MISSION : ACCOMPLISHED SIMEON MAY / CEO / THE CHURCH NETWORK / PHILL MARTIN / DEPUTY CEO / THE CHURCH NETWORK / DALLAS , TX
Even so , for Belaski , it was the proprietary MinistryPay . com church salary survey that first inspired his TCN membership 15 years ago . At that point , he was developing a salary matrix for his own church staff using MinistryPay . com as a data source . “ We ’ ve included it in our analysis ever since ,” he says .
For Dr . King , who has a long history with NACBA / TCN ( having first heard of the organization in the late 1980s , when he was in seminary ), certification training has been a lifesaver . True to form , he earned his Certified Church Administrator ( CCA ) designation in 1992 .
“ I ’ ve learned all kinds of practical and strategic information that I hadn ’ t received in seminary ,” he points out . “ The continuing education requirements for retention have also kept me on the cutting edge of church administration .”
Having this advantage has also been a priority for Turner , who earned her CCA designation in 2013 .
“ It gives you a stamp of validation about the level of excellence and the information that you bring to bear ,” she points out . “ In business , you get your MBA . In accounting , you get your CPA . In the church world , many people think you can just fly by the seat of your pants . But , as churches grow and the level of scrutiny increases , it ' s really great to have an organization that supports being very equipped for all that .”
Phill Martin ( right ) presents an award to Dan Busby of ECFA at The Church Network annual conference
A more complex calling
Martin , too , has heeded the expanding complexity of the church administration role . In fact , he says it ’ s the biggest shift he ’ s seen in 18 years with TCN .
“ There are more laws related to HR . More accounting principles that need to be applied . More legal issues ,” he explains . “ To do the administration of the church well today — and within regulations and laws — it takes a lot more understanding and professional expertise than it used to .”
In the next five to 10 years , both he and May expect the administrative function of growing congregations to become more decentralized and , frankly , more similar to for-profit entities .
“ There ' s not a direct translation of the business world to the church business world ,” Martin clarifies . “ The bottom line is different , of course ; the metrics and the accountabilities are different .”
Even so , May and Martin agree that while some people come out of the pew to do this work — and make the transition well — others become frustrated for this very reason .
QUICK FACTS ABOUT THE CHURCH NETWORK :
Year Established : 1956 ( known until 2014 as National Association of Church Business Administration , or NACBA ) Members : 1,800 Local chapters / chapters : 50 + Staff : 5 full-time + “ an army of volunteers ”
For membership information , or how to join : visit http :// thechurchnetwork . com / join
“ They want the church to work the way they ' re used to things working in the business world ,” May explains . “ Part of what our certification program is about , is trying to create the foundational framework to understand the unique side of doing administration in congregations .”
Forecasting what ’ s next
In the next five to 10 years , Martin and May expect church administrative roles to involve more volunteer engagement , a shift driven primarily by the rising cost of employee benefits .
“ Whereas you used to have one person who would be considered a part of the professional ministerial staff , you might , at some point , have four or five people involved in the functioning ,” Martin says . “ Some might even be lay volunteers .”
May agrees , and says he ’ s already witnessing this shift in many mainline congregations .
Consequently , The Church Network ’ s educational and training offerings will follow suit . Key and critical to that adaptation : the continued advancement of church administration as a ministry , not just a function .
In Martin ’ s own administrative experience , he has always been considered clergy , receiving clergy training and subject to clergy accountability . “ However , in many congregations , the administrative staff — even someone with a parish administrator title or business administrator title — are not .”
As such , he says The Church Network will strive to clearly articulate the significance of ministry around the role of administration .
“ This is one of the struggles [ we face ],” he adds . “ But , as we look at the scriptural references around spiritual gifts , there ' s not a hierarchy of those spiritual gifts .”
As May , Martin and the TCN team adapt to these changes in church administration , one thing is for sure : their members agree and are in step with them .
“ Back when I joined , there was no educational track for folks like me to become [ church business administrators ],” Taylor says . “ Then and now , the broadest attraction is that there ’ s a continuing resource I can draw from to do the job .”
For Belaski , getting to know hundreds of exceptional men and women — all of them making invaluable contributions to advancing the Kingdom — has been the biggest membership benefit of all : “ They ’ re doing it by bringing leadership and efficiencies to their respective churches . It compels me to take my game to a higher level .”
For Turner , it ’ s the quality and caliber of information at her fingertips , on a wide variety of topics , that keeps her coming back year after year .
“ I ’ ve said it over and over : When you ’ re looking for an answer , you can feel extremely confident that the information provided has been vetted ,” she says . “ And , it ’ s presented with such excellence that , if you follow it , you ’ ll be on track , above par , and — in many instances — at the cutting edge of what ’ s being done in ministry .”
8 CHURCH EXECUTIVE | JULY / AUGUST 2018