Church Leadership Roles and Responsibilities

Leadership is an important part of any organization, and churches are not exempt from this need. People need to be in charge to facilitate worship, administer the church, and oversee the long-term mission of the church. However, this can lead to a confusing variety of people who have important roles, especially when you don't understand what those roles do to further the church's mission. In this post, we'll look at the different leadership roles in a church and the responsibilities of each role in helping the church to carry out its mission.

Church Leadership and Discipleship

The church leadership is broken up into three main areas, including the ministry and administration, shepherding and eldership, and the church board. Each of these areas of church leadership contributes a strong part of the overall mission, though they tend to serve in different ways.

The ministry is often the most obvious, including the minister, deacons, elders, lay leaders, and worship leaders. Because they're involved in worship, many people notice them and what they're doing. They provide the spiritual leadership of the church, keeping its members active in discipleship and encouraging them to explore their faith more fully, while also seeing to the administration of the church.

Shepherding and eldership provides another important role, though it is often less noticeable. They often work in the background to keep everything working smoothly, including reaching out to those in need in the community, performing spiritual care, maturing those that are in weak or challenging situations, and helping to prepare those for upcoming transitions such as marriage, birth of new children, or even becoming empty-nesters.

The church board acts  as an executive team at a corporation, typically including a president, vice-president, secretary, and treasurer. While each of these sub-roles may have its own unique tasks, the board of directors works as a unit to make sound financial decisions for the current operations and future growth of the church. It is important for the board members to have financial savvy, but also be spiritually respected within  the community since ultimately they must understand the spiritual vision communicated by the ministry staff.

Why is Church Leadership Important?

For a church to succeed, no matter how big or small, it needs solid leadership, with the appropriate responsibilities outlined for each role. When everyone understands their responsibilities and limitations, the entire organization can operate smoothly and without strife. To accomplish this, we must act with humility and a servant's heart (Matthew 20:26).

When conflict does arise, it's important to handle it privately to start, only taking the matter to the entire church if it cannot be resolved. "15If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. 17If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector" (Matthew 18:15-17).

Much like a business's operation, a strong church requires exceptional leaders and workers to keep everything operating smoothly. Every person in the church's staff has their own duties and areas of responsibility to nurture and complete. Though some staff members communicate with the membership and congregation directly, every role in church leadership is important, from the minister down to the volunteers that clean.