National Institute in Church Finance
& Administration (NICFA)
Emory University
Candler School of Theology
June 27, 2012
Minister to the Congregation
Dunwoody United Methodist Church
1548 Mt. Vernon Road
Dunwoody, GA 30338
770-394-0675, ext. 114
david.melton@dunwoodyumc.org
My Ministry Experience
Church Administration is:
◦ Not what you do, while you’re waiting for the “real”
ministry of the church to happen
◦ Ministry, not methods
◦ People, not paperwork
◦ Management, not manipulation of people and paper

1 Corinthians 14: 33, 40
… for God is a God not of disorder but of peace.
… all things should be done decently and in order.

Which is correct?
◦ “The Church needs to start functioning more like a
business and less like a church.”
Or
◦ “The Church needs to stop functioning like a
business and start acting more like a church.”

The conceptual difference is in a
Christ-centered approach
People and mission are the main focus, not
the return on capital investment.
Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit, and
there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and
there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God
who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given
the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. (I
Corinthians 12: 4-7)

Demonstrated by:
◦ Your character . . . Who you are
◦ Your support system . . . Who you know
◦ Your knowledge . . . What you share
◦ Your performance . . . What you do
◦ Your commitment . . . . How you persist

What are the attributes of a professional?
◦ Punctual
◦ Respect others and their space and time
◦ Produces quality work
◦ Being proficient
◦ Person who takes responsibility
◦ Assertiveness – shows initiative

Positions
◦ Consider personality assessment tools when
matching persons to positions
◦ Insure each staff member knows their job
description
◦ Require a yearly evaluation for all positions
◦ Develop and distribute organizational chart

Image – First Impressions
◦ How we look – Dress Code/Grooming
◦ How we say it – Positive and affirming
◦ How we do it – Positive and helpful

“Come . . . make yourself at home”
A way of hospitality
by Dr. D. B. Shelnutt, Jr.
Johns Creek UMC
“Those of us who love God, especially those of us in the
church, should pull together as a team. We should not
pull against each other and we should not try to pull
anyone else down.” (Ephesians 4:1 – 3)

What is the definition of a team?
◦ People working together in a coordinated effort.

What is team building?
◦ Activities that enables the team to discover its best
operational style and objectives

Belonging Together
◦ Belonging serves as the foundation of the team
building process. Remember “Cheers” a place where
everyone knows your name.
◦ There is a societal paradigm shift occurring. The
shift is away from the independent “get the job
done” to a society that is begging to see a
community of friends work it out together.

Recognition
No mater how you do it, find ways to show
staff members how valuable they are.

Growing Together
◦ Make learning a priority. Develop short and long
range education plans yourself and other office
staff.
◦ Take advantage of “in house” or team member
sharing.

Serving One Another
A very significant act that will have awesome results.
 Pray for each other
 Affirm each other
 Leave little gifts, notes, surprises for each other

Reaching Together
◦ Sharing the vision
◦ Creating unique ways to own the vision
◦ Team building is hard work and needs to be a
high priority
As members of the Dunwoody UMC Staff, we covenant with one
another to:

Pray regularly for one another

Provide each other with honest, timely, communication and
feedback



Create a sense of “team,” seeking to make others “successful,”
and to understand how our individual actions affect the
workings of the team as a whole
Provide public support of one another, using private settings
to share our concerns and to work out our differences; we will
learn from our mistakes
Maintain a high level of confidentiality in staff discussions
As members of the Dunwoody UMC Staff, we covenant with one
another to:


Listen really seeking to hear and understand with our heads
and hearts what is being said
Carry our part of the work load, not depending on others to
pick up our slack; be accountable to one another, we will lead
and be led

To feel comfortable in asking for “help” of our fellow staff
members

Use the provided systems to uniformly work and communicate
with one another

Seek to be faithful to God’s will in all we say and do
Basic Coach Training Handbook
By J. Val Hastings
Empowering Others, Empowering Yourself

Workflow: Managing office work in terms of
the demands of the individual work item.

Workload: Managing office work in terms of
the available resources and structures.

Work Control: Managing the balance between
workflow and workload.


First, focus on the whole project, what is
your end goal
Second, understand the project at multiple
levels:
◦
◦
◦
◦

From
From
From
From
task to task
worker to worker
ministry area to ministry area
ministry area to parishioner
There is a difference between a project
focus and a task focus

Assertive Supervision
◦ Susanne S. Drury
 Assertive Supervision

Progressive Leadership Model
◦ J. David Stone
 The Complete Youth Ministries Handbook

Situational Leadership Model
◦ Kenneth Blanchard
 The One Minute Manager
◦ Paul Hersey
 Situational Leader


Be direct in what is needed/wanted
Say what you need to say in a direct way, but
with respect for others.
◦ This is what I expect. What do you need from me to
help you be successful?
The Stages of Ease
I do
I do
You
You
it
it
do
do
- You watch
- You help
it - I support
it - I move on


Scheduling activities and facilities usage is a
never-ending job
Church Calendar: No Matter What –
Have one!
◦ Desk/Wall type calendars
◦ Calendar software
◦ Event Planning Software

A good calendar program:
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
◦
Tracks room usage
Custodial/maintenance work orders
Energy needs
Multiple staff can view
Has pop-up reminders
Interfaces with personal calendars
Allows advance planning 12-24 months ahead



Create policies that address how rooms are
scheduled and which groups have priority over
others
Limit authority to input or change schedules to one
or two persons
Create calendar request forms that provide
complete details of each event (i.e. times, special
set-up instructions, media needs)

Allow at least 24-48 hours before approving
request to check for all potential conflicts

Designate a “keeper of the calendar” and an
“arbitrator”
Church Administrator
Dunwoody United Methodist Church
1548 Mt. Vernon Road
Dunwoody, GA 30338
770.542.1662 (O)
678.221.4773 (C)
Jim.boyea@dunwoodyumc.org
Supplies & Purchasing
Record Retention
Safety & Security
How Do You
Do Business?
“Nowadays people know the
price of
everything and the value of nothing.”
- Oscar Wilde
“Good stewardship has less to do with how
much money is saved and more to do with
how much money isn’t wasted.”
- Anthony Coppedge
Focus on total cost
Price = What you pay for the item
Total Cost = Price + +
Central Budgeting & Purchasing for Standard
Inventory Items
Orders less than $500 are ordered directly from
vendor by individual ministry departments
Orders totaling $500 or more: Require a Purchase
Order
Avoid splitting orders to avoiding the PO process

Purchasing Groups
◦ National Church Purchasing Group
8108 Virginia Manor Drive • Mechanicsville, VA 23111
• Phone: 800-795-NCPG • ncpg.net
◦ Shared Church Services • 5118 Park Avenue •
Memphis, TN 38117 • (800)301-CORD
sharedchurchservices.com
◦ FMS Purchasing & Services
PO Box 7768 • Clearwater, FL 33758-7768
Phone: 800-456-2025 fmspurchasing.com

35% of documents contain legally sensitive
info*

1 out of 4 documents is subject to
compliance**

49% of Companys are “not confident” they
could show records are accurate, reliable, and
trustworthy*
*Source: Cohasset Survey 2005
** Source: Vanson Bourne Consultancy
The
Seven Deadly Sins
of
Records Retention
1. Not keeping your records
separate from your backup.
2. Expecting the legal
department to produce a rule
of thumb for how long to store
records.
3. Assuming that document
retention is someone else's
job.
4. Not being able to respond
quickly to a request.
5. Having a policy you can't
follow.
6. Failing to offer guidance on
how to destroy old records.
7. Telling people to delete
information at the wrong time.
Hard Information

Must be protected in a locked area with
controlled access.
◦ Personnel records, counseling files, private
correspondence, memo’s, pledge cards, giving
records

Paper Shredders
◦ When hard information is no longer needed - Don’t Dump – Shred!
Soft Information


Information stored in the church computer
or network.
Key to keeping these records private is
access.
◦ Carefully evaluate who has viewing rights as well as who
can change the contents. Establish different security levels
for different job descriptions and the types of information.
Workplace Personal Safety

Highest Priority. Safety and Security occurs at
two levels:
◦ Workplace environment and those things we have
control over;
◦ External factors we cannot control. For these
things, the best we can do is have measures in
place to reduce and minimize harm to others and
ourselves.

Provide regular opportunities for formal
dialogue between staff and supervisors
◦ Creates openness between staff and supervisors
◦ Provide an instrument to guide dialogue
 Staff Review
Best Practices
 Minimizing/Recognizing Risks
◦ Assess how well you are doing

Communications
◦ 2-way, cell phone, intercom, “code words”

Audits
◦ Security audit – Use police department, security
firm, consultant

Leaders are encouraged to equip themselves with tools
that can be used to resolve conflict.

Create a culture that encourages mutual respect and
open communication.



Conduct training in conflict resolution, how to report
and handle complaints of unfair treatment, and how to
recognize signs of a potentially violent employee.
Violence often results from stress, either on or off the
job, and pushes people “over the edge.”
Screen thoroughly; have a written ZERO tolerance
policy for workplace violence, report all threats of
violence to the police.
“Human beings, who are almost
unique in having the ability to
learn from experience of
others, are also remarkable for
their disinclination to do so.”
-Douglas Adams

NACBA www.nacba.net

NACPA www.nacpa.org

NACFM www.nacfm.org

NACFS www.nacfs.org

GACHP www.gachp.org