Church administration refers to the business and organizational processes required to run a church. Each church structure and member makeup is different, but church administrators are tasked with managing the organization. Sometimes there is a board of individuals who make up the church administration while in other instances the head of worship does. This includes both day-to-day and special events, as well as budgeting, people management, record keeping, and much more.
Effective church administration needs to include key considerations like church strategy, goal setting, budgeting, work management, facilities management, and support for employees and volunteers. In this we can see just how vital church management and administration is, and according to a blog by the folks at Smart Church Management, “a church is only as effective and efficient as the systems and processes by which it operates.”
It’s in this spirit that our editors compiled this list of the best church administration books to provide you key points and improve your overall church management. These titles are the most popular currently available on the topic, written by thought leaders in the field.
Note: We only included the best church administration books with a 4-star or better ranking and a minimum of 50 reviews.
The Best Church Administration Books
Most Popular: Church Administration: Creating Efficiency for Effective Ministry
Author/Publisher: Robert Welch
From the publisher: “This second edition of Church Administration helps pastors and church staff become effective and efficient leaders, managers, and administrators. Among the topics discussed are: Administration Documents, Organizing the Church, Administering Personnel Resources, Financial Resources, Physical Resources, and Administering Risk Management.”
Top-Rated: Church Administration in the Black Perspective
Author/Publisher: Floyd Massey, Samuel McKinney
From the publisher: “With over 60,000 copies in print, Church Administration in the Black Perspective, first published in 1976, has become a classic reference manual. African American pastors look to this informational guide as a source for details on church structure, management, and organization. This revised edition features updated language and fresh information in such areas as budgeting and the use of modern technology.”
Best Value: Church Administration
Author/Publisher: Charles Tidwell
From the publisher: “Guidelines and procedures for effectively administrating the work of a local church. Relates information about organization, objectives, ministry plans, human resources, providing controlling factors, and basic skills of church administration. Includes appendix and bibliography.”
Popular Illustrated: Church Administration Handbook
Author/Publisher: Bruce Powers
From the publisher: “What’s new about this third edition of the long respected and often used Church Administration Handbook? In addition to time and technological-sensitive updates to the basic organizational details, the needs of people and churches have continued to change, with questions now being raised about the quality of congregational life, nature of leadership, and responsibility for ministry among all believers.”
Popular Finance: Church Administration and Finance Manual: Resources for Leading the Local Church
Author/Publisher: Otto Crumroy, Stan Kukawka, Frank Witman
From the publisher: “Originally created as a sourcebook for the authors’ week-long course on church management and administration, the manual in draft version has been field-tested by hundreds of pastors and lay leaders. Not simply a theoretical resource, the Manual provides suggestions for almost every aspect of parish administration: position descriptions, various financial forms, materials for stewardship and Christian education, building use and safety issues, employee record keeping, and much more.”
Popular Practical Guide: Feeding & Leading: Practical Handbook on Administration in Churches and Christian Organizations
Author/Publisher: Kenneth Gangel
From the publisher: “A practical handbook on administration in churches and Christian organizations. Author Kenneth O. Gangel is scholar in residence at Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa Falls, Georgia, and distinguished professor emeritus of Christian education at Dallas Theological Seminary. He is the author of more than twenty books and has written over eight hundred articles for journals and periodicals.”
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