

The Church Office
Gavin Smith
The Church Office exists to support the work of ministry that happens behind the scenes. Bringing helpful and encouraging content to equip and support those involved in Church Administration, Church Leadership and Structuring Church Life.
Episodes
Mentioned books

Jul 18, 2022 • 19min
ExpensePlus- Serving Local Churches in the Area of Finance
Gavin got the opportunity to sit and talk to Sam Lewis one of the Co Founders of Expense Plus at the UCAN Conference 2022. It was a joy to spend time with Sam and hear his heart to serve local churches. Expense Plus is a brilliant piece of software that I would recommend for churches to use. Having the right tools in place to manage your church finances will save you time and money. Worth checking out www.expenseplus.co.uk
ExpensePlus is an easy to use, cloud-based fund accounting package that is specifically designed for Churches and Charities. It’s customisable, it's scalable, it's affordable, and designed for teams.
As well as saving lots of time, it provides users with up-to-date, accurate, drillable financial reports, that help inform decisions.
www.expenseplus.co.uk

Jul 4, 2022 • 55min
Creating Safe Environments in Church
In this podcast Gavin got the opportunity to interview Justin Humphreys the CEO of Thirtyone:eight who have been serving churches in the area of safeguarding for decades. It was lovely and inspiring to hear Justins heart to care for the voiceless and the vulnerable in our churches and communities. Their discussion around creating safer environments by reviewing and investing into our culture was very helpful. We all play a part in creating a safe environment and it was lovely to hear about the resources and services ThirtyOne: Eight are producing to support the church and wider Christian community.

Jun 22, 2022 • 50min
Managing People Well
In this podcast Gavin got the opportunity to interview Robin Vincent the CEO of Care for the Family. Robin has had a career in working with people. It was great to listen to his wisdom relating to organisational structure, communication and leadership. He talks about the tension between caring for staff while at the same time driving them to be the best that they can be. His thoughts about developing healthly cultures in organisations was excellent. At the end of the interview they briefly talk about staff capacity and burnout. Hopefully both helpful and practical!

Jun 10, 2022 • 40min
How to run a church cafe?
The Church Office podcast took a road trip this week to Cardiff to hear more about a local church that is running a community cafe. It was lovely to meet Paul and Alyson to learn from there experience and hear all about what God has being doing through the cafe to grow the church. Paul and Aly are Husband and wife duo, Paul serves as a Deacon for Ararat Baptist Church and Aly is the manager of the church cafe called The Ark.

May 30, 2022 • 58min
Financial Management and Governance
In this podcast Gavin got the opportunity to talk to Tim Wyatt about some of the financial challenges churches have faced during the pandemic. They also have a very interesting discussion around the important of charity governance and provide some practical examples and application points for UK churches. Gavin and Tim also discuss some of the implication for church budgets and some useful tips to consider over the next few years. A big thank you too Wyatt and Co for giving the time for Tim to share his experience and wisdom.

May 12, 2022 • 43min
A Leadership Conversation
In this podcast Gavin got the opportunity to interview and learn from David Norbury the chair of the Evangelical Movement of Wales. David had a very successful career in education and shares what he has learnt about Leadership and how it relates to the church. David identifies three models of leadership and explores their benefit in the church context.

Apr 9, 2022 • 24min
Rebuild Conference
In this podcast Gavin connects with Lewis Roderick, they are chatting about the up and coming Rebuild Conference. It captures their heart behind the conference and an opportunity to hear about what is planned.
Venue: Christchurch Centre, Newport, UK
Date: 20th and 21st June 2022
To attend the conference please book here www.rebuldthechurch.co.uk

Mar 19, 2022 • 29min
Money Matters
In this podcast Gavin is talking to Penny Clarke about the latest UCAN roundtable event on Church Finances with Tim Wyatt from Wyatt & Co Chartered Accountants. Their discussion covers the main points from the training session as well as encouragement to those serving behind the scenes overseeing church finances. A very interesting discussion about the tension between faith and stewardship or faith and operations. We hope you enjoy the video.

Mar 7, 2022 • 25min
The Weird and Wonderful World of Church Administration
In this video Gavin talks to Verity Yeates a Parish administrator from St George and St Paul about the weird and wonderful world of church administration. They share stories, highlights and encouragement for those serving behind the scenes in their churches.

Feb 28, 2022 • 51min
Interview with Nigel Ring
In this podcast Gavin had the wonderful opportunity to interview Nigel Ring who has served Terry Virgo and Newfrontiers leadership team behind the scenes for over 40 years. I loved hearing his heart and encouragement for church administrators. During the interview Nigel gives great examples of how to work with a senior church leader. I don't know if you can tell but I loved every minute of this interview with Nigel, grateful for him and his faithful service to the wider church.


