Sheri Laninga
Welcome to a place to where we can help each other with knowledge and understanding in the area of church administration. I served as church administrator at Brookside CRC in Grand Rapids for 8 ½ years and now serve in the Ministers’ Pension Office in Grand Rapids. I’m a business graduate from Calvin and have been a member of CRC congregations all my life including Redlands, CA; Scottsdale, AZ; Sun Valley, CA; and Grand Rapids, MI. A couple years ago Chris Cok, the controller at the denomination, and I posted on the CRC website “Financial Resources from Churches and for Churches.” Now the site http://www.crcna.org/pages/finance.cfm is linked to the Church Administration Network. We hope you find these resources helpful in your work. If you don’t see what you need, we look forward to your questions for possible new additions. If you have something that you think would be of interest to others in the area of church administration, please send it my way so we may continue to assist each other as we faithfully serve our Lord through the use of our gifts in administration. God bless you in your service, Sheri Laninga
Posted in: What Steps Does a Church Take When It Needs to Dismiss a Pastor It Cannot Afford?
I referred to the "Manual of Christian Reformed Church Government," article 17 regarding release from ministry in a congregation. Article 17a allows release "from active ministerial service in a congregation through action initiated by themselves, by a council, or jointly. Such release shall be given only with the approval of classis, with the concurring advice of the synodical deputies, and in accordance with synodical regulations."
This and more information can be found starting on p. 85 and the book is available for order through Faith Alive at crcna.org. If you have additional questions about synodical regulations, contact Dee Recker in the denominational offices.
Posted in: How Does a Church Determine Who Gets Paid and Who's a Volunteer?
At Brookside CRC in Grand Rapids where I attend, we also wrestled with payment for staffing. Nothing was formally in writing, but we only paid leadership positions in ministry areas in addition to the lead organist/pianist for services. These positions are 20 hrs/wk or more.
Many people serve the church with enormous amounts of time and they are appreciated. I'm sure there are many people who give 5-10 hours of their time each week and some maybe even more in doing ministry as gifted members.
Pastors, worship leaders, and sound operators are all possible recipients of gratuities at our church for funerals. A fee is set for sound operators with our weddings and other rental events.
Posted in: What forms or policies are available to provide guidelines for issuing church keys?
I googled church key policy and came up with this great looking policy among others--great idea! Let me know if anyone has a key policy and I can add it to our Church Finance and Administration Resources.
Posted in: What methods work for church debt retirement and fund raising?
"Every dollar that goes to debt is a dollar that does not go to ministry." Experts suggest that you need a compelling vision, congregational trust, and unity among the leadership to lead a congregation in a campaign to lower debt. The leadership will be responsible for creating a vision for ministry that can occur with the resources that previously went to debt reduction. You will need to build ownership of this idea among the congregation and develop communication that provides a complete description of what church ministry could be achieved without the debt.
A capital campaign needs to be integrated with a refocusing on the spiritual journey and bringing honor to God in how we support our ministries of the church. I have been involved in a building campaign and it is important also to understand the capacity of the congregation, set the appropriate goal, and set a timeline for the campaign that is not too short or too much time so you can sustain the momentum. The campaign must be focused clearly on the vision for ministry and not just the dollars. Many churches also use personal contact teams, prayer times, and messages from the pulpit on stewardship and vision for serving others.
Check out the resources on the web on church debt reduction plans. You will get lots of ideas for a campaign and how to stay focused on the ministry vision.
Posted in: Pensions for Pastors Serving churches and Pastors Employed by CRCNA H.O.
Since the pension benefit calculation is based on the final average salary (FAS) of all ministers at the year of retirement, salary differences between one minister and another (f they retire at the same time, same number of years of service, and service in the same country) will not be a factor in the determination of pension.
Check out the Ministers' Pension website for additional information. An example of the pension benefit calculation is included under the Canadian Plan Highlights and the U.S. Plan Highlights located in the right column on the front page. Call the Ministers' Pension Office if you have additional questions!
Posted in: Church budgets
Our church budget is approved as a commitment from the congregation to give as they are blessed. We encourage our church body to give 5-6% of their gross income to the general fund and give to special funds above that giving. The leadership has calculated how much this would be per adult member but this is not a requirement from anyone nor published anywhere other than in the budget documents. We think of giving as a body of believers supporting the church ministry, not members who are obligated to pay as in a membership to a country club. God graciously blessed our church giving again this past year and we were able to pay our bills and give our full ministry shares.
Posted in: I Have a Question, Where Should I Put It?
Our church calls this ministry area "connections." The connections area is not just about welcoming but also fellowship activities. Our ushers still come under "Worship" but our Welcoming Center, Sunday coffee, Discovering Membership, the "Fun Bunch," etc. are all ministries in the area of "connections."
Posted in: I Have a Question, Where Should I Put It?
The "Fun Bunch" plans multigenerational fellowship activities throughout the year such as Dinner for Eight, Harvest Festival, Summer Picnic, Talent Night, Chili Cookoff, and whatever new thing they come up with!
Posted in: Health Insurance
Brookside (in the US) offered health insurance to those regularly scheduled to work 30 hours per week or more. It was set up that we would cover 100% of the individual health insurance coverage. If a person wanted family coverage, we covered 65% of the cost of family coverage over individual coverage. In the US, churches that are covered through the denominational plan now have an option for an HSA plan. If a church changes to this lower cost insurance with a higher deductible, then the cost structure to the employee may also change. Did your church change to an HSA plan lately? How did you restructure? What are you doing with coverage?
Posted in: What Should Be Added to This Network?
Hi all,
How do churches equip members to assist elders in pastoral care? Do any churches have a pastoral care team that assists with sending cards, regular visits, phone calls, etc?
Posted in: What Should Be Added to This Network?
Hi Randy,
The samples include a description for treasurer and assistant treasurer. I'm working on the President, Clerk, etc.--good idea! I'll get back to you with info on preparing minutes also. Thanks for the great comments!
Posted in: What Should Be Added to This Network?
Hi all,
I responded by email but missed the post under comments. I have contacted a few churches and now have a sample from another church with a few duties listed for chairs. You will find "Sample Church #2 Council Responsibilities" under "Church Organization and Administration" and then "Administration." Hope this helps. I'll continue to look for other resources.