What Does a Church Business Administrator Do?

A church business administrator typically handles the day-to-day business of running a church, allowing pastors and spiritual personnel to continue their work in a well-managed and legally compliant atmosphere. Financial, personnel, and office management may all fall under the job description of a church business administrator. Many church business administrators are highly trained and experienced, and often possess college degrees in related subjects.

Though it is easy to think of a church as a spiritual dwelling only, it is also a business that must be well-managed and carefully run in order to be sustainable. Since religious officials are rarely trained in business management, a good church business administrator can be the difference between a successful, thriving church, and a bankrupt, empty building. By hiring a church business administrator, a church can lay the foundation for long-term growth and stability, ensuring that the church continues to be a vibrant community with the ability to do good well into the future.

A church administrator usually oversees the financial management of the church. This may include designing and implementing a bookkeeping system to track all income and expenditures, creating yearly budgets for the church and its programs, and planning for budgetary shortfalls and surpluses as they arise. In addition, a church administrator must ensure that financial records are well-organized and cleanly managed for taxation purposes, as an audit can be both costly and embarrassing to the institution.

In terms of personnel, a church administrator may be ultimately responsible for hiring all support staff, including office workers and maintenance crews. The administrator does not always have a large say in the hiring or dismissal of religious personnel, such as pastors, except in terms of budgetary impact. A church business administrator needs to oversee the training and management of employees, to ensure that labor laws are met and safety concerns addressed.

In addition to financial and personnel responsibilities, another important duty of a church business administrator is management of the general office and church property. These tasks are often extremely practical, ensuring that paperwork and church programs are correctly managed, and that property issues are swiftly discovered and handled. Proper attention to these responsibilities helps the church work as a well-oiled machine, ensuring that the facility is equipped to handle day-to-day business effectively.

With a large battery of responsibilities, a church business administrator often relies on a strong educational background and work experience to help get through the day. Many administrators possess advanced degrees in business management or accounting; some even hold specialized degrees in church business management. A head administrator typically has at least five years of work experience in the field, though some may spend considerably more time in support positions before getting a job at the administrator level.