There are currently over 380,000 churches running across the United States. Every single one of these should, in theory, provide a place of refuge and celebration to its congregation. Each church should be a place of community and support for its members.
However, the number of Americans turning to the church for support and guidance is steadily falling. At the moment, only 47% of Americans feel that religion is an important part of daily life. This means that your faith management style is more important than ever before.
This will ensure that your church is and continues to be a safe, welcoming, and friendly place for anyone who needs it. So where do you begin?
Read on to find out everything you need to know about how to manage a church.
Table of Contents
Put People First
When you think about managing and looking after your church, the people who visit it might not always be at the top of your to-do list. However, your members are the lifeblood of your church so it is important to put them first.
When improving congregation management you might want to consider how you:
- Turn visitors into church members
- Promote healthy communication with your congregation
- Support any church members who are in need
- Ensure that your services are accessible for all
- Address local and global issues
- Use social media to create an online presence
This will help to improve the relationship between your church and its congregation and might bring more visitors to your church.
Support Your Pastor
Your pastor has a lot of face time with your congregation so it is important to support them in delivering their duties.
This might mean giving them plenty of time to write their sermons. Or it might involve giving them practical and emotional support when they need it.
Delegating tasks throughout your church can help to take all the pressure off your pastor. This means that they can focus on performing their role to the best of their ability.
Appreciate Your Volunteers
Volunteers are a key part of all church management. After all, you often have a very tight budget to work with and they can save you a lot of money.
Because of this, it’s a good idea to set time aside to recruit, train, and support volunteers when they need it. Having quality volunteers will make running your church much easier. Speaking to your existing volunteers will help you gauge what does or doesn’t work.
Remember to show your appreciation for all the work that your volunteers do. Your church really couldn’t run without them.
Get on Top of Your Finances
Running and managing a church is always going to cost you money and staying on top of your finances is absolutely essential. This improves transparency and trust between you and your congregation and helps you stay within budget.
Church management software can help you quickly digitalize and manage your church’s finances. This includes keeping records of any donations and creating saving pots for different projects.
It is also a good idea to create an emergency-saving pot for your church and its congregation. This can come in handy if disaster strikes and the church (or its congregation) need extra support.
Keep the Paperwork in Order
On the topic of admin, church management systems are vital if you are going to stay on top of your paperwork.
This makes managing day-to-day tasks a lot easier. After all, you’ll save a lot of time if you know where all your paperwork is stored. Keeping thorough records also makes it easier to hand over church management if you move on or have to take a break.
It might take you a bit of time to figure out a system that works but it is worth doing this when you start managing a church. Church management software can also help you figure out the best system for managing paperwork.
Take Care of Your Facilities
Your facilities are the face of your church so it is important to look after them properly. Taking the right precautions by keeping the place clean and sanitized including church seats and the surroundings. Taking care of them also means that they will last longer, so you’ll save money in the long run.
Facility management might mean spending money to fix a minor problem in order to stop it from turning into a major one. Getting insurance for your church can help to absorb some of the larger costs of this.
Taking care of your facilities is also a matter of health and safety for anyone who uses them. The last thing you want is a member of your church getting hurt due to poor maintenance.
You might want to hire a facilities manager to help with this. If you don’t have the budget then this is where volunteers can make a world of difference.
Look Out for the Vulnerable
Your church should be a place of refuge and this means that you have to look out for vulnerable members of society. This includes caring for children, old people, people with disabilities, or people who are unwell.
Having proper safeguarding measures in place will ensure that these vulnerable people receive appropriate care and support. This includes:
- Screening your staff and volunteers
- Having regular safeguarding training for your staff and volunteers
- Providing a list of helpful contacts to reach out to if necessary (such as child protection services)
- Keeping a list of useful resources up to date
- Having a child protection plan in place
- Creating an allegation response plan
- Thoroughly investigating and suspending anyone accused of abuse or negligent behavior
- Offering training on how to work with and support vulnerable people
This also means that all of your staff and volunteers will know exactly how to deal with someone who is in a vulnerable situation.
Get Help With Your Faith Management Today
When it comes to faith management, organization is key. Keeping on top of your church maintenance tasks will also free up even more time for engaging with your congregation. So what are you waiting for?
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