Help and Support for Church Admin
FIEC has launched a new partnership with The Church Office to help churches with template policies – and we have a new member of the team to help you implement them in your church.
One of the day-to-day realities of leading an Independent church is that you are responsible for your charitable policies and procedures.
That often sounds onerous – and doesn’t it mean that you are distracted from the work and ministry of the gospel?
Our mission at FIEC is to help churches, and we know that one of the ways we can do that is by serving our members with template policies and procedures. That’s why we are delighted to announce our partnership with The Church Office.
The Church Office
Set up out of Christchurch Newport – an Independent church in South Wales – The Church Office is led by Gavin Smith who is the Church Manager there. His vision is to free up pastors and elders by providing excellent administrative support to churches.
In the months to come, we hope to develop a whole suite of administrative policies to serve your church’s ministry. In the meantime, we have launched a basic package of charitable policies, highlighting all the essentials that a church needs to be compliant with the demands of the Charity Commission.
Gavin Smith offered a seminar at our 2023 Leaders’ Conference and is delighted with this new partnership. He said:
“The primary aim of The Church Office is to support leadership and ministry work that happens behind the scenes to allow the gospel to go forth. We have a real heart in particular for pastors who are running their own church offices and pastoring their flock at the same time.
“Partnering with FIEC means that we can assist more pastors in this situation as well as reach those in administration and ops. We pray that our site and the resources there, including document templates, podcasts, and articles, will serve churches in FIEC.”
New Team Member
In addition, FIEC has invested in a new worker to help churches in this area of policy compliance.
Becky Thomas is Operations Manager at Beeston Free Church in Nottingham, but is seconded to FIEC for some of her working week to engage with affiliated churches directly in the area of administration and procedures. Becky is our first Church Governance Advisor and added:
“I am really passionate about seeing churches well-resourced and equipped in the areas of governance and administration. Each church will have different needs, but I believe good governance and administration should always enable gospel work to flourish and see more people reached with the good news of Jesus. I am really thrilled to be able to serve FIEC churches in supporting this.
“As well as working to provide a bank of resources, I am really looking forward to getting alongside individual churches who would value the opportunity to review their governance structures or policies. I can also help if you have no idea where to start, talking through what will serve the work of the gospel well in your context.”
It’s our hope and prayer that this partnership with The Church Office and the investment in Becky’s time will be a significant step forward in supporting FIEC churches with administrative help and guidance.
If you would value some direct support with policies and procedures in your church, please contact us so that we can put you in touch with Becky directly.
