So many Senior Pastors I’ve coached over the years haven’t had the administrative support they’ve needed, not because there isn’t help available (both paid and volunteer), but because they’ve never taken the time to completely flesh out all the ways other people can help them.
Below is an exhaustive list of all the administrative tasks I need support for. I shared this list with the chairman of our church’s Leadership Team last week. Some of the support I receive for these tasks is done by my Virtual Assistant Kimberly from eaHELP. Some are performed by a ministry staff member or two. But, like you, the vast majority are still done by yours truly.
Like many of you, we just don’t have the money available to have other people take these tasks off my plate. But the act of getting everything on paper has given me a greater sense of mastery over my calendar. It has also given me a clear roadmap for how I’ll delegate future tasks if/when God does provide additional support.
Senior Pastor Administrative Assistant Job Description
General Support
- Make copies
- Store and manage hardcopy and electronic documents, including passwords, backups
- Manage all hard-copy and online subscriptions
- Prepare docs for staff and leadership team meetings
- Ship books and packages to people
- Ensure office is cleaned
- Go-between for all technical support for phone, laptop, printer, and all technology
- Prepare expense reports for reimbursement/tax record documentation
Communication Support
Staff Communication
- Facilitate good staff communication by assisting with meeting scheduling
- Help manage emails between staff as needed
Congregation Communication
- Edit congregational emails and help respond to responses in a timely fashion
- Respond to all phone calls from congregation members and ensure a timely response
- Serve as a liaison between the Senior Pastor’s office and community leaders and/or organizations
Leadership Team Communication
- Help facilitate timely communication between Brian and the Leadership Team and assist in meeting scheduling, document preparation, and processing post meeting details.
- Keep the Leadership Team abreast of vital matters when Brian and CCV’s Executive Pastor are unable to do so (ex. Emergencies, etc.)
Interpersonal Support
Sunday Interpersonal Support
- Intercept people who want to give Brian things (books, pictures, letters, etc.)
- Help guide Brian to leaders in the room he has been wanting to meet
- Recognize/memorize names of leaders Brian needs to meet
- Debrief with Brian after Sunday services for take-away items for the week
- Keep CCV’s Executive Pastor and/or security team abreast of any adverse security matter relating to Brian before, during, and after services
Weekday Interpersonal Support
- Intercept phone calls and redirect to other staff
- Process outside emails, speaking requests, meeting requests, etc.
- Intercept personal walk-in meeting requests and redirect to other staff when appropriate
- Serve as the liaison for staff walk-in meeting requests
Leadership Support
Spiritual Growth and Protection
- Guard Brian’s private time for prayer and reflection
- Manage Brian’s monthly monastery retreats
- Manage communication with friends, mentors, retreats, conferences and other opportunities for personal growth
- Keep Brian abreast of any signs of advancement on the part of the opposite sex, or conduct unbecoming on his part, looking to intercept any and all activities which could impugn character, keeping open dialogue with Brian’s wife, his staff, and the Leadership Team at all times
- Keep CCV’s Executive Pastor abreast of any emails, visits, phone messages, etc. that are predatory in nature, documenting such activity for potential law enforcement action
Leadership Evangelism
- Seek and document staff input for potential leaders Brian should meet
- Manage Brian’s Top 100 CCV Leader list
- Manage Brian’s Top 100 Community Leader List
- Process all book/resource mailing to Leadership Evangelism prospects
- Process all MBTI and spiritual gift tests from people, and help create an MBTI and spiritual gift test website
- Manage all lunch/dinner arrangements
Teaching Support
Commentary and Book Management
- Keep inventory of all commentaries for study
- Order new commentaries and books as needed
- Copy, edit and process content within certain commentaries for future messages
- Secure rare library loan books for upcoming research as needed
Teaching Team Weekday Administration
- Serve as the Administrator of the Teaching Team
- Manage Brian’s Advanced Planning Sermon calendar
- Serve as liaison between Brian and Arts Team for various feedback requested (images, videos, songs, etc.)
- Coordinate all outside speakers – topics, schedules, travel, and support day of event
Sermon Research, Editing and Archiving
- Do weekly online research for specific sermon illustrations as assigned
- Copy all illustrative content highlighted in Kindle app into Word files, then add to Brian’s Evernote Illustration file
- Manage Brian’s Evernote illustration file by formatting all notes inputted via Chrome Clipper and emails
- Manage all subscriptions for illustrative material and input into Brian’s Evernote file
- Edit Brian’s sermon manuscripts, with an eye towards consistency of formatting
- Scan and edit Brian’s sermons (post-delivery) for future reference and use
Sermon Slide Creation
- Highlight sections of the sermon for slide creation
- Locate images for slides as needed
- Pay attention to formatting, font size and selection, and general aesthetic appeal
- Proof-read all slides to ensure they are grammatically correct
Preaching Technical Support
- Print most recent copy of the sermon for run-through and slide check on Sunday morning
- Oversee care of Brian’s microphone, ensuring it has new batteries and is in good working order
- Coordinate any changes to sermons slides after first service bullpen meeting feedback
Social Media/Website Support
Sermon Promotion
- Promote upcoming Sunday’s message on social media to elicit engagement
- Manage post sermon video promotion on Mondays following message
- Continually research and manage new ways to use sermon videos to achieve greater Philadelphia region target market penetration (ex. Cable channels, online venues, etc.)
Non-Religious Devotional Thoughts/BrianJones.com
- Manage Brian’s weekly email newsletter (4,500+ subscriber emails)
- Manage content posting and social media promotion
- Help post articles and schedule promotion for each
Behind The Scenes w/Brian Congregational Email
- Interact with staff to provide and edit content for Brian’s weekly email to the congregation
- Solicit and document stories, stats, and relevant information for future editions
Senior Pastor Central
- Help Brian serve Senior Pastors by directing incoming phone and email requests to certain staff members and/or articles on the SPC website
- Manage appointments I do accept – establishment and execution of phone meetings
- Manage requests and schedules of pastors and their team visiting CCV, including creation of schedules and contacts during visits
- Help post articles and schedule promotion for each
Outside Speaking
- Intercept and manage all outside speaking requests
- Manage all travel – flight, hotel, rental, and other reservations
- Process expense repayment, documentation, etc.
- Prepare and manage all support documents as needed
If you are interested in learning more about the types of coaching I offer, you can do that here.
