Church Administration

Category: Bible, Christianity, Jesus
Last Updated: 20 Jun 2022
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Book Abstract of Church Administration Handbook by Bruce P. Powers

This book is a multi authored major topic covering publishing that touches the principle topics of Church Administration and is a great resource for new administrators and leaders as well experienced individuals that need refreshing.

The book covers the areas of finance, special event organization, staff, leadership, organization, etc., The entire book is presented under two sections: One is, How a Minister Relates to Organizations and People and the second part is How a Minister Performs Administrative Responsibilities.

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Under the first part, Robert D.Dale addresses the topics like, Managing Christian Churches and Not for Profit Organizations and Working with People. Bruce P. Powers address the topics like Church organization.

Under Section Two, William G.Caldwell address the topics like Administering   Personnel, Financial Procedures, Designing and Managing Facilities, Food Services and Legal Matters etc., Bruce P. Powers addresses Office Administration and Church Publications. Planning and Budgeting, Establishing a Mission/Starting New Work is addressed by Bob I. Johnson

The book gives a good notification of different personalities in the church ministry as Aggressive and passive people.  Aggressive persons try to dominate the agenda of their congregations; passive place a drag on the mission and momentum of their congregations.

Though all of the above are difficult to handle in church ministry, Bruce states that the most difficult depends on you. Generally, the most offensive persons to us reflect the darker, more shadowy sides of our own personalities. His idea of expression is self management of the people in the ministry.

Bruce illustrated the problems with the different personalities in the church as below: .

Hostiles, for example, control their groups by daring to “be bad” in an institution that has a ‘nice’ self-image. Their belligerence and demanding confrontiveness set the emotional tone for relating. If we avoid conflict or natively assume that hostiles will eventually ease the tension, we give the hostile member an important measure of control.

Cliques control a congregation’s atmosphere for good or ill. Negatively, cliques gather for protection, revenge, or warfare. Positively, cliques lend status or share information with their members.

Crazymakers control communication processes by changing the subject, overloading the conversation with multiple issues, and contradicting. When we try to communicate with crazy makers, we are thrown off balance and feel ‘crazy’. Crazymakers cause us to feel uncertain; Therefore, they maintain leverage over us.

Apathetic exercise control in two passive modes. They withhold energy from the congregation’s goal. They divide a congregation’s focus between internal ministry to the apathetic themselves and outreach to others.

Lonelies control the attempts of others to build relationships by seeming to invite friendship and then holding others at arm’s length. Additionally they control many well-meaning helpers who develop a guilty conscience when their relationship-building efforts don’t work.

Traditionalists worship the past so much they try to control a congregation’s future. They seek to preserve by resisting all but emergency changes.

However, Bruce suggests some ways in dealing with the difficult people in church as below: 1. Accept difficult persons as worthy of attention without approving their attempts to control. 2. Build and maintain an open and up to date relationships with difficult persons. 3. Try to look at e church through the difficult person’s eyes. Anticipate their behavior patterns. 4.  Spare the entire congregation unnecessary strife by working behind the scenes with difficult persons. 5. Use Christian love as an antidote for controlling behavior. Remember that love also includes firmness.

Question-1

1. In Your opinion, should an administrator provide the work rather than perform the work? Read Ephesians 4:11-16 in regard to this principle.

A church administrator is a person who is a servant of God at the first and then an administrator. The basic attitude of the Church administrator as a Servant of God should live the life of model to others, so that they can be drawn unto the work of God. The servant of God represents Christ in the church. However, as an administrator, he/she delegates the work to other church staff. This may some times include senior and junior levels of staff. And it is the duty of the church administrator to facilitate the church work with all the difference in the people. So, the administrator sets the guideline to the team members with his personal behavior and work style. The administrator is not only a work provider, but also a work performer.

However, the church administrators in the early days are different in their work assignments; some of them are apostles, some are called as prophets, some are evangelists, some are preachers and some are teachers. This explains that people have different calling to perform different works in the church, just like an organization. How an organization cannot work on the abilities of a single performer, Church also cannot perform fully, just on the delegated  for different Moreover, the Bible clearly explains in the last sentence of Ephesians 4:16, that for the edification of body of Christ, the effectual working of every part of Christ is necessary.  This commands for work performance of each individual in the church administration including the church administrator.

And the Word of God also clearly indicates not to toss to and fro against the model of Christ. Christ being the head of the body has no scriptural evidence that he has shown any demarcation of the above categories of work presented in Ephesians 4:11. We never come across with a single instance that Jesus denying to do any kingdom Work. Rather we can find many examples of servant leadership in Jesus right from the beginning of his gospel proclamation.  Jesus not only performed work with the word of his mouth, but performed work by doing so in many instances. He traveled to long distances to heal the Jairus’ daughter as it is found in Mark 5th Chapter , where he can also raise the dead just by his Word as it is evident in the case of centurion presented in Mathews 8:5-13.

And in other occasions like Passover, he performed the activities of a servant to generate the administrators of next generation. He is a teacher, Preacher, Healer, Deliverer, Tax payer, Facilitator, Organizer and Provider in several instances like feeding thousands of people. But in order to organize such events he exhibited delegation of tasks to others. In such instances, we can see different levels of operations like, food locators, informers, banquet organizers, distributors, food collectors, ushers and even the facilitators to close the events by the end of the day. All these works were organized by adopting  a structural administration. And we can never find a single instance of event failures in such occasions. So it is identified that the administrator he himself should be a performer while providing the work to the staff.

2. How does an effective administrator use committees and individuals?

The purpose of appointing a Committee in church administration is to make correlation and Adjustments in the structural frameworks between different entities. Pastor being the leader of the church has to spend most of his time in shepherding the flock and seeking guidance from God, preparing his heart to hear from God and from people. And he can’t spend too much of time boggling over day to day operations of the church.  Church administration should be a lower priority to the pastor in such situation and hence the need of committees to run the church organization run effectively.

The early church has a proof of adopting the committee and individuals to spread the Gospel at different instances as seen in the Apostolic times. They set apart committees and individuals to travel to other countries to spread the Gospel.

Besides church pastor, the other church staff will also scarcely find time to take decisions on certain aspects in different dimensions.

The different church roles that can form  committee are, Pastors, Board members, Business Administrators, Treasurers, Book keepers, Deacons or denominational leaders, finance program authoritative and Directors of different church program or sections like Women, youth and Children. The committees help in organizing the curricula and activities for the church groups like children, youth, adults, needy and outreach. As the Church organization expands in number and complexity, they will come to a point  to have their own general and departmental administration, meetings, curricula, reporting systems, meetings, media & publishing, funding & finance, and different lines of Pastoral care. Church workload is diverse and the ministry has several faces of operations like, spiritual, marital and financial counseling and other family oriented activities. Some times they may also include physical accommodation facilities like orphanages, old age homes, medical centers etc., Every church will have a different mix of responsibilities and duties spread over endless combinations of church works.

For this to accomplish, churches do also need individuals in the form of full and part time paid staff, as well as volunteers. And whenever the administer duties draws high energies from the regular administrators, the individuals will take care of the rest of the administration.

Question-2

1. How would you respond to this: "we are just a small informal organization. It is not necessary for us to have specific goals-We just take one day at a time. We are very comfortable with this non-structured environment and certainly, we want to stay away from deadlines!

Deadlines are the set time goals to accomplish a particular task. Every church organization weather it is small or big has its own level of operations. For example, every church will celebrate carol services visiting houses of the church members wishing them for Christmas. This is an event, where it has to be completed within a short period of time. So it has a deadline. The church staff or carol members that cannot cover some house visiting during the Christmas season cannot do the carol visits during the new year or Ester season. Like wise every small and big activity has its own time bound limit. Deadlines can be apparent or non visible. Some organizations keep deliberate deadlines and consequences of missing the deadlines, while some others have self-imposed deadlines.  Deadlines help the members to organize their time to volunteer or yield their time towards a specific task. A task without deadline has no objective and fails to accomplish its purpose.   In other terms a task without a deadline is not in the momentum of development, it is just surviving. Like wise the church, however unstructured it is, when it says it is comfortable without deadlines, indicates that it has no growth plan. And when a church lacks the vision to increase and work in certain timelines or deadlines, it is neglecting its purpose and will of God on its own. Though God has not time limits, His principles of time are very stringent, which are evident in the Bible. The chronological order of creation, timings of Jesus and End times all represent the significance of time. Also the Bible clearly warns the sloppy workers and alarms about the end time for the second coming of Jesus Christ. This it self is a Big deadline to deal with for every small or big, informal or formal church organization. But as sometimes, deadlines put pressure on h church staff and makes them to miss the originality of the work they need to accomplish by hurrying the things to get done. This is also a similar dangerous situation, where heavy deadlines makes the church staff feel insecure and find no difference between church ministry and secular authority. Such deadlines withdraws the motivation of voluntary efforts and resistance to pour high energies in the church staff.  So deadline should be realistic and achievable to facilitate the work accomplishment. The organizations however small and informal may be should keep voluntary or self-imposed deadlines that are tailored to the working group to a maintain a certain growth level.

2. Discuss this statement: "four indispensables are to be found every successful organization. They are program, organization, morale, and leadership. Which of the four do you believe is the greatest? Why?

The organizations run programs with people who are committed to morale working   under leadership.  The importance of each component ca be explained in this way: Each one is not competing with other but is a complementary to other. Organization is the whole some of people, building, policies, values, procedures, processes and events. But organization by itself is not everything. It is only the representation of every thing. However, programs are the designed activities to accomplish a goal. Programs will be run by people under certain procedures or values. Without programs the progress of the organization cannot be monitored. Morale is the values with which people in the organization works. Morale sets a standard of work and expectations from the employees. Leadership is the most  key element in running the organization successfully.  Leadership plans the programs, builds morale in the people and makes the organization grow successfully.

Question-3

1. How would you define the following terms: group effectiveness, group attractiveness, group climate, and group identity?

Group effectiveness is the total impact of the group on other non group members. This needs interpersonal, negotiation and team work skills that are exhibited by group. When a group os functioning effectively it reaches the objective of its group forming. The group Effectiveness contribute to higher productivity as people work together to reach common goals. Any group involves a team work which requires interpersonal skills. And many diverse work force groups require negotiation skills to balance their priorities.  The ability to outperform the activities in tight deadlines requires team building skills.

The group that performs effectively exhibits the balanced combination of the above three skills.

Group attractiveness is the characteristics of the group in attracting certain patterns of church members. The purpose and the activity of the group are the key elements of group attractiveness. For example, women cell groups in church attracts more women into their group through their seminar’s on family matters and women guest preachers etc., A group should find innovate and creative ideas to be attractive for the new members from time to time. A group which does not have any additional functional features cannot make its expansion and promotion.

Group Climate: The group creates its own climate through its adopted style of functioning. In church organizations this group style can be inherited from the parent denomination of the church. Some groups exhibits charistamatic styles, some adopt Pentecostal, some are from the catholic background etc. And some informal church groups exhibits the attitudes and styles of their leader in charge. Also the group climate may be emerged from the dreams and visions of the church leaders. This climate reflects in the way the church service conducts- worship, songs, praying style, word sharing, communion participation, treating the needy and departmentalization of activities, ushering etc., Eg: Some church groups are expressive in their worship where others are silent adorers. The new person who enters the church service will get to know the climate and follows it along with other congregation. Such is the impact of group climate in the church.

Group Identity: Group climate and attractiveness forms the group identity especially to a group. This is the specific characteristic of the group with which it wants other to be recognized with.  The members of the group after some time would not like to loose its identity if some one outside comes and tries to change it. The group identity in one form can be termed as the group ego with which it survives and excels. Group identity can be positive as well as negative. When it is positive, it builds the confidence levels of the group and when it is negative, it ruins the spirit of group. Group identity in terms of church can be expressed as Prayer warriors, ushering group,  Choir group, carols group, believer’s group, business group, outreach group etc.,

2.  Discuss what you believe is the difference between a secular view of leadership and a

Biblical view of leadership.

According to Peter Drucker, the leader is the one who has followers. And according to John C Maxwell , Leadership is influence- nothing more, nothing less.

Leadership is a process by which a person influences others to accomplish the objective and directs the organization in a way that makes it more cohesive and coherent. Leaders carry out this process by applying their leadership attributes, such as beliefs, values, ethics, character, knowledge and skills.

The secular world uses different styles of leadership styles like- Authoritative which treats the followers as servants, Connective that operates according to situations, Transformational leadership which is structural, Political which is democratic, Symbolic which is trait based, Collaborative which is Task focused and principle oriented styles.

In all the above secular styles of the leadership, the pressure is on the followers to follow the leader. Leader assumes a position of delegating authority to the followers. Though they take the position of role model, it is always different with eh biblical leadership style.

Bible portrays the most classical way of leadership style. Jesus Christ was the greatest leader the world has ever known because Jesus expressed the desire to fulfill the will of God as his Leader. In Biblical view, leadership is not how many serve you, but how many you serve. The success of the leadership is counted against the lives the leader has served. It’s being excited about seeing the Master successful in the lives of other people. And with each position of leadership comes a greater responsibility to serve those under our authority. In Mark 10:42-45, Jesus explicitly says that the leadership of the Gentiles is different and the Christian leadership has to be different from the world. The method of biblical teaching is servant leadership. Jesus presents a model of leader who doesn’t just do servant things, but someone who is a servant. And in Philippians 2:3-11, the passage suggests 4 ways of leadership styles in the ministry. They are, Putting Other’s before yourself, In all the works of ministry expressing the Christ like mind, no craving for reputation, Christ became obedient unto death.

Question-4

1. Apply the following scripture passages to specific difficulties of Christian leadership; Eph.5:16; col.4:5;  I Cor. 3:5-8; and  Matt. 6:19-20.

The Christian leadership according to the Bible has to confront with some of the issues like, time, money, poor knowledge and Politics.

In Eph.5:16, apostle Paul cautions the church leaders to make use of the time very diligently.   Paul Uses the word evil days., prescribing the alertness to every kind of war on day to day basis to carry on the church activities.   Time is a talent given to the people by God, and when it is not employed according to His design, it can be lost and misspent A Double diligence may sometimes replace the lost time, but not always, in the instances like ministering to the souls in bondage before they lost.  The planning and church activity must be visible to attract and draw the time of leaders according to the situations and specification of the church vision.

Colossians 4: 5 expresses that Church ministers should “Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.” This implies to the tactful planning of time. Generally people complain about the lack of time for the church work. But Paul says that it is all about redeeming time from the regular activities.  In redeeming time, Paul advises to be wise in choosing the priorities.  So the church leaders should meticulously plan their activities and should be wise enough in discarding the non important tasks.

Another thing that Christian leaders should adopt is the style of worshiping only the lord; not others. Paul in writing to Corinthians clearly defines the demarcation of any man in the church and Jesus as Lord. Every one is to serve the lord; all are the servants of the Lord; He says that the church leadership should be pure and humble; no body should boast about the other or for himself as all glory belongs to the Lord. The different leaders will perform their duties as they draw their energy only from the lord, nobody is higher or lower in the church. . One plants, another constructs, one gathers and another disciplines or shepherds. No one can reward his own activities except the lord.

Another thing that Church leadership should be very careful in the ministry is the money matters. As like any other organization, church should also display a stewardship in its finances for church finances and as well as about the personal finances. Also the Bible declares that church leaders should be more cautious about the heavenly treasures more than the earthly treasure. As earthly treasures come to help the man only for a certain period of time, and are vulnerable to theft and spoil, the church leader priority should be more than the natural visible.    The church leadership should inculcate the culture in the next leaders to make a shift of their eyes from the earthly treasures to heavenly treasures which are eternal.

2.  What steps can a Christian administrator take to help develop a positive relationship with others?

The church administrator has a supportive role in building relations in the church workplace. The church administrator besides creating and maintaining the supportive role also handles other  categories of motivational strategies to encourage the church staff. Such categories include: personal regard, communication, recognition and participation. Administrator can make use of these tools by making a blend of them according to the situation to develop a successful working environment.
Personal regard is a function of trust, time, and empathy. Trust can be established by being predictable to the church staff’s expectations by making the actions in line with what he says. Also trust in church staff towards church organization can be created by creating an organizational vision, publishing clear expectations, and making decisions and communicating them consistently according to the parameters of the vision.

Another method of trust building is through demonstrating administrative interest into the wellness programs of the church staff.  Personal regard contributes to the factors like decreasing stress levels, health improvement, decreased absenteeism, etc., This way of personal regard makes the church staff feel that administrators or management takes care of them very personally. And this improve employee morale and work performance in the church activities.
Motivating the church staff building the relationship can all be done only through communication, be it verbal or non – verbal. However, the effective administrative communication involves the development and publication of clearly stated goals. The bad and unorganized communication ruins the relationships, where as a clever and passionate communication ignites motivation in the church workforce. By developing an effective Communication framework the administrator can develop two way communication that involve, regular feedback, specific guidelines, team tasks, learning material, target oriented timelines to the church staff. As it is known the successful communication involves careful art of listening, which in other terms is a relation builder between the administrator and church staff. Administrator can also build the relationship by making recognition of the right effort of the church staff. Many good performers when not given a positive feedback will tend to loose their interest in continuing work with the organization. The same way when the poor performers are recognized instead of the good performers, it will reduce the morale of the good performers. The administrator should plan the recognition program by awarding the people with gifts, rewards, by offering monetary and non-monetary benefits, etc., Recognition is a great booster of self Image to the employees. And according to Maslow’s hierarchical needs, self esteem is one of the higher needs that a person strives to satisfy and it is the motivating factor at the high end. So administrator should plan the recognition to the workers so that he feels he is recognized by every person in the church, not just from the administrator it self. Others that can recognize the lifestyle and work effort of the church staff include church members, local community co-workers and people from other ministries.

Participation brings team effort and relation building between the church staff, within

themselves and also with the community. Eg: Participation of church staff in flood relief and feeding programmes improve their relation and rapport. The administrator should facilitate such team participating programs like, gospel trips, community development activities by making the staff into affordable team size for proper communication and involvement.

Question-5

1. Read the Book of Nehemiah. What leadership characteristics did Nehemiah illustrate? Does this information have any anticipation for Churches/religious organisational administrators today? Explain your answer.

Nehemiah demonstrates an exceptional leadership qualities in the book of Nehemiah.  Nehemiah heard from God, where others around him do not concern the purpose of the God regarding the construction of wall. Leader is the one who makes the difference, by being himself available to the God in spending time in prayer. This makes a model to the current day pastors activists-leading, teaching, fellowshipping and for the most part ignoring silence, solitude, prayer t hear the specific direction from the God regarding the church activity.

Nehemiah left his comfortable zone of being a cupbearer to the king and entered the ministry work starting from gathering the people and resources to the building of the wall. Today’s leaders must learn a fact that things are not always ready made, they need to start building the church activities with unfaded ambition.  And church administrator or leader should be able to adopt a new strategy which may be an entirely new thing to him or her.

Nehemiah communicated his vision he has received from God clearly, confidently, concisely and consistently to others. This makes the church staff or followers to submit their individual goals to the church organization goals individually without any compulsion. Nehemiah was specific about the construction need and boldly asked the experts or people to help from those who could significantly help him fulfill this calling.

In Chapter 2, starting from verse 11-16, Nehemiah privately examined the ruins of the walls to assess the needs and gave an exemplary cost model to calculate time, money, energy and emotions involved in the mission. When we calculate the cost we must include the emotional cost to our self, our family and our participants. I failed to do this in my life and it has cost me some physical health problems that I am now actively addressing. And from the verses 17-20 in the Second chapter Nehemiah showed the principles of strategic spiritual recruitment method.  By articulating his vision, he is able to draw the talented and committed people into the work.
Nehemiah administered the wall work to go in a phased and continuous manner. They built the tower of furnaces, construction and covering of walls, then doors then locks all one after another. This signifies the repair and rebuilding of the church one at a time. The church leaders should start building the activity either in children’s ministry, worship or ushering or women ministry etc., Once the leadership proves the performance in one area, it an escalate its activities to another area. , and the tower of the furnaces, built it, and covered it, and set up the doors thereof, the locks thereof, and the bars thereof turning of the wall, even unto the corner.

In chapter, 3, the description of the city construction with wall resembles the safety and security the church should offer to the society. It is required to guard the philosophical, theological and relational missionary work, by careful engagement of the church workers.

Leaders must pass though an extensive assessment and background checks to avoid negative imbibing in the congregation.   The chapter 4 in Book of Nehemiah shows how to deal with the criticism that come upon the church leadership. Nehemiah’s merciful attitude towards others inculcated the change in the abusive culture of his people just like Jesus.

Nehemiah's strategy in dealing the attackers is by holding a sword in one hand and a trowel in the other. A simultaneous attitude of building and defending the church work.

Nehemiah purposed of passing on the faith, heritage and ministry to future generations in the chapter 7 of the book.  Our current "NOW" generation has lost sight of the legacy left behind for future generations. This makes the church leader’s heart to cultivate faith for the coming generation and to the comings multiple generations that are to be born.

The book of  Nehemiah, shows the two types of war the church leader should be ready to win. One is Public gathering, as Ezra did in Chapter 8 and the second one is the shepherding, counseling and personal ministry. There should be a healthy balance between the two.

All the church preaching is not just information, but for the transformation of lives from one level to another. The Church administrating should plan for different ways of alter calling to make a way for the people in world to turn to Godly ways and into Kingdom paths.   Nehemiah boldly lays out the expectations for the people of this renewed city. We are so afraid of offending people that we fail to demand them to serve, give and participate as a condition for their participation in the body. To enter into the new city constructed by Nehemiah, people need to enter through the gate.  The same way, in order to enjoy the benefits that are in the true relation of the church, people need to come though the salvation of the church. In chapter 12, Nehemiah displays the church workmanship. He had an army of priests to care for the needs of the people. A church needs both visionary leaders who can work out side the church and the priests who minister within the church. Also Nehemiah celebrated the success of his co-workers in a grand way, that shows his appreciation and recognition of their work.

2. What were the key characteristics of the leaders chosen for the early church  (see Acts, I;II Timothy and Titus)? Do these have any application for the modern day church/religious organisation? Explain your answer (Document with scripture).

The early church is filled with strong and stringent Christian leaders. Some of their extraordinary abilities are as follows:

The Church leader’s character is above reproach; highly transparent and obvious to all (1 Tim. 3:2).
Lawfully married and committed to one woman (1 Tim. 3:2).
Exercising self-control and of good attitude (1 Tim. 3:2).
Abstain from alcoholic beverages (1 Tim.3:3).
Not an aggressive and violent person; declining to react strongly against bad circumstances or personal attacks (1 Tim. 3:3).
Yielding service only to the LORD not for money (1 Tim. 3:3).
A soft hearted gentle-man, so that people can approach him (1 Tim. 3:3).
Uncontentious with others (1 Tim. 3:3).
Feel sufficient with what he has and does not long for other’s things (1 Tim. 3:3).
A good ruler of the house hold; being a role model to husbands and fathers with obedient children (1 Tim. 3:4).
Not a recent church member or recent convert to Christianity to prevent boastful attitude in his service. (1 Tim. 3:6).
A good perceivable character and conduct to the outsiders. (1 Tim. 3:7).
No place for self-will but always a heart to seek the God's will in all of life's decisions (Titus 1:7).
One who loves what is good (Titus 1:8).
Just in his dealings with himself and others (Titus 1:8).
Holy because God is holy (Titus 1:8).
Holding firmly to the Word of God which he has been taught (Titus 1:9).
The leaders waited upon the lord in prayer to take key decisions (Acts 13:2)
Local leadership in the New Testament is always plural or team leadership (e.g. Acts 14:23; )
Question-6

1. What do you believe are the core elements of a solid biblically based organizations?

The elements of the biblically based organization is shown through the early church built Some of them are:

-          Fear of God: As the fear of the Lord came upon every soul; many wonders and signs were followed in the church. These signs and wonders drew many people unto the lord. (Acts2: 43

-          Joy ; Praise : There is  a great peace and joy established in the church amidst of all the persecution. So the people added to the church. (Acts 2:47)

-          There is oneness and unity: The early church practiced one accord and they break bread on daily basis; representing the equality and sharing between the church members irrespective of status; be it social or spiritual. (Acts 2:46)

-          Every need is met: Paul rejoices in the giving of the Philippians, and he describes their offering as sweet incense which is a sacrificial and well pleasing acceptance to God. And as they gave, all their needs are met according to the riches of God through Jesus Christ. (Philippians 4:18-19)

-          Preparation of Leaders:  The house of Stephan in Corinthians has become the ministry place of saints. (I Corinthians 16:15, 16)

And the core element of biblically based organization is ‘Love” that compelled them to suffer, give and to pour out to others.

2. What are some positive steps for spiritual recruiting. That is how do we find God's choice for filling any given paid or volunteer position?

God is a great recruiter. He accomplishes the works on the earth through people only.  He engaged Adam to name the entire creatures; He recruited Judges, Kings, prophets leaders to save people and to turn people away from ungodly ways. Recruiting process depends on the functional specifications of the organization. So the new testament clearly emphasizes on the functioning of the Body of the Christ, where Christ being the head and the Church means different personalities being the body of the Christ. This formula explicitly defines that there is no one high or low in the recruitment policy when it comes to the body of Christ. However, the Christian ministry needs different talents and hierarchy to execute variety of functions, as like the functioning of the human body, where none of the parts is dispensable or low in functioning; every organ and part is essential for the total functioning of the body.

However, the recruitment process begins from God. He is the one who appoint the people to a certain work in the Church. And they will come and Join the Church at he appointed times.

As it is seen in the word, Ephesians 4 tells the officers are given by Jesus Christ to his church. And in 1 Corinthians 12:28 Heavenly Father appoints the workers and laborers.  And in Acts 20:28 there is an evidence of Holy spirit’s involvement in the appointment.

As the signs the spiritual recruitment, the person under observation must exhibit the following characteristics:

A true love for the Word of  God: As John the Baptist said ” Behold the lamb of God” , that explicitly shows his honor towards the Word of God. ?john is able to see the manifestation of the Word of God before his eyes, where many others still hesitant to believe that Jesus is the Messiah.

Abide in the word of God: To recruit somebody into the church ministry, he must be a constant abider in the word of God. As in John 8:31 Jesus Christ defines the characteristics of the true disciple - "if you abide my word, you are My disciples indeed"; this implies otherwise not.

Doers of the word: Its not just enough to have the word in mind; but for a person to be recruited under the body of Christ he should be a doer of the word as said in James 1:22 in order to escape the own deceptions.

Holy spirit’s guidance: In the book of the Acts 13, there is a Holy spirit guidance involves in recruiting the Barnabas and Saul.

In Mathew 9: 37,38, Jesus told to his disciples that the harvest is plenty and the laborers are few and told them to pray to the Father so that he can send more laborers. So it is clear that there is place and vacancy for every servant of God to work in the ministry of God. And in John 6:37 , Jesus says, "whoever comes to me I will never drive away".

It is also clear that there is no difference in the sense of time also; Jesus explain in the functioning of the Kingdom organization in Mathew 12:21, 22 and makes it clear that there is a place for work in the field for the earlier and the later workers with similar wages. All that matters is the availability not the ability;

So there is no chance of rejection to whosoever responds the Jesus call given in Mark16:24  the call. But the type of work can vary from person to person. The Ministry calling can be off many types as shown in Ephesians 4:11. A call to leadership – not everyone will become leaders, but some will be called to this special service to the Church, Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors, Teachers.

Also the Appointment of the God can be of the following types: Ministry in the home and workplace, Hospitality, Motherhood (Eunice – 2 Timothy 1:5), Godly Wives (Proverbs 31:10), Grandmothers (Lois - 2 Timothy 1:5), Ministry in the secular workplace.

And there is another process of identifying the spiritual recruitment for a process. i.e., through the recognition of gifts upon a person basing on the scriptures from 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, and Ephesians 4.

And the Christian leader’s must recruit the appointed and qualified men as God has given authority to search for leaders (Numbers 11:16) to assign them work (2 Timothy 2:2). Also God gives some directions fro recruitment, as like when He told Moses to separate men to judge others and make leaders in different levels as in Numbers 18:21, 22 and to allocate different church works as in Ephesians 4:8,13.  The bible at several times stresses the basic characteristic that has to be observed in recruiting is the nature of ‘Servant’ (John 13:14)  The Bible also clearly explains the qualifications to look after in the process of recruitment (1 Timothy 3:1-7 & 8-13) for good reputation, irreproachable morality, right  and stable character judgment and prudence.

This way of biblical recruitment always proves success in the church organizations.

Question-7:

Why do you believe leadership training important within the church/Christian organisation?

When Jesus, called the disciples into the ministry they were all laymen who just have some desire to be with the Lord. But after Jesus went to stay with the Father leaving the church on the earth, the role of the disciples has turned to leaders. Jesus molded them to leaders though training.

Bible gives Dominion and Ownership on the earth (Genesis 1:26) and the power to execute authority over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19), at the same time asks  the followers to humble each other and to give and yield to other (Mark 0:45). There is a fine line to maintain the difference between the two in the Christian organization. The leadership training will eliminate the ignorance of the Kingdom operations and helps the leaders to perform better.

In Hebrews 5: 13, and I Peter 2:22, Bible uses the word milk to symbolize the elements of the growth and development from one level to another.  And the I Corinthians 14: 25 cautions to watch the growth, so that he that thinks that he is standing should not fall; this signifies that there should be a constant learning for leader to sustain the spiritual leadership within the church organization. The training of Jesus included theory as well as practical sessions.

Jesus training was articulated with miracles, teaching, preaching, doubt clearing and also through laboratory experiments. In the activity of teaching, Jesus used many parables (Mathew13:35) like sowing in the good land, the shepherd’s role in finding the sheep, lamp on the lamp stand etc., And he preached at many instances and adopted a very straight way in condemning sin as seen in Mathew 15th chapter and dealt with the hypocrisy.  Jesus during his stay on the earth lead the disciples through different functional church assignments. He conducted the feeding programmes, healing crusades, deliverance breakthroughs from demonic oppressions, signs and wonders like speaking to the fig tree and stopping the roaring sea etc.,.  Many miracles were deliberately displayed at the instances like converting the water to wine at the canon’s marriage function, raising the dead people like Lazarus and Jairus daughter from their tombs and death beds. This is all about training the next level leaders by being a model to perform the kingdom work.

Jesus also demonstrated the servant leadership by explicitly washing the feet of the disciples and instructed them to practice it. This is the highest model of leadership training which can be a great example under all circumstances; stressing the point to follow the lord for all kinds of leadership activity.  All the apostolic ministry trained followers the meaning of greatness as servant hood (Matt. 20:26-28).

A formal and informal training is necessary for every church organization work groups in the areas like theology, evangelism, maintaining relationship with God, Christian life style, enduring till end, anointment etc., Also the subjects like time management, financial disciplines, integrity and relation building will all strengthen the church ministry.

2. What methods of leadership training are available? Which would you recommend, and under what circumstances?

Definition of Leadership Training: Christian leadership training is the equipping of "God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up" (Eph. 4:12). Just like any other training program the Christian leadership training should also be based on the needs of the leader groups. In general the church activity is carried by the following types of leaders:

Type A leaders: These are lay servants in the church that are in reach to the people in the local congregation. who provide massive grassroots leadership within local churches. These leaders are the ones who conduct cell groups, youth organizers, committee participants, Bible class teachers, etc., The kind of activity basically performed by these leaders is the frontline soldiers in the kingdom of God.

Type B are also lay leaders, but shows less direct access with the local congregation they These have more authority and broader influence than Type A. The elders, deacons, Sunday school directors, Counselors, mentors of Bible classes will come under this category. In one way they will support the Type A leader.

Type C leaders in are full-time ministers or bi vocational servants in local congregational These are the ones who exhibit some form of  theological education that will equip them to preach, teach and evangelize.

Type D Leader: Type D leaders exhibit regional influence much wider than in the church or agency in which they work. These are the full-time ministers of multi-staff or multi-cell churches, as administrators of small agencies, or as missionaries planting churches, nurturing new Christians to maturity, and training leaders in a domestic or foreign context. These leaders are experts in their respective, through a formal training program and influences people in many indirect ways.

Type E Leader: These are highly competent professional leaders, who because of their writing, teaching, and speaking, greatly influence the nature of ministry. They provide the philosophical models out of which ministry occurs. Although much of their ministry is indirect, they influence millions of people.

Type D and E leaders, also exhibit the functionality of Type A and B leaders in order to continue to be connected to real life. Thus by understanding the different needs of each of the above levels of leaders, the church has to organize the leadership training program.

Modes of Leadership Training

A study of curriculum theory is significant in planning the training of leaders.

According to Elliston, Curriculum theory suggests the broad outlines of the results can be predicted from the kinds of educational structures and processes which are employed. One can look at the goals and then work backward to design or modify the structures

and processes to match the goals. Curriculum theory differentiates among three modes of training--the formal, nonformal and informal. Effective leadership training blends these modes of training into different combinations in order to train various types of leaders.

Formal Training: Formal training refers to classroom curriculum through which the leaders are trained. This is aimed at learning the basic theology and historical perspectives and imparts the knowledge to the leaders. The teaching process involves a teacher in a programmed setting of learning environment. The judeo-christian heritage is all based on the Formal training itself. Even the Paul at Gamaliel (Acts 22:3) learned the scriptures trough this type of training. Ezra in the old testament established synagogues to teach law in this way.

Nonformal Training. This mode of training is based on the premise that students most

effectively learn through designed experiences in a deliberately organized program. The

training, however, is both "non-programmatic" and "non-institutional" (Clinton 1988,

251). The Non formal education develops, Character, Ability, Relationship and Experience

Informal Training:  Informal training "uses life-activities as the basis for purposeful training" (Clinton 1988, 244). This type of training is highly relational yet is "unstructured in the sense of being controlled and deliberately planned" (Elliston 1988, 212).  This mode is participatory: Teachers and students participate together in

accomplishing the mission of God. This can be explained as a mission trip learning during the course period.

Type A and B levels of leaders can be subjected to formal, non-formal training. The task oriented activities of the non formal training course will enlighten the learning experiences of the church leaders.  Type C, D, and E leaders generally require

some level of formal training as they need to articulate their training input to make a further impact on level A,B,C leaders. Many of the disciplines required of Type D leaders are best learned through non-formal learning and many of the specialties of Type E leaders through informal learning. But an effective training integrates various modes of training.

There is another way of classifying the leader activities in the church. These are – Visionary leaders, administering leaders and shepherding leaders.

The visionary leaders fall under the category of Level D and E categories as explained above.

Visionary leadership training will equip the saints to act according to the visionary ways of God. Such training programs will concentrate on prophetic and word of knowledge gifts, discerning the ways and means of times etc., Such training programs will develop visionary leaders to hold on to the revelation that they get from God. In the case of Noah, where no body else around him has believed in the wrath, Noah still held on to the word and completed the work of building the ship, to rescue the creation for future propagation. This kind of methods will help to strengthen the elements one already has in his heart for the church as addressed in Phil 3:12, "have already obtained all this".

Administrative Leadership training:  These can be represented as Level C leaders. And the training programs help in implementing the church activities effectively and do them all for the glory of God (I Cor 10:31). Such training programs help in designing procedures and to coordinate programs. These can be conducted in a formal or non-formal way.

Shepherding leadership training: The shepherd leaders can be the level A and Level B leaders that need formal training. This is to mould the character and attitude of the volunteers and regular church staff  to serve with willingness for the body of Christ. To minister unto the unsaved, to evangelize people, strengthening the believers, rededicating the backsliders etc.,

The leadership training programs in new testament involves multiple people rather than single (Acts 6); And the decentralization of ministry to allow each to serve according to spiritual giftedness (Eph. 4). The relationship between leaders is similar to a conference brotherhood (Acts 15). And some leaders ministered in different areas and interest of a number of churches (2 Cor. 8:18-19). The leadership exhibited a spirit of mutuality and of submission to one another in love and respect (Rom. 12).

Question-8:

1. What are some of the most important motivational keys that an administrator should remember?

According to John C. Maxwell, the following principles will work in motivating the church people to work for the kingdom:

Persuasion: To persuade means to use sweetness to get people to do things. Every body’s ego is valuable. The difference that people exhibit are to be looked as gifts from God to accomplish some tasks. So in order to get the things done, the leader must be polite to others and must win their hearts first to get them involved in the work.

Goals within the timeline: The leader should make the smart (simple, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time bound) goals in order to motivate the people. When the goals are smart, they invoke confidence in people and make them achieve the goals successfully.

Maxwell proposes Five “C”s in motivating the people:

Consideration- What is the needed response? (Vision)

Credibility- What must I do to get it? (Plan)

Content – What must I say to get it? (Presentation and values)

Conviction – How must I say it? (Communication)

Conclusion – What steps do I need to take? (Execution /Procedures)

When a church administrator plans the motivation in the above ways, success is sure.

Also when the administrator puts his feet in other’s shoes and think like others o understand the abilities of others, he can make the things get done.

And the other important aspect that John C. Maxwell emphasizes is when the administrator can get  everything in organization if he/she helped enough people get what they want.

2. In your judgment, what are some of the principles of supervision that will help build leadership morale?

The Christian organization and leadership should also include supervision. Every leader is accountable of his followers and all that is under his authority. So without supervision, the accountability may not be given appropriately.  And the Bible cautions to be diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to the herds (Proverbs 27:23). Also the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king, which would take account of his servants. (Matthew 18:23). All this requires careful supervision.

Also the Bible says to the followers to be accountable to the leaders, while they are supervising the work. In Hebrews 13:17, "Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy, and not with grief: for that is unprofitable for you."

Even though people come to work for the ministry in church, the Bible talks about, sluggards, procrastinators and rebels and describes their characteristics.

A sluggard puts his hand in the dish, but just not being able to bring it up to his mouth (Proverbs 26:15).This indicates that people will come to serve the church, but may become very lazy or sloppy and leaving the things behind, as it is. Also some times people make excuses of their failures (“There’s a lion in the road”, Proverbs 26:13), which are some times very costly to the church. Some people are hyper active in church work and mismanage their position in house or their secular jobs. And when they plow after autumn, they start beg during harvest (Proverbs 20:4). Sometimes the church may suffer rebels. Also Jesus says that, “No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God, in Luke 9:62 .

God has established institutions of authority and supervision (chains of command) such as elders an deacons in church for the protection of congregation. These institutions are designed to exercise God’s authority within certain boundaries or defined limits in order to restrain the natural tendency in man to exploit and harm others (Rom 13:1, Ephesians 6:1). The purpose of this authority is to bring control as a hindrance to open rebellion in the church

In order to discipline such people, Paul gives a system to the new church in I Timothy 3:10, calling it as Office of Deacons. Also Paul disciplines the sinners in I Corinthians.

And in  5:1-5, II Corinthians 12:19-21; 13:2.

In Titus 3:10, Paul administers severe punishment to the rebels. But above all the [purpose of Supervision is not to condemn but to regain the lost as shown in Mathew 18:15-18. And, Paul advises that there should be two supervisors to lay the testimony upon any query. (I Timothy 5:19)

The sluggards, rebels, sanders, filthy talkers all need supervision and controlling in the church in order to carry the functions of the church as planned

Question-9:

1. What are the spiritual qualities that are important in leadership motivation?

As the Lord Jesus pointed out, “A disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained will be like his teacher” (Luke 6:40). The followers always seek and draw from the leader. So the leader must exhibit an exceptionally integrated Christian life style and spiritual qualities that can challenge the followers to commit their ways to the lord. Paul writes, to the Corinthians like this: “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ” (1 Cor. 11:1).

Some of the spiritual qualities that motivate leaders are as follows:

According to Exodus 18: 19—21, Moses performs three Major responsibilities: (1) to

bring the problems of the people to God; (2) to teach them the way they should walk

and train them in the work they are to do; (3) to select able leaders to help him bear

the burden of leadership.

Joshua the next leader after Moses, who is filled with the word of God in his Mouth and spirit of wisdom, made the word released from God as the word of his own mouth. The effective leader must be

1. Strong and courageous (Joshua 1: 6, 7, 9).

2. Constant meditation in God’s Word (Joshua 1: 8).

3. Uncompromising obedience to God’s commands (Joshua 1: 7, 8).

These are qualities God showed to Joshua as the path to his success.

David’s leadership has come from his obedience to the Godly ways and Internal strength. David says, “Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts” (Psalm 119: 98—100).

Paul in Acts, chapter 20 shows a  classic example to the elders of the church in Ephesus and continually reminded them of his own example of leadership and requested that they

follow his steps.

Some of the other scriptural advise on the spiritual qualities of leaders is like this:

-          Should be a husband, but to one wife (1 Timothy 3:2)

-          Should be able to organize his family (1 Timothy 3:4)

-          Should not be a freeman (Titus 1:7)

-          Should be a lover of hospitality, a lover of good men, sober, just, holy and  temperate (Titus 1:8)

-          Should not be a drinker of wine, striker, greedy of filthy lucre; (1 Timothy 3:3)

-          Should be patient and not a brawler, not covetous; (1 Timothy 3:2)

-          Should be able to preach (1 Timothy 3:2)

-          Should pray for the sick (James 5:14)

-          Should pray and fast (Acts 14:23)

2. What is the purpose of honesty evaluating the effectiveness of a ministry organization? What possible hazards might be encountered in doing so?

The evaluation of Ministry organization is to make a constant growth as well as to avoid condemnation from the Lord. The consequences of hindered follies in the organizations is deliberately proclaimed in the Book of Revelations.

The Church of Ephesus has been told by the lord as the “looser of the first love”. Amidst of all the church activities, the church forgets to do the fellowship with the lord, which is the most desiring thing above all activities. (Revelations 2:4). So if the church makes a constant self evaluation, this would not be happening. The constant tribulation will also sustain the Church through trials and tribulations. (Revelations 2: 10). And to the church in Pergamos, The lord says that there are people that follow the doctrines of Balaam, that cast a stumbling block before to others with their eating desires, worshiping idols, commit fornication and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans. (Revelations 2:14). And the Church in Thyatira exhibits the sin of false prophets and idol worship (Rev 2: 20). The works of the Church in Sardis are not found perfect in the sight of the Lord. (Rev 3:20). The Church of Philadelphia got a good report in the sight of the Lord (Rev 3: 7-13). But the church in Laodicea, is rich and lack nothing, so is spiritually blind and poor and in the miserable state of shamelessness. (Rev 3:17). So when the church practices the evaluation measures, it makes a healthy state of growth.

The total evaluation of church is dependent on the leadership style. The leader must commit their ways to the lord and should make a way to the elders to evaluate the church activities by and large.

However, the Bible also gives some guidelines to evaluate different situation of the Church as shown in 1 Tim. 1:5-6 that alarms to have good conscience and pure heart.

In 1 Timothy 4:11-16, Paul suggests the church to Command and teach these things and to set good example for the believers in speech, conduct, love, faithfulness, and purity. And advises timothy to be he lives and teaches. Also here he warns against the legalistic doctrines which are wrong and against to the Bible. Paul advises Timothy to be dependent on two things contextually: (a) nourishing his own soul on the words of the faith, i.e., godly discipline in his own life (vs. 6-10), and (b) being an example for other believers (vs. 12).

Not only Paul addresses to take care of the categories like, liars, evil beasts, slow bellies advises him to rebuke them sharply (Titus 1:12, 13). But at the same time Paul cautions Timothy in dealing with such issues with elders in 1 Timothy 5:19-21. Paul says timothy not to follow a step wise manner. First, the issue needs to be fixed by two or three witnesses.  rebuke them.  If the person does not listen to them, then the he has to be rebuked before al men, to keep a Godly fear in them.

And Paul also makes appoint to note that all this should be done without partiality and bias. Even after such things if he does not make his paths right, he has to be separated from the congregation. (Titus 3:10). This way Paul sorts out the risks and problems in the evaluation in ministry organizations.

Question-10

1. How would you rate the effectiveness of your own ministry organization?

I rate the effectiveness of my ministry organization at level 5, as my ministry has developed a system and organizational climate that is visible to the new entrants. And my organization follows Jesus in most of the instances in doing signs and wonders and delegating responsibilities.  However, there are some areas that are still to be developed according the word of God viz., Complete modeling of servant leadership, execution of training programs according to the different levels and exhibiting the Christian character at all levels of leadership.

2. What things do you believe must be done to improve the effectiveness of your ministry organization? what about your own personal effectiveness?

My ministry has to develop the areas like planning for the leadership training modules with care full observations of different needs of the leaders.

The servant leadership has to be Practiced at all levels of the activity. In order to avoid bias in supervision and evaluation, a clear cut policy should be formulated for all the church staff and volunteers. The hidden areas of the Christian characters in some leaders and elders should be addressed and proper care should be taken to de motivate their propagation.

And very recently my church started building its organizational climate, with a structured service within the church and service to out side community. This way makes people recognize the purpose of existence of our ministry.

Summary of the course:

The learning aspects of the course to me are the leadership behavior, characteristics, qualities and spiritual readiness that he/she has to be nourished on a regular basis. The concepts like group attractiveness and effectiveness taught me to develop and maintain the group climate and group identity.

The main aspect of learning form the study are related with church administration and leadership role in church administration. The different activities and the elements of church administration are understood. The conditions to perform and to assign the work by the church administration were understood. The importance of committees and the need of personal skills to the ministry are understood in terms of church administration. And it is realized that the committees are not for the name sake, but as to steer the regular church workers towards the vision of the church organization. The necessity of goals and time target to the church functioning are observed. The four indispensable elements of the successful organization, differences between a secular view of leadership and Christian perspective of leadership were thoroughly analyzed. And it is understood that the success of church leadership depends on the relations, but not on the rights. The different levels of church administration as Pastors and Deacons is clearly examined under the light of word. Also the different spiritual abilities they need to possess to attain the state are understood. Likewise the positive signs of the spiritual recruitment were learned in terms of  abiders and doers of the word according to the specifications given to the new church in new testament. The particular difficulties of Christian leadership and biblical view of leadership were examined under scriptural help. The importance of training to the leaders is elicited and the different modes of training to the leaders to make an impact on the next level leaders is understood.

Role of Church administrator in maintaining the positive relationship with others is learned. The strategic leadership style of Nehemiah is closely observed and learned. How Nehemiah impregnated with the vision, and the way he appoints the people, personal assessment of the wall work to be done, step wise construction, etc., are all makes the difference in perceiving the role of the visionary leader after study. The responsibilities of a church leader from the teachings of Paul to Timothy, Titus and Philippians portrayed the vision for the construction of a strong Christian character in the church leader. The study of the servant leadership and the methods of training the leader that Jesus has imparted gives a clear understanding and demarcation between the just words and the performance leadership. And the study also facilitated to learn the purpose and process of supervision and evaluation and their consequences in case of failure to take measures to execute both, under the scriptural support. How these can be taken care to avoid sluggard ness and rebellion in the church organization is also observed. By answering the questions in the assignment, it has become easy to construct the policy of the church to implement safety in the church activities and need for the explicit declaration of  statements is identified and documented.

Littleflock Community Church

Safe Church Policy

“The character and personal qualities of a minister must be of the highest caliber according to the specific qualifications mentioned in the recruitment program sheet. He/she must be above reproach, and set an example for believers in speech, life, love, conduct, faith and purity” (1 Timothy 3:1-3; 4:12; Titus 1:7-9). The Church needs not only professionally qualified persons in leadership, but strong men and women of God who are with integrated character and holy in behavior and servant in attitude. Model life is required with true compassion for the souls (1 Tim 5:22). “Must be approachable and accessible, by avoiding  other’s sins, avoiding arguments, be kind to everyone, able to teach, gentle” (2 Tim 2:22). “All Christians and ministers above all are called to be a living embodiment of the truth. This includes holiness and purity in one’s thoughts, sexual life, and the emotional, physical, spiritual and social dimensions of personality” The Role of the Pastor as the head of ht congregation should explicitly lead the Congregation to a New higher level of service offer and self image.

Sexual Exploitation, Ministerial Conduct, and Child and Youth Protection Policies

Prohibition of Sexual Exploitation and Harassment Policy

Little Flocks Church is committed to the Godly ways of establishing,  creating and maintaining a worship and work environment in which church members, community members, friends, church staff, volunteers and visitors can worship and work together without any resentment and should experience freedom from all forms of discrimination, exploitation, harassment, subjugation or  intimidation, based on gender. Specifically, all persons associated with Little Flocks Church should be aware that the church is strongly opposed to sexual harassment and exploitation and explicitly declares that such behavior in any means like, word, deed, physical or virtual is prohibited by church policy. It is the intention and responsibility of the church to take necessary required action that may be needed to prevent and correct behavior which is contrary to this policy, and, if necessary, to discipline and eliminate those persons from the congregation who violate this policy.

Ministerial Conduct Policy

All persons engaged in the ministry of Little Flocks Church including, recruited, elected or appointed leaders, employees, volunteers, and authorized ministers are responsible for knowing the possible impact of their words and actions in ministering to the mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of people who come to them for help or over whom they have any kind of authority. Sexual harassment or sexual exploitation of parishioners or other individuals by anyone engaged in the ministry of Little Flocks Church is unethical and will be treated as unprofessional behavior for not be tolerated within this congregation.

Because all the people involved in the ministry- viz., recruited, elected or appointed leaders, employees, volunteers, and authorized ministers often deal with individuals who are emotionally and psychologically fragile or otherwise personally vulnerable. This can be in the form of prayer, counseling, advice or a physical help. So it becomes imperative that those engaged in the ministry of this church maintain their own psychological, mental, emotional, and spiritual health and that they have adequate preparation and education to help those individuals, they seek to serve in ministry. It is the policy of Little Flocks Church to encourage its leaders, employees, authorized ministers, and volunteers to nurture safety and confidence within ministerial relationships by being attentive to self-care, self-respect, education, and the importance of referring those in need through supportive and helpful resources. It is also required that those engaged in providing ministry will have to complete and submit a disclosure document in a form that gives the details of the help or service offered during the instance. accompanying this policy. It is the intention and responsibility of the church to take whatever action may be needed to prevent and correct behavior which is contrary to this policy, and, if necessary, to discipline and eliminate those persons from the ministry, who violate this policy.

Child and Youth Protection Policy

“At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ He called a child, whom he put among them, and said, ‘Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever becomes humble like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me. If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were fastened around your neck and you were drowned in the depth of the sea.’” (Matthew 18:5-6).

When the disciples tried to keep children away from Jesus, he instructed them to let them come. Jesus welcomed and included children and lifted them up as examples to the faithful. He warned against putting anything in their path that would cause them to stumble.

Little Flocks Church is committed to creating a safe and healthy environment in which young people can grow and strengthen by learning about and experience God’s love. The Church acknowledges that it is the only one place for some to experience God’s unconditional love and fellowship. Hence the church recognizes the need to maintain the convenient atmosphere and takes the responsibility of children and youth ministry very seriously. The church not only takes measures to complete avoidance of any sort of abuse within the church premises and from the ministry people even outside, but also concentrates on the nurturing the dignity and values in the upcoming generation.

Failing to respect the children and youth with utmost care means the failure in the responsibility that God has entrusted to the church.  So the church takes  adequate precautions to protect them from abuse while in our care, and makes them feel secured and wanted. We are committed to providing as safe and secure an environment for all children and those who participate in the ministries and activities sponsored by our church as possible. We require that all people applying to be volunteers who work with children should be the regular church members for at least two years to the Little Flocks Community Church. It is also the policy of the church to provide adequate supervision on all youth activities, so eliminates all vulnerable situations. We also require all employees or volunteers who work with minors to complete and submit a disclosure document in a form that is accompanying this policy.

The church is strongly opposed to behavior that is contrary to this policy and such behavior is prohibited by church policy. It is the intention and responsibility of the church to take whatever action may be needed to prevent and correct behavior which is contrary to this policy, and, if necessary, to discipline those persons who violate this policy.

Little Flocks Community Church

Safe Church Procedures

1.    Each senior and junior employee and authorized volunteer has to complete and submit an Employment/Authorized Volunteer Application and Disclosure Form during the time of implementation of the Safe Church Policy, or when the employee or authorized volunteer is hired or selected.

2.    Each senior and junior employee and authorized volunteer will be required to complete and submit an Employment/Authorized Volunteer Application and Disclosure Form every year, or as required by the church.

3.    Criminal background checks will be conducted on all senior and junior levels of employees and authorized volunteers who minister to children and youth under the age of 18 during the time of implementation of the Safe Church Policy and every year thereafter, or as required by the church.

4.    Every ministry activity that involves children and youth under the age of 18 require that two adults (employees or authorized volunteers) be present at all times, except in emergency or unavoidable circumstances. Ministries involving children and youth under the age of 18 include, but are not limited to, Sunday School, Friday service, Nursery, Vacation Bible School, Confirmation Classes, Youth cell groups, Coffee Hour, and Worship Services.

5.    The appointment of adult volunteers to all the ministries involving children and youth under the age of 18 should be scheduled in advance and before three weeks of the program, must take the confirmation of participation. Failing to comply with the committed work will be treated as negligence.

6.    All doors to offices and rooms where ministries involving children and youth under the age of 18, or where one-on-one ministries with adults occur will contain clear windows in the upper half of the doors and are conducted in an open and confident environment.

7.    All offices and rooms where ministries involving children and youth under the age of 18 occur (except the sanctuary) will contain or have ready access to a telephone with access to an outside line and an emergency alarm that can be reached at instances

8.    There is a limited access to the to the fellowship hall, the kitchen and the nursery prior to and during worship, which is limited to those employees and authorized volunteers who have responsibilities in those areas, accompanied children, or the parents of children attending nursery or Sunday School.

9.    There is restricted access to all Sunday School classrooms, which is limited to employees and authorized volunteers for whom a criminal background check has been completed, along with Sunday School children and their parents and/or guardians.

10. All the food and drinking water supplies to the children and youth ministry  are tested for quality assurance and there is a predefined procedures to get the food certified before it reaches the users.

11. Responsibility for monitoring the adherence to Safe Church Policy and these procedures will be the responsibility of the authorized minister(s), members of the deaconate and members of the trustees. Reports of violations of either the Safe Church Policy or these procedures should be reported to the authorized minister(s), the chair of the deaconate, or the chair of the trustees, who will notify the other two parties.

12. Persons convicted of crime and offense are required to notify the Church administrator. The Church administrator will present details of the offense, without identifying information to the Executive Council. Upon determination of the Executive Council, the person may be required to enter into a signed covenant setting limitations on the person’s activities in and around the church. Covenants will also reference the discipleship support that the church will offer. Refusal to enter into and sign the covenant, or breech of the terms of the covenant, will be grounds for dismissal from and denied access to the church.

13.  A sign in and Sign out sheet will be maintained for all the children and youth ministry activities.

14. Consent forms wherein parents give written permission for their children or youth to participate in offsite Little Flocks Church group activities will be gathered and kept on file.

15. Similar covenants may be required of others, upon recommendation of the Executive Council.

16. Covenants will be reviewed and renewed annually until such time as the Executive Council deems they are no longer necessary.

17. Covenants will be signed, on behalf of the church, by the Pastor, the Moderator, and the chair of the Deaconate.

Definitions

Administrator: The person who administers the entire church activity, can be a pastor or other than pastor

Authorized minister: a person who holds ordained ministerial standing or has been commissioned or licensed by an association with which the Little Flocks Church is affiliated.

Authorized volunteer: Elected officers of the church, board members, and others.

Employee: Any person employed by the church.

Minister: a person engaged by the church to carry out its ministry. Minister includes elected or appointed leaders of the church, employees, and volunteers, as well as authorized ministers.

Ministerial relationship: the relationship between one who carries out the ministry of the church and the one being served by that ministry.

Ministries Involving Children and Youth Under the Age of 18: Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, Confirmation Classes, Nursery Care, and Youth Group.

Pastor: The senior, authorized minister for the Little Flocks Community Church.

Sexual exploitation: sexual activity or contact (not limited to sexual intercourse) in which a minister engaged in the work of the church takes advantage of the vulnerability of a participant by causing or allowing the participant to engage in sexual behavior with the minister.

Sexual harassment: repeated or coercive sexual advances toward another person contrary to his or her wishes. It includes behavior directed at another person’s sexuality or sexual orientation with the intent of intimidating, humiliating, or embarrassing the other person, or subjecting the person to public discrimination. Unwelcome sexual advances, or requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:

1     Submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition or circumstance of instruction, employment, or participation in any church activity.

2     Submission to, or rejection of, such conduct by an individual is used a s a basis for evaluation in making personnel or church-related decisions affecting an individual; or

3     Such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual’s performance or participating in church activities or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive work or church environment.

Prohibited sexual harassment includes unsolicited and unwelcome contact that has sexual overtones, particularly:

4     Written contact, such as sexually suggestive or obscene letters, notes or invitations;

5     Verbal contact, such as sexually suggestive or obscene comments, threats, slurs, epithets, joke about gender-specific traits or sexual orientation, sexual propositions;

6     Physical contact, such as intentional touching, pinching, brushing against another’s body, impeding or blocking movement, assault, coercing sexual intercourse; and

7     Visual contact, such as leering or staring at another’s body, gesturing, displaying sexually suggestive objects or pictures, cartoons, posters, or magazines.

It is impermissible to suggest, threaten, or imply that failure to accept a request for a date or sexual intimacy will affect a person’s job prospects, church leadership, or comfortable participation in the life of the church. Unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical conduct of a sexual nature constitute sexual harassment when:

a.       submission to such conduct is made either explicitly or implicitly a term or condition of an individual's employment or academic advancement;

b.      submission to or rejection of such conduct by an individual is used as the basis for employment or academic decisions affecting such individual; or

c.       such conduct has the purpose or effect of unreasonably interfering with an individual's work or academic performance or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working or learning environment

References:

Forrest E. Harris, The Biblical Foundations of Leadership, Retrieved March 20, 2008    from

            http://www.vanderbilt.edu/divinity/kmsi/Biblical%20Foundations%20of%20Lead          ership.doc

J. Hampton Keathley, Qualifications for the Evaluation of Elders and Deacons, Retrieved         March 20, 2008 from www.bible.org/page.php?page_id=433

Leadership Ministry: Types of Leaders, Retrieved March 20, 2008            from

            http://mintools.com/leadership-types.htm

Policy Against Sexual Harassment, Retrieved March 20, 2008 from            http://www.indiana.edu/~uhrs/policies/uwide/sexual_harass.html

Safe church policy, Retrieved March 20, 2008 from             http://www.mennonitechurch.ca/files/resources/hr/Listowel_Policy_6-2003.pdf

Safe church Policy, Retrieved March 20, 2008 from             http://www.newmarketchurch.org/NCC_callersbull/FINALPolicyStatement-       SafeSpaces%5B2%5D.doc

The Pastor: Qualified For Conflict, Retrieved March 20, 2008 from          www.wordtruth.com/1tim_3a.htm - 15k -

The essential tasks of Missions – Training Leaders, Retrieved March 20, 2008 from

            http://www.missiology.org/essentialtasks/printable/trainingleaders.pdf

 

Cite this Page

Church Administration. (2018, Feb 22). Retrieved from https://phdessay.com/church-administration/

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