What to Look for when Hiring a Church Secretary

Your Church Secretary is your church's main link to the non-church community around you. She may be the only contact some people ever have with your church. As such, you should consider hiring a person for this job a very high priority. It is extremely important that the person you hire knows how to effectively minister to people and mirrors the love of Jesus to all who enter his or her office.

Attitude and the ability to deal with all types of people with grace and patience are far more important requirements for a Church Secretary than being able to produce a polished newsletter or type a beautiful bulletin. This position is vital to the smooth and efficient operation of the church and its ministries, so take great care in drafting a job description.

Who Should Create the Job Description and Why
First, I would advise you not to have a businessperson draw up the job description, but let the Pastor and other church leaders do so. What makes a great secretary in the business world is entirely different from what makes a great Church Secretary. For example, the requirement, "the Church Secretary must be a high energy person who is able to multi-task easily and efficiently and act professionally at all times" is certainly appropriate in the business world. But in the church it might be better stated: "a good candidate for this job will have a servant's heart, be able to make good Christ-centered decisions in difficult situations and handle a variety of tasks with grace." Faith is large component of this second job description.

The Most Important Qualification
This brings me to another important qualification: your Church Secretary must be a Christian, and should be an active member of a good local church (even if it's not yours). By uniting with a local body of believers, your candidate shows a willingness to be under the authority of the church and follow it's principles. It will also give her a basic understanding of how Christians should handle difficult interpersonal situations as well as sensitive information and confidences.

Along with this qualification goes another vital requirement. The church office is no place for gossip, and your candidate should have a proven track record of confidentiality.

Working for a church brings different challenges than working in other offices. Like any good secretary, your candidate should have a cheerful personality, and the ability to work with many different people. However, she also needs a basic understanding of biblical principles in order to handle issues which may arise in a manner honoring to the church and to God.

Of course, the Church Secretary must be familiar with the operation of basic office machinery (like copiers, fax machines, computers, etc), and be able to perform routine office duties with little to no supervision. Your candidate should have a good telephone manner and enjoy being a team player. She will likely be regarded as working for the entire church membership as well as the pastoral staff, so she needs to be able to draw boundaries and prioritize work. A good sense of humor doesn't hurt, either!

Specific Elements of The Church Secretary's Job
Here are some specific duties and responsibilities of a Church Secretary, taken from actual job descriptions I have seen (and helped draw up):

-Preparing Sunday bulletins, bulletin inserts and church newsletters
-Serving as receptionist, screening phone calls and handling salespeople
-Writing visitor letters and sending cards
-Ordering office supplies
-Taking prayer requests and initiating the Prayer Chain
-Handling mail and church correspondence
-Updating and organizing the church calendar
-Producing a church directory
-Producing monthly and annual reports regarding various ministries of the Church
-Assisting with special events (baptisms, Christmas and other holiday services)
-Recording and maintaining membership details

Most job descriptions for a Church Secretary include a line like "other work given to her by the Pastor or Church officers as needed." This can cover anything from buying a baptism gift to picking up dry cleaning. Be sure your candidate understands the expectations here!

It is fine to state that your Church Secretary will be subject to a review in a month or 2 and even to create a probationary period from the date of hiring. This protects both you and the candidate if things just aren't working out. No good Church Secretary will object to a provision like that.

Be sure to offer your Church Secretary good pay. Don't be penny-wise and pound foolish when hiring someone to represent the entire congregation and do the clerical work in the church office. It's a heavy responsibility and you want the best possible person in the position. It would be wonderful if you could also offer flexible hours. Some of your best candidates might not be available from 9 till 5.

One final thing to consider: be sure you ask for and follow up on references. Call the people whose names were given as references (and also the candidate's church) to check out the information provided. This protects you and your church from future lawsuits if your candidate proves to have a checkered past and might do something harmful in your church if hired. You can also do a simple and inexpensive background check to determine if the applicant has any criminal record. Just be sure to get a signed authorization from the applicant granting permission to conduct this check. Any candidate who refuses should be eliminated immediately.

May you find the perfect Church Secretary to meet your Church's needs, and may she have as her motto this statement from St. Augustine: "Pray as though everything depended on God. Work as though everything depended on you."