Receptionist

Church administrators perform day-to-day administrative and secretarial tasks for churches. The role is perfect for anyone with administrative experience and an appreciation for organized religion. Most administrators are employed full time, but there are many in the field who only work part time. Church administrators usually work regular hours, and most have weekends and holidays off.

Responsibilities

• Answer Phones and Take Messages: Churches receive a high number of phone calls from current and prospective members, as well as from other parties, such as accountants, marketers, and sister churches. The church administrator is responsible for answering these calls and responding to messages (both phone calls and emails) in a timely and professional manner.
• Schedule Appointments: Many churches and their leaders offer counseling and mentoring services to members and nonmembers. The church administrator often schedules such appointments and ensures the preacher, reverend, or pastor has enough time to meet. They may also schedule appointments for business purposes.
• Prepare and Distribute Documents: Important documents such as church fliers, notifications, brochures, and religious pamphlets must be printed and distributed to the appropriate parties. Church administrators are often in charge of creating, editing, and distributing these documents.
• Perform Administrative Tasks: Administrative tasks, such as restocking the breakroom, keeping certain areas clean, meeting with clients, and running errands, are often performed by church administrators. They may also run personal errands for the preacher, reverend, or pastor from time to time.
• Perform Basic Bookkeeping: Church administrators, like many administrative professionals, perform basic bookkeeping tasks. They may print receipts, track of church expenses, document the number of hours worked by employees, and send out invoices for services. More complicated tasks are typically handled by accountants.

Experience & Qualifications

• Bookkeeping – many administrators have basic bookkeeping knowledge. Churches may seek professionals who know how to effectively use QuickBooks and other bookkeeping software
• Phone etiquette – church administrators usually answer the majority of incoming calls, so they must be capable of sounding professional. They should also be capable of handling multiple incoming calls and taking messages while talking on the phone
• Administrative experience – most church administrators have some secretarial or administrative experience. They should be comfortable providing administrative support to one or more individuals
• Organization skills – church administrators are often responsible for tracking numerous important documents, and sometimes these documents contain sensitive information. They must be capable of organizing documents and working efficiently
• Interpersonal skills – exceptional written and verbal communication skills are needed to become a church administrator. Successful administrators should also feel comfortable communicating and working with others on a daily basis