TN20 Line management in a church staff team

First published on this website in October 2004 and last updated in August 2022

Synopsis

Who is responsible for line management on a church's staff team? The answer is often far from clear. Many Ministers would not see staff management as one of their priorities, or part of their skill set.

These notes separate out the responsibilities of employment, the practice of management and the dynamics of teamwork, focusing on the second of these. This is followed by an explanation of issues in a church to show that a management structure is often not straightforward.

Five possible structures are then put forward:

• Senior Minister line manages the staff
• Senior Minister heads a staffing structure
• Another member of staff manages others
• Representatives of the trustee body manage staff
• A hybrid arrangement.

These notes have been updated in August 2022 with minor alterations to the text.