Churches get their act together

There are delegates from the St Albans and Harpenden area as well as staff from as far away as Belfast, Truro and Lancaster.

A growing number of congregations now employ operations staff as well as administrators. 

I’ll be mixing with people who have major responsibilities in churches of 250, 500 or over 1,000 members.

Some of them have left lucrative careers in business to take a big pay cut as they help a church manage its human and physical resources well. 

Their responsibilities include helping congregations to plan ahead, co-ordinate their activities, use IT wisely, employ staff properly, manage their buildings efficiently and several oversee digital communications and social media.

This may sound far removed from the typical buffoon of a Vicar and small, elderly congregation that some parts of the media portray.  But it’s the reality for many churches today.

Does this represent a loss of spiritual values?  Are these churches playing big business?

Far from it!  Many larger churches today need to be run to a high degree of operational efficiency if their work of reaching out to those in need and proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ is to have credibility in today’s society.

Then clergy can be set free from administrative concerns to fulfil their real responsibilities of leadership, teaching, care and outreach, so enabling Christian disciples to make an impact in their local communities and other networks.
 

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