I recently had someone ask me how often they should run criminal background checks on all volunteers.
The answer is, every volunteer should go through a thorough background screening as part of their volunteer application process and have it rechecked every couple of years.
Gone are the days when background checks were only done on people who work with children or contributions. Read the Full Article →
In Jim Collins book, Good-to-Great, he talks about using councils to help guide the organization.
Many churches use committees to serve this same purpose.
These councils or committees should be made up of a group of the right people to discuss, debate and make decisions about the operation of the organization.
People selected to serve on these committees should be those with knowledge, experience, and a passion for the topic. Read the Full Article →
I went to a conference earlier this year and rode the airport shuttle with one of the conference instructors. We debated the advantages and disadvantages of performance management.
When he learned that I was also attending the conference, we began talking about all sorts of things but performance management (PM) and more specifically performance appraisals (PA) came up.
He had very strong feelings about why he thought performance appraisals were a waste of time and ultimately added no value to the employee or organization. Read the Full Article →
Churches that have the resources to hire employees strive to have engaged employees by providing a great place to work.
One of the key indicators of engaged employee is competitive compensation. To keep salaries competitive, you will need to determine the annual salary increase.
Churches use personnel committees to help determine appropriate and fair compensation for church staff. And much of this work is done during the budgeting process. Read the Full Article →
Church leaders make decisions every day. These decisions are made about things like people (volunteers, employees, and members), money (budgeting, spending, saving), ministry programs, facilities, and the list goes one.
In Jim Collins’ classic book, Good to Great, he talks about using councils to help guide the organization.
These guiding church councils or committees should be made up of a group of the right people who can discuss, debate, and make decisions about the administration and management of the organization. Read the Full Article →
Talking money is simply an unpopular topic for ministries. However, it requires a diligent approach to managing finances to sustain a vibrant church.
Churches elect or assign members to serve on a Finance Committee.
This team of people is responsible for the management and responsible stewardship of church financial resources.
This crucial committee can have a significant influence on the sustained financial health and growth of church assets. Read the Full Article →
We know that it requires a lot of resources (people, time, and money) to operate a ministry. Each of these resources is valuable and need to be protected. Particulary, a church needs to safeguard its financial resources against embezzlement.
I was saddened to read about a neighborhood church, where my kids used to attend youth events, being yet another victim of church embezzlement. Read the Full Article →
Performance appraisals are a tool used to manage employees and ensure ministry goals are achieved.
We have created an example of a church employee performance appraisal form to help get you started.
The first step in creating a positive evaluation is to ensure that you have well-trained managers, a structured process to document employee performance and to administer the annual performance appraisals. Read the Full Article →
Critical Success Factors are what organizations use to measure its success.
Whether you are managing a restaurant, non-profit organization, or a church, it is important to know that you are focusing on those things that help move the organization closer to achieving its mission.
Anyone who manages an organization understands how challenging it is to stop the day-to-day tasks and check to see how well the organization is performing. Read the Full Article →
I recently had an email from a reader asking “who should make church decisions”? This is a loaded, but great question!
Churches are like many other organizations in that people have opinions and can have strong feelings about how things are done.
The tensions that arise as a result of church decision making are healthy – but often challenging. Read the Full Article →
