Church management series

CLIFTON  While it is important Church leaders remain focused on serving the people’s pastoral and spiritual needs, today’s world requires them to also be connected with managing a parish on an administrative and organizational level.

To better equip church leaders, pastors and business managers, the Villanova School of Business Center for Church Management in partnership with Our Sunday Visitor and American Church Inc., is offering a church management webcast series, which will take place in 12 sessions beginning on Sept. 4 and concluding on May 20, 2020. The cost of the program is $899 and those who complete all 12 webcasts and required coursework will earn a certificate. There is a $100 discount per person for groups of five or more. A limited number of scholarships are also available for clergy who take the program. Those interested can also participate in individual webcasts for $119/per webcast.

Patrick Brennan, CFO of the Paterson Diocese, said, “As we work together serving the Church as good stewards, we are called to use Church resources wisely and in a manner that achieves the greatest good. Staying up to date with effective management practices and tools helps us to insure we are good stewards in our work and also frees up more Church resources to focus on the core mission of evangelization.”

The church management series consists of twelve 90-minute web seminars, designed to help pastors, staff and leadership. A computer with speakers and internet access is required. The live webcasts are presented at 2 p.m. on the date scheduled. (See sidebar above for full schedule.) If a participant is unavailable at that time, they will have access to the on demand recording of the session to watch at their convenience. The webcasts are interactive and participants can ask questions and share insights through a designated Q&A section on the webcast screen, even if the participant is watching the on-demand recording.

Because of this, the webcast series is a flexible program and recommended for pastors and parish leaders who often have busy schedules yet are interested in learning management skills in a parish setting. Brennan said, “Given the challenges of limited temporal resources that many parishes face, I recommend that pastors, administrators, finance council members and other parish leaders seriously consider taking this online course with Villanova to refresh and expand their parish management knowledge and toolset.”

To earn the certificate in church management, participants must pay the course fee, watch all 12 webcasts, and submit and pass the required coursework for each webcast. Coursework consists of three-to-five page reflection paper, graded on a pass/not pass basis.

George Casagrand, business administrator at Our Lady of the Magnificat Parish in Kinnelon, took the course in 2013. He said, “This is a wonderful opportunity to learn these skills for the first time or deepen one’s understanding of the topics as applied in a parish environment. While I had been familiar with many of these skills and activities from my experiences earlier in my career, these sessions helped me translate them to a parish environment, which can be different from the corporate world, where I have spent most of my career. The course is very convenient. The technology works great and is very easy to setup and connect. The sessions tend to be very interactive and participants are openly sharing their own personal experiences with the group.”

Brennan said, “Parishes often face similar challenges, and fortunately, there is no need to re-invent the wheel on effective solutions for these problems. Villanova’s course will share many effective and proven approaches to church management that really work and which can make a measurable positive impact on the life of a parish.”