Course Description

This course is very practical and invites you to learn about areas that are necessary to leading a healthy organization. No administration course can cover all the areas. In this course, you are invited to look at your church’s past, present and future priorities with regard to: mission, budget keeping, meeting facilitation, membership records, and spiritual and practical stewardship practices.

Learning Objectives

• Appraise the role of authorized minister (pastor or staff minister) as a covenantal partner with the church leaders including the Administrative Board (Council, Consistory, Board of Directors, etc.).
• Outline financial systems and record keeping in one’s faith community, including policies on stewardship and accounting of all resources (including physical assets) and communication of this information with congregants.
• Illustrate the role of an authorized minister as a covenanted member of a local church.
• Appraise the local faith community’s strengths, challenges, and historic patterns represented in church documents and oral history recounted by members.
• Analyze budgeting patterns, both historic and present, including physical assets of the faith community and mission-related expenditures.
• Interpret budgeting patterns of the past and present for the future life of the faith community.
• Illustrate approaches to giving as a spiritual practice.

Required Texts

• Church Administration and Finance Manual by Otto F. Crumroy, Jr, Stan Kukawka, and Frank M. Witman, Morehouse Publishing, 1998. (some of the pages)
• Inspiring Generosity, edited by William C. Green, Mark J. Suriano, Christina Villa, UCC Resources, reprinted 2005. (99 pages)
• Church Administration and Finance Manual by Otto F. Crumroy, Jr, Stan Kukawka, and Frank M. Witman, Morehouse Publishing, 1998. pages 116-128;  146, 147, 148