Should You Hire a Church Administrator?

If you are the pastor or church leader of a growing congregation, you are likely excited, encouraged, and perhaps a little overwhelmed. You also may be processing which adjustments you need to make to accommodate this growth and steward the momentum within your congregation. How can you best serve your congregation? Who should you hire?

One incredibly beneficial role to consider adding to your team during a period of growth is a church administrator. This role is all about organization and accountability, and a talented administrator can do everything from overseeing your church management software to managing events and communication.

Do you still need a bit of convincing? Here are a few pertinent reasons why you should consider adding this valuable player to your team!

Banish Burnout

I’ll never forget the day that my leadership team called me into an office to encourage me to take a brief, month-long sabbatical. I was a young leader, and I was shocked and ashamed to admit that three years of church planting while working bi-vocationally and enrolled in a full-time seminary program had led to my complete and utter exhaustion. Disappointed in my limitations, I reluctantly took the break… and I’m so glad I did! A month later, I returned to work with a new pep in my step and a life lesson that would follow me for the rest of my life: human beings are limited! 

This is a key to longevity in ministry, friends. We cannot and should not expect ourselves to be able to do all the work all the time. We need to learn to delegate, and we need to learn to rest. This is why Sabbath was gifted to us. This is why we need teammates. If we want to banish burnout from our churches and church leadership teams, we have to start normalizing rest and reliance on others. 

If you are a church leader currently learning how to delegate and take a weekly Sabbath, now is a great time to consider hiring someone – particularly someone in administration – to share part of your load. This will be instrumental for your health, but it may also be instrumental for the health of your volunteers and staff.

Before I reached my moment of burnout, I didn’t have the luxury of hiring another church employee to help with my ever-growing plate of administrative responsibilities. I should have communicated my needs to my leaders, but I also recognize that leadership teams should actively work to prevent their staff from getting stretched too thin. Hiring a church administrator can be a helpful solution to ensure that workloads are manageable and people are honored. 

Teamwork Wins Championships

It’s 2023 (the “Jordan year”), and March Madness is right around the corner, so I can’t help but drop a quick Michael Jordan quote for all of my fellow basketball fans out there: “Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships.” I couldn’t have said it better myself!

If you are the pastor or church leader of a growing congregation, you may identify with the feeling that you can and should take on the bulk of church management and administration tasks yourself. I deeply understand this sentiment. You likely want to be a good steward of your church’s financial resources, and it was probably your willingness to say “yes” to whatever tasks God placed in front of you that formed you into the leader you are today. 

Even so, the do-it-yourself mindset has caused far too many church leaders – including myself at one point – to operate as an island. The unfortunate reality is that many of us have gotten really good at doing ministry alone when this was never God’s design. The body of Christ was always meant to operate as a team! 

If a pastor is like a point guard, I like to think of a church administrator as a strong shooting guard. They anticipate the team's needs, are there when you need them, and seriously contribute to overall points scored… you get the point! If you want a strong team, you need someone gifted in administration.

Gifts All-Around

Speaking of teamwork and the body of Christ, let’s talk about spiritual gifts. 1 Corinthians 12 has much to say about both spiritual gifts and how the Church should operate as a body.

1 Corinthians 12:7 tells us that “to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for common good.” In this case, the manifestation of the Spirit refers to the varieties of gifts and services afforded to us and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The chapter goes on to remind us of our dependence on one another. “The eye cannot say to the hand, ‘I don’t need you!’ And the head cannot say to the feet, ‘I don’t need you!’” (1 Corinthians 12:21). 

The clear message is that we need each other – and each other’s gifts – to function and thrive as God intended. One of the gifts is the gift of administration (see Romans 12:7), which brings us back to our main discussion. If you recognize that you fall short with administrative tasks, don’t try to convince yourself that you don’t need help! Instead, consider hiring a staff member with the gift of administration who can effectively serve your church’s needs. Not only will this help you, but it will be a blessing for your new church administrator to use their gifts for the building up of the church and the furtherance of the kingdom of God. 

Get Organized 

This is a relatively obvious reason to hire a church administrator, but it is important nonetheless. A gifted administrator will be able to help with planning and support systems that help your church thrive. For example, a church administrator can help determine the best church management solution for scheduling your volunteers. They can also help implement and oversee these systems to ensure everything runs smoothly. 

A church administrator can also help organize expenses and communication. They may oversee staff payroll, create a monthly budgeting report, or prepare tax documents for an accountant. Depending on the size of your church and staff, your administrator may also answer phone calls, check emails, and create your church’s weekly or monthly bulletin. 

Essentially, administrators are the “most valuable players” of the church world. They turn chaos into order, face messy systems with fearlessness, and increase productivity for everyone. If that isn’t a good enough reason to hire a church administrator, I don’t know what is!

A Church Management Solution for Your Growing Church

Ministry can sometimes be chaotic, especially when a church is growing. As already discussed, hiring a church administrator will help you accommodate the changes and challenges associated with growth. Still, we should never underestimate the power and effectiveness of a church management software system. Breeze offers an incredibly easy-to-use church management solution for congregations of all sizes, and a church administrator can use this platform to do everything from volunteer scheduling, requesting background checks, managing people directories, implementing text-to-give strategies, and more!

If you have been searching for a church management solution for your growing church, Breeze is a great place to start!