LEAD 505 Church Administration

A study of administrative principles and practices for the local church. The course examines staff, finances, buildings, and public relations in churches and integrates material from both religious and secular sources.

Prerequisites:

Click on the following link to view the required resource(s) for the term in which you are registered: Liberty University Online Bookstore.

Administration is one of the greatest challenges faced by pastors and church staff. It requires the knowledge of key facets of ministry coupled with wisdom, foresight, and the ability to deal with critical issues set in a primarily volunteer setting. To be accomplished effectively, church work requires administration as well as teaching, preaching, and ministering. The purpose of this course is to facilitate an understanding of administration as an essential element to church ministry enabling a business-like approach fostering a well-organized and functional ministry capable of accomplishing its mission and vision well.

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

No details available.

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (3)

Discussions are collaborative learning experiences. Therefore, the student will participate in 3 Discussions. The student will be required to write a thread of at least 300 words and reply to at least 2 other classmates’ threads. Each reply must be a minimum of 100 words. For each thread, the student must support his/her assertions with at least 2 scholarly citations in the format of the student’s academic program. Each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation in the format of the student’s academic program. (CLO: A, B, D, E, F, G)

Church Governance Assignment

Utilizing the table in the Church Governance Template, the student will compare and contrast each church polity structure, noting individual strengths, potential weaknesses, and providing biblical support and analysis of approaches. The student will then describe in a 250-word single-spaced paper their current church polity and offer an informed opinion/argument on whether that church should keep its current polity, or restructure around a new polity using insights gained in the module. A minimum of 2 academic sources/citations are required. The student must use the standard formatting of his/her school. (CLO: B, D)

Protecting the Flock: Risk Management Assignment

The student will do a “walk-through” of his/her current church location and, using the provided chart, rate areas of concern as “low,” “medium,” or “high.” The student will use a scale of 0-10, with 0-3 being “low;” 4-7 being “medium;” and 8-10 being “high.” For areas of “medium” and “high,” the student will then submit an action plan addressing how to secure those areas. A minimum of 2 academic sources/citations are required. The student may use the standard formatting of his/her school. (CLO: G)

Building with Clarity: Church Policy Design Assignment

Building with Clarity: Church Policy Design: Part 1 – Research Assignment 

This assignment centers on research. The student will choose one (1) critical issue in church policy and conduct the research component. The research should produce at least ten (10) academic resources. Academic is defined as sources like textbooks and peer-reviewed journal articles. The student will also use five (5) sources from popular literature bases (e.g., Christianity Today). The student will also give a 250 word single-spaced rationale on why a particular policy is chosen. The student must use the standard formatting of his/her school. (CLO: A, C)

Building with Clarity: Church Policy Design: Part 2 – Presentation Assignment

In this assignment, the student will create a policy recommendations presentation as though it is going to a church ruling board (e.g., deacons, subcommittee, pastoral staff) for approval. The form should be in a PowerPoint Presentation. There should be a minimum of 15 slides in addition to an Introduction Slide and Summary Slide. (CLO: A, C, F)

Faithful Finances: Church Budgets Assignment

For this assignment, the student will revise a provided budget to reflect how he/she feels it can be improved. The student will answer provided questions in his/her analysis. The student must use the format of his/her academic program. (CLO: E)