The Church Office

Gavin was thrilled to recently speak with Pelé Ling, Communications and Creative Director at All Souls, Langham Place. Listen in as Pelé talks about relaunching free English classes at their church a few years ago and shares the success this rebranding has had in creating opportunities to tell people about Jesus. (He also talked about their Christmas plans which Gavin LOVED- only 23 weeks to go!!)

Christian Safeguarding Services' Paul Harrison joins Gavin to talk through 5 common challenges with safeguarding in churches: 1. Poor governance 2. Low standards 3. Conflicts of interest 4. Not raising low level concerns 5. Lack of professional curiosity   We absolutely loved learning from Paul and are so grateful for his time and expertise. This is definitely an hour well spent! If you'd like to...

Meet Emma! Emma is the Operations Manager at The Globe Church in London and she recently sat down with Gavin to talk about her role, how she creates sustainable rhythms of church life and the variety of tasks that come across her desk in any one week. Listen in for ideas and to see how the role of a Church Administrator fits into the life of a church!  

Listen in to the latest episode of The Church Office podcast with special guest, Manny Kemp! Manny is part of the team at ACAT (the Association of Church Accountants And Treasurers), a charity that exists to support the work of those in church finance. He recently sat down with Gavin to discuss the challenges and joys of serving a church in an accountancy/treasury role and shares some insights fro...

We were thrilled to have Mark Jones from Edward Connors join us on the latest episode of The Church Office podcast. Listen in as Mark and Gavin discuss key areas of employment that churches can struggle with. They recommend a number of resources that might serve you in this area of church life. To find out more about the work of Edward Connor or get further support, head to: https://www.edwardconn...

Gavin recently had the joy of sitting down with Dan Peters and Andy Ferrett from Joyned. Joyned is a secure internal communication platform designed to grow and strengthen in-person communities. Joyned offers churches a great alternative to WhatsApp. Listen in as they discuss the benefits of partnering with them to better serve your church. To find out more information please check out their websi...

Welcome to The Church Office podcast, Richard Coekin!   Richard Coekin has recently joined Reach Ministries UK as their Director. Listen in as he discusses Reach Ministries' heart to serve and support church leaders as they shepherd their churches in godly and effective gospel ministry. The team helps church leaders to reflect on their current situation, clarify their vision, and structure their t...

Gavin recently sat down with Evangelical Alliance's Director of Advocacy Danny Webster to talk about one thing- Martyn's Law. Listen in as Gavin and Danny discuss some of the changes this new law could bring for our churches. Thanks again to Danny for giving up his time. If you'd like to find out more, here's an article from the Evangelical Alliance on the topic:   https://www.eauk.org/news-and-vi...

Following on from his time with Joe and Hannah from Gourds and Pomegranates, Gavin returned the favour and visited their podcast! Catch up on this bonus episode now! https://gppodcast.uk/

Gavin teamed up with Joe and Hannah from the Gourds and Pomegranate Podcast. Joe and Hannah have a wonderful heart to serve churches by breaking down practical, no-nonsense strategies to help churches communicate with clarity. It was great to get to know them and find out a little bit more about their stories. To find out more about Joe and Hannah's podcast please check out the link below: https:/...

Do reviews have a place in church? Are they of benefit? Or are they too managerial for church life? We were thrilled to be able to open up this topic with John Truscott, a good friend of The Church Office. Listen in as John and Gavin discuss why we often don't like the topic of reviews and consider the benefits. To hear more from John, head over to his website: https://www.john-truscott.co.uk/

Dan Steel is a former market researcher who transitioned into pastoral ministry and has been involved in church planting for over twenty-five years. In this podcast Dan and Gavin talk about his new book "Wise Church Planting: Twelve Pitfalls to Avoid in Starting New Churches," In the book Dan examines the common challenges that cause nearly a third of new churches to falter within four years. Draw...

In this podcast Gavin interviews Pete Greasley one of the founding Elders at Christchurch in Newport. Pete has served in Pastoral Ministry for 40 years and has a wealth of knowledge and experience. Gavin and Pete talk about enjoying the gospel, not taking your self too seriously and finish their discussion by talking about building teams and having a diversity of different gifting. We hope you enj...

Working out the renumeration of your Pastor can be a challenging job for any Trustee or Church Officer. 'How much should we pay our Pastor or Church Leader?' is a very common question that we get asked at The Church Office. Gavin talks to Pete and draws on his 40 years of ministry experience to try and answer that question. If you would like more information or would benefit from a conversation wi...

"One of the things that struck me about Matt during our conversation was his wonderful heart to serve leaders in Christian Ministry." Gavin recently had the joy of sitting down with Matt Waldock, co-pastor of City Church Manchester and UK Gospel Coaching Director. If you have not heard of Gospel Coaching then this is a really good introduction into what it is and the benefits of having a gospel co...

Join Gavin and John wright, the Operations Manager at Frinton Free Church, as they talk through the first part of the 2024 Check-in survey. They enjoyed talking through the results that related to the pressure points that admin and Ops roles faced this year and where people had experience grace at work in their churches. During the podcast John also shares a little bit about his experience of part...

In this Episode Gavin talks to Lourens Du Plessis from Stewardship who leads the team that guide and strengthen churches and Christian charities with their governance and finances. It was great to talk to Lourens about the challenges that churches are facing in the area of good governance. It was also a joy to talk about the gift of administration and how effective it can be in a local church. We...

ExpensePlus are back! Listen in as Gavin is joined by Sam and Dan to talk through the most common pitfalls in church finance. From not having the right people in the room to spending too much on everyday costs, these are areas that we can all do with a hand figuring through.

In this podcast, Phil Swann, the Pastor at Llanelli Free Evangelical Church in West Wales, shares a little bit about his experience of buying a new church building in just three weeks! It's a wonderful story of adventurous faith and God's wonderful provision. We absolutely love having Phil on the podcast and enjoy his passion for the gospel and reaching the lost. To find out more about the church...

Introducing...Owen Gilham! After working in education (and a brief stint in theatre) Owen now works for Danbury Mission as the Operations Manager. Listen in as he and Gavin talk about the diverse work that Church Managers complete on a weekly basis. They cover the importance of getting appropriate policies and procedures for your church in place as well as the challenges around adding a new Sunday...

How do we make best use of our buildings for the gospel? Rich Spens has spent many years working behind the scenes at Kings Cross Church in London trying to think this through and put it into action. Listen in as he chats with Gavin about how he's managing and developing his church, including an idea to take the church roof off!

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.