Why Your Church Needs the Gift of Administration

If you don't have it, find someone who does

Like Popeye and spinach, leadership and administration belong together. Administrative work might not be palatable to every elder, but it's vital to a church's strength.

You might not have the gift of administration yourself. But your church will sail more smoothly if you find someone who does.

The gifted administrator is "a helmsman, a statesman in the church, someone who can organize people and move them ahead," Chuck Gianotti said.

In fact, the Greek word for "administration" in the list of spiritual gifts in 1 Corinthians 12:28 comes from the verb that means “to steer a ship, to guide.”

Chuck Gianotti recalls a time when using the gift of administration blew wind into his church's sails. A husband-wife pair of youth leaders had resigned due to burnout, and the church made repeated announcements asking for someone to step in. Months went by. No volunteers.

Finally, Chuck asked a young man who seemed gifted in youth work to consider the role. His answer? "I couldn't handle all the organizing—calling for rides, setting up snacks. If I could just teach the kids, that would be great!"

His reply gave Chuck an idea: recruit a dozen volunteers to serve in smaller ways, and only in their area of strength (lining up rides, securing snacks, teaching, leading small group discussions). Sure enough, 12 people stepped up, and the ministry began to thrive.

"We ended up having one of the smoothest running ministries, simply because someone was administrating behind the scenes," Chuck said.

Love it or Hate It?

Some people detest working on the details, while others love it.

An elder without the gift of administration will feel bogged down by detail work like making bulletins, answering email, leading meetings, and setting schedules. But somewhere on your elder team or in your congregation, there's someone who loves those tasks and will do them with joy—to the church's benefit and God's glory.

For more on putting the gift of administration to work in your church's favor, watch the final installment of Chuck Gianotti's Leadership and Administration series => https://www.biblicaleldership.com/effectiveness/leading-gods-flock-0/leadership-and-administration/leadership-and-administration-4/