Exciting news! - It is a great great pleasure to introduce you to a new board member at UCAN, Gavin Smith. Gavin works as Church Administrator for Christ Church Newport. Over the past few years, it has been such a joy for the UCAN team to get to know Gavin and to celebrate and support the launch of his website and podcast: thechurchoffice.co.uk. We’re excited about all that Gavin brings to UCAN and have once again been encouraged by what God can accomplish through us together. Read on for an interview with the man himself…
What do you do for your day job and how long have you been working in the world of church administration?
I work as the church administrator for Christchurch in Newport. I have been serving on the leadership team in this role for the last 18 years. I am responsible for the church finances, building, staff, program and anything else that is needed. It is the best job in the world, I love serving my local church.
What has encouraged you as a member of UCAN?
I love UCAN's heart to build a network that equips and encourages church administrators and operational roles in church. I have been blessed by the roundtable events and cutting edge conferences. Making new friends and learning from others has been a highlight and I am grateful to UCAN for creating those networking and training opportunities.
Why do you feel called to be part of the UCAN team? What are you seeing God do in the world of Church ops and administration at present?
In the last couple of years, I have felt a strong call to serve the work of ministry that happens behind the scenes. Part of this call was to establish a website to serve pastors and church administrator called The Church Office, www.thechurchoffice.co.uk.
I know that church administration is a vital ministry in the church and is necessary for the proclamation of the gospel to the next generation. I have a passion to strengthen and support churches to accomplish all that God has called them to do locally. Partnering with UCAN over the last year has been wonderful and I believe God has brought our paths together. I am delighted to join the team and keen to serve in whatever way I can to support and strengthen the network.
If someone asked you for your 3 top tips for church administration, what would you say?
Top Tip 1 - Remember church administration is all about people, caring for their needs and growth. We should always put people above our task list and serve the people God has placed around us.
Top Tip 2 - Remind yourself daily that the work that you complete behind the scenes in your church enables church members and visitors to hear the Gospel. This is the greatest and most important message in history. We have the privilege of being involved in creating the context and environment for people to hear this life changing good news.
Top Tip 3 - Don't try and do everything on your own, invest time into building teams, systems and work flows. These are essential to creating a good work life balance, with that in mind make sure you run at 80% capacity. This will help you greatly.
What is your funniest memento from your experience of church administration.
Well this is a hard question, I don't really have a memento but the first thing that came to mind was a fun video I produced during the first lockdown to put a smile on our church members faces. The video was called "What you can do in the church building when nobody else is around". You can check out this link and see if it makes you smile or maybe laugh!