The Church Office

Hot off the press- Churchsuite have very kindly agreed to sponsor The Church Office podcast! We're really grateful for all the support from Gavin and the team at ChurchSuite and can't wait to work alongside them. Listen into this special episode as Gavin Courtney joins us to talk about why the team wanted to sponsor the podcast and everything that's new at ChurchSuite.

Data protection can often feel like a minefield, especially in a church context where sensitive data is handled frequently. We recently asked our followers to submit any questions they had about data and privacy for us to pass on to the experts.   Listen in to this Church Office special as Gavin brings your questions to Harry and Leanne from the ICO.

Gavin recently had the joy of sitting down with Ashley Ellis, CEO of ACAT, the Association of Church Accountants and Treasurers. Listen in as they discuss what ACAT has to offer and why no church accountant or treasurer should feel alone. The ACAT Team have a wonderful heart to serve local churches and those serving in the area of church finances. For more information please visit https://www.acat...

Would you describe your church as being an awkward size? Listen in as Gavin and Ray talk about overcoming some of the barriers to gospel growth that are faced in our churches. Ray serves as the Leadership Consultant for the FIEC and is also the author of Ready, Steady, Grow.   

In the video Gavin got the opportunity to chat to Steffan Job the General Secretary for the Evangelical Movement of Wales. It was great to find out more about all the different ways that the EMW are serving churches across Wales and beyond. You will pick up Steffan's heart straight away to serve churches with fewer members. The EMW have a rich and wonderful history of reaching out to young people...

In this podcast, Gavin got the chance to sit down with David Anderson from Face2Face Scotland. David is an experienced Pastor who provides mentoring, coaching and discipleship to pastors in their early years of ministry. It doesn't take long to pick up David's lovely heart and desire to care for leaders. In the video David makes reference to a short survey he would love listeners to complete. Plea...

Gavin recently got to sit down with a good friend, Steve Robinson and talk to him about his new book 'Serve'. Serve is a really encouraging read about what it looks like to follow Jesus' example when serving the church and what it means to serve sacrificially. Listen in as Gavin and Steve talk through serving with purpose and joy.

Gavin recently caught up with Andy Weatherly from Grace Church, Stirchley about what prompted him to hire a Church Administrator and the difference having one has made. It was great to meet him and listen in to his thoughts on the gift of administration, church deacons and strengthening the local church.

In this podcast, Gavin sits down with Phil Topham, the Executive Director of the FIEC, to share their passion to better support churches in the area of policy and governance. The Church Office is grateful for the support and funding it has received from the FIEC to enable The Church Office to continue to be a free resource for churches. https://fiec.org.uk https://fiec.org.uk/resources/how-to-do-n...

In this podcast, Gavin sits down with John Truscott to discuss whether churches should be setting targets and goals. Is it going to help grow and move a church forward? How would you answer that question? Listen in as Gavin and John share their experience about setting vision, developing aims and organising the next steps. Please check out John's training notes exploring this area in greater detai...

In this podcast, Gavin got the opportunity to talk to Andy Gears who leads a charity called Disciple Tech. His passion is to create technology that helps people grow in their walk with Jesus. Listen in now as Andy and Gavin talk through Andy's projects from PrayerMate, a brilliant app that supports individuals and churches to pray more consistently, a Bible reading app called Redeeming Time and a...

Gavin sits down with Paul and Sue Harrison from Christian Safeguarding Services to chat about the services that they provide churches and christian charities. During the podcast Gavin asks Paul to answer some questions from listeners. Together they open up the discussion about safeguarding vulnerable adults in the church context. To find out more about Christian Safeguarding Services please check...

The Church Office team would firstly like to wish all our listeners a happy new year, we hope the Christmas season has been a much needed rest for many of you serving in Administration and Operations.  In this podcast, Gavin sits down with Sharon Clarke to talk through their  hectic starts to 2024. Gavin has been navigating a long list of jobs, dismantling Christmas decorations, finalising year en...

In the last video of 2023, Gavin sits down with Anna Hodgson the Operation Director at Mosaic Church in Basingstoke. Gavin and Anna spend some time reflecting on the diverse roles in Church Administration and Operations. From caring for staff and volunteers, being creative, enabling others to serve, releasing gifting and being strategic with resources, there's a lot to cover. It was a joy to get t...

In this podcast Gavin get the opportunity to sit down with Gavin Courtney the founder of ChurchSuite and discuss all the latest from ChurchSuite. They caught up on new features to come, using ChurchSuite for holiday clubs and using flows for welcoming more people into your church family. Listen in now!

In this podcast Gavin talks to Karen Coleman a Church Administrator from Fuller Baptist Church in Kettering. Karen shares life as a part time administrator giving us an insight into some of her responsibilities, highlights and challenges. Gavin and Karen also start the conversation around listed church buildings. Karen is also a member of UCAN and highlights some of the benefits of being involved...

In this podcast Gavin had the opportunity to chat with 5 guests and find out what they enjoyed about the Terry Virgo Podcast. Loads of really good practical advice and reflections. If you missed the podcast with Terry Virgo then please check out the link below.   https://www.thechurchoffice.co.uk/blog/an-interview-with-terry-virgo

It was an absolute pleasure to sit down and chat with Terry Virgo about the role church administration and our good friend Nigel Ring played in enabling his work and ministry to take place. Listen in as we touch on church planting, prophecy, developing and building teams and ways to work well together.

A quick pod!  Gav and Lew travelled to East Sussex this week (you’ll have to listen in to find out why). On the way home they took a few moments to look back over the first two years of The Church Office.

Almost every church we know has faced a shortage of volunteers over the past few years.  Gavin takes the opportunity to chat to John Truscott about his 12 recommendations that help support people in church to serve.  I love the fact that John challenges our thinking and helps us to build a culture of serving and discipleship.   In the video John references two training notes on his website. ‍ Serv...

Join Gavin and Anna Wood, the Operations Director for Cornerstone Liverpool, as they talk through the third part of our results for the Check-in survey, the Bad Habits of a Church Administrator.  Thank you for everyone who took part in the survey and shared their Bad habits with us. 

Join Gavin and Anna Wood, the Operations Director for Cornerstone Liverpool, as they talk through the second part of our results for the Check-in survey, the Good Habits of a Church Administrator. Thank you for everyone who took part in the survey and shared their Good habits with us. The result were so encouraging and inspiring.

Join Gavin and Lewis Roderick, one of the pastors at Christchurch Newport, as they talk through the first part of our results for the Check-in survey. They talk through the struggles they faced early on in their working relationship, where people were experiencing grace in their work currently and verses that are encouraging us this year.

In this podcast Gavin and Penny share their thoughts and takeaway points from the recent UCAN Cutting Edge Conference. The theme this year was all about Doing More with Less. With fewer financial resources, fewer staff and fewer volunteers delivering “business as usual” has never been more challenging.

Gavin had the opportunity this week to chat to Joel Morris the Executive Director of Union.  Joel serves behind the scenes co-ordinating and leading administration and operations. He has a very interesting back ground in engineering and nuclear power, as he shares a little bit about his story.  It was lovely to hear his heart to serve and equip the church in all the aspects of their work.  If you...