Do you seek ways to make your church administration easier? Are you planning to begin a new ministry? You’ll need to have some basic church management skills.
First of all, bear in mind that managing the church is not always easy. Handling both the spiritual and physical aspects without allowing each to overshadow the other is somewhat exhausting, but it is worth doing.
Spiritually, the church’s goal is to serve God and expand His kingdom under the care of the church administrator. Acts 20:28 says, “Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His blood”.
On the physical aspect, the church is to be managed like a business in the hands of a merchant. Dr. Dwight Riddick of Gethsemane Baptist Church said, “Operate the church like a business? Yes, but elevate that. Operate the church as the Bible says. Good businesses get their ideas from the Bible. If the church does good Bible, it will do good business.”
10 essential church management skills for church admins
Having the spirit to preach God’s word is not the only factor that will enhance the church’s growth. There are some other management skills needed to run the affairs of the church properly. Here are
Good communication and interpersonal skills
When I talk of communication, I mean both oral and writing communication skills. Proper communication brings blessings and fastens church growth. An administrator should handle communication perfectly. By this, I mean
Know the word of God and be able to feed your congregation with it, that each time they listen to you, hope and happiness is rekindled genuinely.
Communicate effectively with co-pastors or administrators, church workers, members, and first-timers ( visitors ).
Possess a good sense of humor. Do not be too serious at all times. Smile, laugh, and chat at when due. Ecclesiastics 3:1-8 tells us that there is time for everything.
Hold meetings and relate church issues to other workers in the church for proper assistance.
Create a time when members can interact personally with you, youth can tell you their bothering issues, and the welfare committee can report the well-being of members.
Finance management skills
The church needs good financial management to grow. To manage the church, you must be good at handling money, providing strategies for its generation, and can channel it to relevant projects. An admin should be able to
Make a yearly budget to keep the church on track as in finance management
Understand the financial status of members and provide a fund-generating scheme that is not too exhausting.
Follow church fundraising strategically. Encourage tithing and donations while using some online means and platforms.
Employ the assistance of platforms like tithe.ly for proper finance management.
Time management skills
Time is very precious and should be managed properly. Time mismanagement is a deadly weapon that destroys an organized administration, not just churches but other firms and institutions inclusive. As an administrator, you must be very conscious of time, handling every matter in order of priority. Because there’s a lot of work to be done, time must not be wasted but properly managed. Proper time management entails that you;
Avoid lateness.
Delegate some tasks to other workers.
Create time to do the needful, such as praying, preparing sermons, counseling people, holding services, and attending functions and meetings.
Leadership and organizational abilities
A leader is in charge of directing and managing the affairs of his followers. An administrator must bear in mind that his the frontman of the church. The growth and downfall of the church are in his ability to organize and guide his workers and congregation. Being in charge doesn’t mean vocally professing it, but taking responsibility and ensuring that all is in order. A non-chaotic church requires that you
Ensure the spiritual and physical well-being of your congregation to your best level.
Value every member of your church.
Support volunteer groups
Protect the children and youths of your church.
Maintain confidentiality of all church administrative matters.
Facility management skills
The church consists of lots of facilities. It has a building(s), workers, social media platforms, digital or media equipment, musical instruments, and so on. An administrator must know how to manage all of these and ensure that they are in good condition to render their service every time duty calls. The admin should be able to
Set up committees to take charge of every property or director of each section like media and publications, events, and planning
Employ workers to clean the church surrounding if it can’t be voluntarily done
Supervise and review all data and records concerning the church facilities.
Logistical skills
A good administrator has logistical skills to smoothen all activities of the church. He should be able to
Plan and schedule different church activities.
Keep accurate records of church data or go through records normally.
Handle multiple tasks and as well delegate other tasks to other staff.
Manage information dissemination properly through publications, flyers, bulletin, letterheads, and so on.
Good tech/ IT skills
In this present era, it won’t be very easy for churches yet to embrace the wonders of technology. An administrator should be good at gadgets or technically inclined devices employed in the church. But if you aren’t good at it, have some capable hands in the area and delegate the work of managing the tech duties. With a good media crew, your services can be going live on your social media pages or YouTube channels. Even fundraising can be easier because the church would get a wider reach to people at faraway places.
Visionary and pioneering skills
The best quality of a good church admin is the ability and willingness to lead the church to greater heights. There must be a vision with which the church is working towards with the administrator to achieve. Being a pioneer entails that you will take the bold step towards achieving the set goal. It is also one of the qualities of a good leader. Despite that, it is not advisable to work alone but carry others along. By working together, the dream and goal of the church will be accomplished, and the kingdom of God on Earth will continue to expand.
Adaptation skills (skills of preparedness)
Change is very much constant, and you can never tell what is coming ahead of us. On this note, an administrator must be prepared for the worst. He is supposed to be flexible enough to adapt to different changes that come with time.
He must celebrate success when it comes.
Make necessary insurance in case of an accident
Have a second way out in every project in case of the sudden absence of important personnel.
Risk management skills
The church employs the attention and skills of the administrator in times of risks and emergencies. It is why the administrator needs to be strong and equipped with skills to manage risk. If risks can’t be avoided, they can be properly managed.
Bottom line
Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Church leadership and administration may not be easy, but our Lord Jesus Christ has given us a divine guide, the holy spirit, to help us and simplify the work. John14:16.
I hope the article has helped you pinpoint the skills you need to manage the church of God under your care.