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How to Support a Growing Church

Jesus admonished us to listen carefully to His words and obey His teaching to withstand life’s storms. We typically think of storms as situations such as an illness, financial difficulties, strained relationships, etc. However, storms can come with something wonderful such as a rapidly growing church. “We’re struggling to build any momentum at all and you’re warning us about a ‘storm’ of church growth?” Yes, and here’s why: Let’s say you have a church of 500 people and within a couple of months, that number goes up to 600. Six months later, you’re at 800…then 930…then 1,000. That’s great…right?! Of course, that’s an amazing growth spurt for any church and should be celebrated. As you rejoice, you’ll need to determine how to effectively support a larger congregation. Areas to Review for a Growing Church: #1 – Child Care How many more children need care in the nursery and how many more volunteers does that require? Do you have enough cribs, changing tables, toys, and space available? #2 – Ministry Programs & Groups More people typically means a more diverse set of expectations and needs. If you didn’t have a divorce care program before, you may have several people with the need for that assistance now. Consider starting or adding small groups to serve new members. #3 – Data Management Do you have a church database (ChMS) to record contact information, small group assignments, volunteer roles, etc.? #4 – Facility Capacity Does your current parking area have the capacity for additional cars? Also, is your sanctuary large enough to handle more attendees or should you add a service? #5 – Accounting More people also means (hopefully) more tithes and (definitely) more expenses. Is your accounting team equipped to handle these changes? #6 – Volunteers You’ll likely need more volunteers to serve a larger congregation. Do you already have a clear process in place for new people to become members, discover their gifts, and start serving? As you can see, there are many changes that result from a growing church. Seeing more people commit their lives to Christ or simply start attending church consistently again is a wonderful thing. Prepare for this influx ahead of time by thinking through the above items (and that’s certainly not an exhaustive list). As the church grows, you want to be well-equipped to serve a larger congregation with excellence and get them engaged in ministry. It’s not about seeing more people in the seats each week, it’s about providing an environment where they can grow in their relationship with God and be equipped for ministry. That requires preparation on the part of church staff and key volunteers. It can be detailed, hard work but it most certainly is worth the effort to build a solid foundation for a growing church. In the Church Operations Toolkit, members follow a Church Operations Growth Path that includes a list of tasks to complete at each level of a church’s operational journey. Members can also access resources to help them complete these tasks. Join us in the Church Operations Toolkit and use these resources to make supporting a growing church easier to manage.

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5 Church Administration Time-Saving Tools

Jake Douglas

Time. It’s the most precious commodity yet the one we have the least of. That’s why saving time is a constant goal for church leaders with busy schedules. One way to save time is by streamlining church administration tasks. When you work behind-the-scenes in the church office, you’ve got plenty of plates spinning. Coordinating events, fixing a website issue, plus a ton of other tasks are all in a day’s work. While I can’t trim your to-do list, I can recommend the following tools to make your job a bit easier. #1 – Project Management Software Asana, Basecamp, Trello, Monday, ClickUp, are a few of the excellent project management tools available. Most have a free or trial version you can use to see which one works best for you and your team. Complete the form below to receive a free Project Management Tools Overview guide (including information on the top software vendors): #2 – Expense Tracking App Keeping track of receipts for an expense report can be a pain. Instead of shuffling through your purse or wallet for that last receipt, use an app on your phone. Quickly snap a picture of a receipt immediately after making a purchase. Assign the appropriate expense code(s) and have a collection of electronic receipts ready for your next expense report. Staff members who forget receipts and finance team members responsible for collecting accurate data will all appreciate the convenience of an app. Two of the top contenders in this category are Divvy and Zoho Expense. #3 – Church Management System (ChMS) As a church grows, you need an easy way to maintain up-to-date records regarding church members and visitors. Contact information, family relationships, baptism dates, and more are a few examples of data you can use to minister to your congregation. A robust church management system enables your team to maintain accurate information, create follow-up workflows, keep tithe records, and more. There are many options available when it comes to ChMS tools. A few examples include Planning Center, Rock RMS, Fellowship One, Breeze, ACS, Elexio, ShelbyNext, Faith Teams, and TouchPoint. #4 – Facility Management Software From facility maintenance requests to tracking who reserved a room, facility management software can help your team stay on top of things. Smart Church Solutions has an excellent tool called eSPACE. Within this software, you can manage inventory, manage work orders, reserve facility rooms and resources, schedule preventative maintenance, and more. #5 – The Church Operations Toolkit At the risk of sounding self-promotional, the Church Operations Toolkit can save your church time and money. Within the Toolkit are templates, how-to guides, expert interviews, and resources to make church administration and operations tasks easier. Instead of spending hours searching online for a template, simply log into the Church Operations Toolkit and download one in minutes. There’s no magic formula to knocking out your to-do list (if only!). However, these are a few tools to make being productive a bit easier. Oh, and if you’re like me and consider coffee a productivity tool…Can I get an amen? 🙂

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Busting Church Administrator Myths

Jake Douglas

One way to thrive over the long-haul in ministry is to do more of what God gifted you to do and less of everything else. Many times, that means bringing people onto the team who can handle certain responsibilities for you. For example: If you’re passionate about preaching and counseling but freeze up anytime someone mentions developing a plan or a budget, a church administrator could be the perfect fit. However, church administrators tend to be misunderstood members of the church team, so I think it’s time for some myth-busting. Perhaps I’m a bit biased since I once worked in a ministry’s Finance department, but I think church administration folks are awesome! They keep many wheels turning in the background that support what happens on stage and at the altar each week. If you’re a pastor without someone (or a team of people) filling the church administration role, you’re likely feeling the strain from trying to do something you neither enjoy or are gifted to do. Here are a few myths about church administrators: Myth #1: All they care about are policies and procedures Yes, your church administrator is probably a stickler for certain processes (purchase requests come to mind!). However, it’s not because he thinks policies are the best thing ever…he’s simply trying to keep things running smoothly. If you don’t have a documented process for spending church dollars or for adding new members to the church database, you’ll see the downstream impacts. Too much spending one month could lead to not being able to make payroll the next (trust me…you won’t like that one!). If new members aren’t added correctly to the database, you’ll end up with multiple versions of them in the database or with each staff member who’s contacted them for volunteering or small group membership with their number on their cell phone. That’s not the end of the world, but it’s much more efficient to update information in one place instead of ten. What your church administrator really cares about is the same thing you do…people! They want ministry to happen for people to come to Christ, to become part of the community of believers, and to grow in their faith. They’re using their God-given talents to achieve that goal…it just looks different from yours. Myth #2: They relish the chance to squash your latest ministry idea If you’ve been turned down for renting a massive bouncy house plus paintball guns for a new youth event, yeah…you should’ve seen that one coming. Your church administrator doesn’t want a kid to be mid-bounce when the whole thing deflates from an errant paintball hit. She’s a bit safety conscious and is actually looking out for you (and your future employment). She doesn’t want to kill your idea; she just wants you to adjust it so everyone goes home in one piece. That’s actually pretty sweet of her, isn’t it? Myth #3: Church administrators are all about the Benjamin’s They’re the money-counters and record keepers; so sure, it looks like that’s all they focus on. However, that’s not even close to the truth. What they care about is making sure the church is being a good steward of the money God (and the congregation) entrusted to it. It’s actually a good thing they’re meticulous about the security and accountability involved in recording the offering each week along with how money is spent. Myth #4: They’re antisocial Okay, so it might be true that the church administration role attracts introverts. However, introverts aren’t antisocial…they just prefer interacting with small groups instead of big crowds. Invite your church administrator out for lunch with you and maybe 1-2 others. Do that a few times and once he’s warmed up to you, you might not be able to get him to stop talking. What’ll really be fun is when you hear his passion for ministry (see myth #1). Myth #5: They love Excel, charts, graphs, and details Hmmm…okay, so maybe this one isn’t a myth after all. But hey, it’s not that they LOVE these things, it’s that they know how these tools can support ministry. So the next time your church administrator geeks out about a new Excel formula, encourage her. “Hey, that’s awesome you got that formula to work and can calculate cash flow for the next 8 weeks in under ten seconds!” “Wow, you created a project plan with how many tasks for the couples’ retreat?! That’ll make putting it all together so much easier.” Even if you have no idea what she’s talking about, support her as she uses the gift of administration to make your job a bit easier. Church administration involves details, numbers, planning, coordinating, and lots of lists. It may not be your cup of tea, but it truly does support and make ministry possible. So while you may never fully understand what your church administrators do, be thankful that they are on the team. Their efforts may just save you from burnout as they plan and coordinate with you. Church Administrators – What other myths or misperceptions have you seen regarding your role in ministry?

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