. Leadership Without Easy Answers, by Ronald A. Heifetz
Seminary equipped me to do many things, but not to tackle the complex challenges in leading the church. Heifetz distinguishes between problems that can be solved through expertise (technical problems) and problems that require innovative approaches, including preserving a church’s unique identity or code and the consideration of the church’s values (adaptive problems). For the church, an adaptive problem could include engaging a community whose demographic no longer reflects the church, buildings whose structure no longer meet the needs of today’s ministry, or navigating the tension between discipleship and outreach. Heifetz identifies four major strategies of leadership: (1) approach problems as adaptive challenges, and diagnose the situation in light of the values involved; (2) regulate the "heat in the kitchen" caused by confronting issues that increase people’s anxiety, by pacing the congregation through change; (3) focus on what is important versus what others say is important to them, and (4) shift the ownership for problems from the leadership (the pastor or elders/deacons or council) to all those affected by the necessary change.
How to Interview Your Next Church
A seasoned executive pastor shares how he learned about his next job.
One day, I received an e-mail from a senior pastor I didn’t know who leads The Chapel, an 11,000-person church in Ohio. As the founder of XPastor.org, I get a good number of “can you help me?” e-mails. In this case, Paul was looking for a new executive pastor. As I always do, I replied with some ideas on how to find one.
Paul wrote back with more thoughts, and before long, we sensed God was doing something. We began to talk about me coming to partner with him as his executive pastor. This caused me to shift from being an impartial consultant to being personally involved!
Before I took off my XPastor.org hat, I planned how best to approach an interview process. My conclusion: Although this church’s leaders needed to interview me, it was vital that I interview them, too!
Todd Wagner, the lead pastor of Watermark Community Church in Dallas, once said, “The best place to get fired is in the interview.”
The place to determine “fit” is in the interview, not in the first six months of the new ministry. I had to interview The Chapel so that I could determine my fit.
10 Questions to Ask About Your Church’s Communications
Use these to help determine direction and strategy in the year ahead
Editor’s Note: Scott Vaughn, a church communications consultant, recently posed these questions in a discussion forum for church administrators. Vaughn, whose firm helps churches and faith organizations, is quoted extensively in “Bringing Joy to the World: A communications strategy to reach more people at Christmas—and beyond,” which appears in our current issue of Your Church magazine. We thought the questions serve as a helpful, quick assessment for church leaders and administrators; many of the themes addressed here also are covered in other articles of our current issue, including best practices for websites and using tech and nontech approaches for communicating with members and the community:
As you approach 2010, consider these 10 questions to discuss your church’s communication efforts:
1. How does our current communications methodology compare to what we were
doing five years ago? Are we changing with the way people in our church are
communicating?
2. Do we talk about a communications budget as an expense or an investment? Are
we strategic in using our communication to advance our mission to make
followers of Jesus? (Remember, a successful communications strategy leads to increases in participation and giving to the budget).
3. Are we talking with, and listening to, our members and attendees and making
adjustments in how they want to “receive” information from us?
4. Is more than 50 percent of our communications budget needlessly paying printing costs?
Continue reading "10 Questions to Ask About Your Church’s Communications" »
Top 5 Reasons Churches Wind Up in Court
Current legal trends that can help your church assess its vulnerabilities.
For many years, I've closely reviewed litigation involving churches to identify patterns that pastors and leaders can use to assess their own risks and potential vulnerabilities. In 2008, the following five types of cases brought churches to court more than any others:
1. Sexual Abuse of a Minor (15 percent of cases). Sadly, this type of case is typically the No. 1 or No. 2 reason churches wind up in court every year.
2. Property Disputes (13 percent of cases).
3. Zoning (10 percent of cases).
4. Personal Injury (9 percent of cases). This is a Top 4 issue every year.
5. Tax (7 percent of cases).
Based on this ongoing analysis, churches should note the following major risk categories they face and work to evaluate (and to minimize) their own risks:
Continue reading "Top 5 Reasons Churches Wind Up in Court" »
Simple Tips to Prepare for a Pandemic
Guidance for churches as the H1N1 virus spreads.
As a ministry leader, you may be wondering what you can do to keep your congregation healthy. Here are some important steps you can take to reduce the spread of the flu within your own faith community.
Read through the tips below, then take our free online assessment to see if your church is ready to communicate to staff and congregants during a pandemic.
From there, check out our electronic training resource, "Preparing Your Church for a Pandemic," on ChurchSafety.com.
Ways to Help the Unemployed at Your Church
Practical steps for churches to reach the unemployed--and the underemployed.
The ABC News affiliate serving the Rochester, Minnesota, area posted a piece earlier this week highlighting the efforts of some local churches to help the unemployed. The article makes an interesting point about the challenges presented by unemployment to an area, as well as underemployment--the number of workers who take part-time or low-paying jobs to help make ends meet as they seek permanent employment in their careers of choice.
I'm guessing the never-ending stream of daily and weekly media reports about unemployment probably have turned the issue into the equivalent of static in your eyes and ears, as it has for me. It's vital we not forget the need to administer outreach programs to people in our congregations and communities right now.
In the July/August 2009 issue of Your Church, we covered the multiple ways churches can serve as the unemployment rate reaches 10 percent (or more) around the country. You can find the article here, and an accompanying box listing the efforts of more than a dozen churches here.
Consider Adding Windows 7
Church offices should benefit from Microsoft’s new operating system.
Ministry Business Services Inc., the church consulting firm I started in the 1980s, began testing Microsoft Corporation’s Windows 7 Professional in January. On Tuesday, MBS announced it adopted Windows 7 Professional as its preferred operating system, and it recommends churches to do the same.
This may surprise some, since the challenges with Microsoft’s Windows Vista, the preceding operating system, have been many. Clarence White, the chief information officer for the Salvation Army’s western territory, even asked me on a recent podcast if MBS really believed in Windows 7 Professional. The answer is yes. I told him it’s almost like Vista was a beta for Windows 7, or that Windows 7 is the first service pack for Vista that really fixes it.
Corporate customers have embraced Windows 7’s release as well. The Gartner Group recently said the operating system is ready (Gartner also recommends a 12- to 18-month integration process, saying earlier this month that organizations should start now), and a recent Softchoice study with ComputerWorld found that 88 percent of corporate PCs are capable of running Windows 7. That means many churches and ministries likely are in a position to upgrade to it as well.
Get Organized!
Tips and tricks from an efficiency expert.
A number of years ago, my church needed an office manager. Aware of my experience as an executive assistant, the pastor offered me the job. I was looking for change, so this new position seemed like a win-win. After my first day, I wondered what I had gotten myself into!
I discovered an office devoid of any filing system or operational procedures for managing daily tasks. Disorder abounded! Feeling claustrophobic from the piles of decades-old church bulletins, and other useless “stuff,” I rolled up my sleeves and set to work on an extreme organizational make-over of our church office.
Today there are whole companies devoted to creating manageable office environments that promote efficiency. Ultimately, efficiency is the end product of organization. According to Monica Friel, CEO (that’s Chief Executive Organizer) of Chaos to Order, “employees lose an average of six weeks per year looking for documents.”
That’s six weeks per year per employee! The cost to companies (and church offices) is enormous, and in these hard economic times as we see more businesses metaphorically “clean house,” perhaps it also makes good, financial sense to reclaim the literal meaning and actually clean house.
Where Do We Begin?
Organizing for better efficiency may be divided into three parts: the physical environment, attitudes, and maintenance. Like any major undertaking that requires change, it’s also important to enlist support. Don’t set out to do an overhaul of your office systems without first meeting with the person in charge of your church office. As much as possible, keep this individual involved in the step-by-step changes taking place.
Is This Gossip?
9 questions to help you decide.
Vulnerability, our theme this week, is the degree of openness between oneself and others. Finding the right degree is a balancing act. A related challenge in ministry is confidentiality—that is, how open can you be about someone else? These nine questions can help you decide whether what you know should be shared.
1. Am I telling this to someone who can do something about the problem by helping the person or offering discipline or correction?
Continue reading at Off the Agenda for the other eight questions that can help you decide whether what you know should be shared.
Raising the Bar in Tough Times
How church administrators can prove—and increase—the worth of their roles.
In this uncertain economy, with so many churches scrambling to reduce expenses, the role of the church administrator inevitably will come under the bright light of scrutiny. Because of this uncertainty, church administrators need to spend time reflecting on ways to showcase—and increase—our value to the churches we serve.
Nearly half of the 1,168 churches surveyed by Your Church magazine earlier this year indicated giving at their churches was on the decline (click here for the full report). Personnel costs usually consume between 45 percent and 60 percent of a church’s budget, so that makes it fertile ground for reducing expenses. And as a senior pastor or key decision-maker looks across the staff, the cost of the church administrator might appear more tempting a fruit to pluck off the vine than other staff positions because the perception is that the administrator does not have the direct impact on ministry that other church positions offer.
The administrator usually doesn’t preach, doesn’t counsel, doesn’t meet with new families, doesn’t lead programs, or possess nearly as public of a face as other staff members. It could be suggested, albeit incorrectly in my opinion, that a church could release a church administrator and not see a direct impact to the ongoing ministries of the church. That kind of reasoning is wholly short-sighted, but perhaps understandable in tough economic times like these.
That’s why we must demonstrate our value and find ways to further expand that value, not just to lessen the likelihood we’ll lose our jobs, but also for the far more noble desire to increase our impact in Christ’s Kingdom. We want to become more valuable because we can and, because in so doing, we’ll gain the fulfillment that comes from knowing we have made a difference in our world through the Gospel.
The role of church administrator is one of efficiency and productivity. It allows the church organization to function smoothly and effectively. It involves processes and systems that indirectly, yet significantly, impact the people we serve in our churches. The church administrator often works behind the scenes to ensure resources are wisely and efficiently used. The church administrator also creates and implements policies and systems that promote harmony, decrease ambiguity and confusion, and allow for greater productivity and impact toward the church’s mission.
Here’s how to showcase these very important qualities and raise the bar even higher:
Responding to Drop-In Visitors
Most church office staff interact with a large number of drop-in visitors. These are often congregational members who come to the church for a specific reason, but then end up in the church office. These conversations can be helpful in building relationships, but sometimes they can prevent the staff from getting work done. This case study examines that concern. Read the following case study and respond in the "comments" section on this blog.
Stacy is working on a mailing for the Sunday School staff. During the last 35 minutes, at least 3 congregational members have dropped in the office, and one elderly member of the congregation phoned. In each case, the members chatted for a few minutes about this and that, nothing really important. The elderly person calls on a regular basis, and just likes to visit.
Stacy wants to be sensitive to congregational members, but is unsure how to minimize visits when she has other work that needs to be done. What would you suggest?
Using Routines to Organize Your Work
Every so often, we should examine the relationship between how we organize our work and how effective we are at getting our work done in an efficient and effective manner. Clearly, many ways exist to organize work, but they are not all equal. Some ways may actually add to our stress and make our work more difficult. Read the following case study and respond in the comments section on this blog.
Stacy arrives at the church office each morning around 8:30 A.M. She usually follows a routine of turning on the copy machine, making some coffee, checking her e-mail and reviewing her to-do list for the day. Often, though, she feels disorganized. It's not long before people are starting to drop by, the phone is ringing, and she finds herself continuously getting up and down
to get this or that.
What can Stacy do to better organize her time, her work, and herself? What routines do you follow that help you get your work done better? Do you have a morning routine, an afternoon routine, a daily, weekly, or monthly routine?
Pinched Paychecks
Survey: Pastors, church staff nationwide see slight pay declines.
About half the nation’s full-time pastors report they received no salary increase in the past year, continuing a downturn in salaries among top leaders in churches, according to a new survey published by Christianity Today International. In fact, the extensive survey, publishing this fall in the 2010-2011 Compensation Handbook for Church Staff, shows a slight decline or stall in pay levels for the majority of every church employee surveyed this year.
The Compensation Handbook was developed to provide church leaders and employees with a current and reliable picture of compensation practices across a broad spectrum of American churches. It presents survey data from nearly 5,000 churches representing more than 10,000 staff members in 13 ministry positions, both full-time and part-time, ranging from pastors to childcare positions. The survey was conducted in February and March from subscribers of various Christianity Today International magazines, e-newsletters, and web channels, including Church Law & Tax Report, Church Finance Today, and Leadership, a journal for pastors and church leaders.
Among the findings:
• After a slight bump up in salaries in 2008, the new survey finds a small decline reported in 2009.
What Computers and Phones Do Church Staff Need?
Answers to common questions about computers and phones.
Editor’s Note: The author’s consulting firm doesn’t sell or distribute any hardware or software, or receive any compensation for referrals. The firm’s work for many years with hundreds of churches led to the recommendations outlined here.
Many people make one of two mistakes about church technology needs. Either they underestimate the need and look for the cheapest possible solution (which often costs more because it’s the wrong solution), or they overspend on technology and overcomplicate the system.
We’ll look at some common questions regarding two office technology tools—desktop and notebook computers and mobile devices (such as smart phones)—with the hope that church leaders can avoid these mistakes on two essential categories of purchases.
Outside of megachurches, churches rarely have the budget for Information Technology staff. Some larger churches can add part-time staff to help support the technology needs of pastors and office personnel, but outside of that, most churches are best served by simple system and hardware strategies that increase reliability, which means less need for support.
When hardware purchases are strategized, they can drastically reduce the need for support and improve team productivity. And that’s especially important given our missions to share the Gospel and disciple believers.
The answers to these questions can help with those strategies for buying hardware:
Continue reading "What Computers and Phones Do Church Staff Need?" »
resources catalog
resources
Poll
When it comes to persuading others about big-ticket purchases, which person (or group) is the toughest for you to convince?
- The senior pastor.
- The executive pastor.
- The bookkeeper/treasurer.
- The church board.
- A purchasing committee.
- The congregation.
