Episcopal Church Foundation Vestry Papers - for leading congregations

The rector would like a printout of the leaflet by Thursday. The choir director needs a few checks written for musicians playing at a concert on Friday. The treasurer is requesting a report, the senior warden needs to schedule some roof repairs, and a couple of parishioners want a new directory as soon as possible.

All these tasks may be within the administrator’s job description, and yet in moments like this it can become difficult to prioritize, accomplish everything effectively, and to avoid upsetting people. There are several things the church leadership can do to prevent these bottlenecks.

Here are my top five:

Make it clear who is the administrator’s supervisor: Ultimately, it is the responsibility of the rector and the vestry to make sure that the administrator has a single supervisor, to whom he or she can turn to in difficult moments, when the work gets to be almost unmanageable (in my experience, this often happens in December). In most situations that boss is likely to be the rector, though in larger churches there might be other priests or administrative staff who might fill that supervisory role.

The vestry and parishioners still can – and probably should – make requests of the administrator, but the supervisor, whoever that person is, can help him or her manage these requests. What is essential is that everyone knows who is in charge of managing the administrator’s workload.

The supervisor should play an active role in prioritizing: The key to managing requests and instructions coming from every direction is prioritization. The supervisor is key in this situation. He or she can help the administrator sort through the various tasks and decide what is important and needs to be dealt with immediately, and what can wait or simply should be delegated to someone else.

Create a clearly written job description: It’s important that everyone has a good understanding of the administrator’s job description, which should be as clear and realistic as possible. Though this depends on the size of the congregation, of course, if most of the job description is made up of “other tasks as needed,” then it will be difficult to know how to move forward and prioritize during the busiest times of the year (stewardship season and Advent, for example).

If the job description clearly delineates that the parish administrator must get the bills paid every week, and print the leaflets, and assist the rector, then it’s easy to know that these things come first. Other requests can come after that, and the administrator can be confident that he or she is putting the most important tasks first.

Empower the administrator to say “no”: If the administrator knows his job description and has prioritized with the help of his supervisor, then it will be easier and appropriate for him to say “no” when it is simply impossible to take on any additional work. I have occasionally said “yes” to too many requests. Saying yes to something and then not getting it done is worse, and more frustrating for everyone involved, than saying “no I can’t do that right now.”

Sometimes, the administrator will be able to direct the person making the request to another staff member or church leader who can help them. Often, the church administrator will simply ask, “can this wait?” When your organization is run by volunteers with their own busy lives, there will always be last minute requests, and the supervisor can help the administrator know whether these are really urgent or not. More often than not, however, these tasks can wait for a few days or a week. If the administrator is upfront and honest, this usually isn’t a problem. And if it is, the administrator can always appeal to his supervisor for guidance.

Clue in the administrator into community politics and quirks: The church, just like any organization or community, will have politics that have to be navigated. These dynamics are often exaggerated by the nature of the church, which is called to minister to even the difficult parishioner, who may turn out to be the one who volunteers to assist in the office. The more the leadership shares with the administrator, the better equipped he or she will be to navigate these situations. This may mean learning how to set limits with a parishioner or taking a little extra time to listen to a church member who needs a friendly ear. It’s in situations like these that the administrator is most clearly ministering to the congregation.

The key is clarity. Every member of the community leads the church - parishioners fund the work of the church and do much of it themselves. But this doesn’t mean that every member of the community is the administrator’s boss. Clear lines of supervision and well laid out duties will allow the administrator to do his job efficiently and effectively.