The Church Office

In this podcast Gavin got the opportunity to interview Fran Richley the Operations Director for a Homeless Charity in Newport called Eden Gate.  The Church Office loves to make the connection between the practical and the gospel. Fran is doing both of these, He is both passionate about sharing Jesus and caring for the needs of some of the most vulnerable folk in our communities. We loved hearing about Eden Gate and the opportunities that the church has to get alongside projects working with the homeless in our area.

In this podcast Gavin got the opportunity to interview Naomi Hodges from Renewal Church in Solihull. Naomi leads the brilliant Toy Offering Project in her church. Last year they blessed over 600 children with Christmas gifts and food parcels. Community projects like this are a wonderful way to reach out to our local community, become more visible and create opportunities where we were able to express kindness and share Jesus.

In this podcast Gavin got the opportunity to talk to Jenny Herrera. Jenny is Acts 435's Executive Director and has been involved in the charity since operations began in October 2009. Acts 435 is a giving website that allows people to give money directly to others, and 100% of what is donated via Acts 435 goes directly to those in need. They work through a network of churches and local charities who nominate an Acts 435 representative, called the Advocate, who is trained by Acts 435 and posts requests directly onto our website for people in their community who are in need. As a local church we have hugely benefited from our partnership with Acts 435, we would highly recommend every Uk church partner with them.  

In this podcast Gavin got the opportunity to interview Becky Thomas the Operations Manager at Beeston Free Church in Nottingham. Becky has loads of experience in running conferences and events for her church. In her spare time she also serves as the conference director for UCAN running their national conference called 'Cutting Edge'. She loves her local church and has a heart to serve others for the gospel. If you are thinking about running a conference then this podcast is full of top tips and a helpful step by step guide of what to do next.

In this podcast Gavin got the opportunity to chat with Jo Roach a Church Manager for St Andrew's, Histon & St Andrew's, Impington in Cambridge.  Jo is passionate about serving her local community and clearly loves people and church administration. She has an infectious personality, she was an absolute delight to learn from and talk with, we hope you enjoy this episode.    At the end Jo talked about the UCAN ILM course "Managing Church Well" For more information please use the following link.  https://www.churchadministrators.net/managingchurchwell

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      

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. ‍  

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!

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. 

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.