Church employees often wear many hats and juggle countless responsibilities. Creating church staff job descriptions is one way to help keep employees focused on the most important tasks that support global ministry goals and objectives.
Working for a church is very different than working for a business in that much of what gets done in church is tied to helping other people in times of need. This creates a unique dynamic not seen in many other organizations. For this reason, the responsibilities of a church employee may be a moving target depending on what the church is involved with at any particular moment in time.
Creating a church personnel job description should not be overly complicated but should clearly define what is expected of the employee and help the employee understand what the priorities are and how those responsibilities support the mission of the church. Job descriptions and employee goals should also be incorporated into an employee annual performance appraisal process.
An important step in developing an employee job description is identifying which strategic goals or objectives need to be accomplished. For example, if there is an organizational goal to create a volunteer program to support approval and placing of volunteers, that can flush out specific responsibilities for a job description.
A written job description is a document that lays out in detail the purpose of the position, reporting relationship and responsibilities.
The following job description example lays out key responsibilities for an employee responsible for the volunteer management role.
Job descriptions should be updated on an annual basis and should be part of the performance appraisal process. It should also be tied to individual goals which should support departmental and ultimately global church strategic goals.
Common job description mistakes:
- Failing to update them annually.
- Not observing what employees do on a day-to-day basis as compared to what is written in the job description.
- Not tying job description to departmental goals and ultimately church goals.
- Not holding employees accountable for annual goals.
Well written church employee job descriptions help ensure employees understand what is expected of them and gives them an understanding of how what they do supports the church mission. But more importantly, well defined job descriptions can help churches achieve their goals, strategic plans and ultimately their mission.
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