Church Administration

By Dag Heward-Mills

Practical solutions to the challenges of church administration are clearly outlined in this phenomenal new book by Dag Heward-Mills.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dag Heward-Mills
• Release date: Nov 8, 2019
• ISBN: 9781643295091

Dag Heward-Mills

Bishop Dag Heward-Mills is a medical doctor by profession and the founder of the United Denominations Originating from the Lighthouse Group of Churches (UD-OLGC). The UD-OLGC comprises over three thousand churches pastored by seasoned ministers, groomed and trained in-house. Bishop Dag Heward-Mills oversees this charismatic group of denominations, which operates in over 90 different countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Caribbean, Australia, and North and South America. With a ministry spanning over thirty years, Dag Heward-Mills has authored several books with bestsellers including ‘The Art of Leadership’, ‘Loyalty and Disloyalty’, and ‘The Mega Church’. He is considered to be the largest publishing author in Africa, having had his books translated into over 52 languages with more than 40 million copies in print.

Book preview

Unless otherwise stated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the King James Version of the Bible.

Church Administration

Copyright © 2016 Dag Heward-Mills

First published 2004 by Parchment House

Find out more about Dag Heward Mills at:

Healing Jesus Campaign

Email:  [e-mail]

Website:  www.daghewardmills.org

Facebook: Dag Heward-Mills

Twitter:  @EvangelistDag

EBOOK ISBN :  978-1-64329-509-1

All rights reserved under international copyright law.  Written permission must be secured from the publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book. 

Contents

Chapter 1: How to Establish a Membership Base

Chapter 2: What to Expect from the Average Church Member

Chapter 3: How to Manage Your Offerings

Chapter 4: How to Improve Your Offerings

Chapter 5: How to Improve Tithing in the Church

Chapter 6: How to Improve Tithing in the Church

Chapter 7: How to Manage the Church’s Money

Chapter 8: Separate the Pastor’s Money from the Church’s Money

Chapter 9: How to Develop the Church Constitution

Chapter 10: Principles of Employment

Chapter 11: Guidelines of Employment

Chapter 12: How to Employ Someone

Chapter 13: How to Determine Salaries

Chapter 14: How to Manage a Network of Churches

Chapter 15: The Ready-to-Use Sample Constitution

Chapter 16: The Temperament Examination

References

Chapter 1

How to Establish a Membership Base

For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in order the things that are wanting...

Titus 1:5

1. Register all your members using a simple membership registration form. 

Having a complicated form with all sorts of details often creates useless data which is never used. The church is not the CIA and often does not require such extensive information.   

2.  The most important fields of information for church membership are the names, ages, gender, telephone numbers and addresses.

Some will argue that further information such as previous marriages, number of children, educational background, etc. are relevant for pastoral care.  I agree with you but my experience is that most of this information is never properly used or managed.  It becomes piles of useless data which no one knows what do with.  

3.  Give every member a life-time index number which will be used as a permanent reference point.  

This number will be needed by every computer system and program used.  The index number will be used to monitor the individual’s tithes.  It can also be used by the individual in any activity that requires identification.  For instance, if you have classes or examinations in the church, this number will come in handy.  

4. Do not be deceived! Many church members do not consider their membership as that important.  

When they are moving on, as in location or country, many do not bother to inform their pastor that they are leaving.  They see themselves as insignificant members whose absence will not be noticed.  

5. The unannounced departure of numerous members without notice converts your laboriously acquired information into useless data. 

This is why unnecessary and lengthy efforts to gather information about each member is discouraged.

6.  Accept that church membership has a fluid and ever changing composition.  

There are always some stable and unmovable people in each congregation but it is best for every pastor to accept the absolute fluidity of church membership.  Church membership can be described as a flowing river in which the water you see today will not be the water you see tomorrow.  

7.  Make joining your church easy.  

The filling of a simple form is an easy one step procedure for joining the church.  Some churches insist on people going through various classes and procedures before they are allowed to become members.  This is a good idea but the danger is that many will not go through these classes and will assume that they are not members.  I believe that as they join the church through a simple procedure, they will then have the opportunity to go through the classes.  

8.  Accept the reality of different levels of membership.  

Within every congregation, there are at least four levels of memberships:

i. People who have