I don’t know about you, but these last few years have been the hardest for me in ministry. I’m not even talking about the political divisiveness of the pandemic years or the aftermath of apathy toward the church. However, both are real and require more prayer, attention, and energy than many in ministry have left. I’m exhausted by the ever-increasing administrative burden placed on churches to remain compliant, especially for churches in California. Most churches simply do not have enough staff to stay current on the glut of new laws nor the ability to draft and implement these policies. If this sounds like hyperbole, let’s look at some staffing numbers. According to WorshipLeader.com, 59% of all churches average 60 worshipers per Sunday. If a healthy church has about 1 FTE (Full-Time Equivalent) employee per 75 congregants, then the entire staff at 59% of churches average less than 40 hours a week combined. Unless you’re operating a mega-church that can hire a team of human resource professionals – the burden is real.
The Administrative Burden
While the administrative burden is indeed significant for many churches, it’s not something we can choose to ignore as followers of Jesus. The Bible is clear that we are to submit to the ruling authority (Romans 13:1-7, Titus 3:1-2, 1 Peter 2:13-14). How significant is the burden? Here’s a short list of recent bills in California (the ones that I’m aware of) that impact churches:
- AB 5 updates the understanding and application of the ABC Test when determining whether a worker is considered an independent contractor or an employee. The law significantly alters the status of childcare workers who may come in once a month to hold babies or watch children while their mothers participate in Bible study. All childcare workers are now employees, per this law.
- AB 506 requires the administrators, employees, and volunteers of organizations that work with youth to complete child abuse and neglect reporting training and undergo background checks. Since most churches have robust children and youth ministries, they also need to develop and implement child abuse prevention policies and procedures to ensure proper reporting.
- SB 1343 requires all employers (including churches) with five or more employees to undergo sexual harassment prevention training at the time of hire and every two years after that. There are strict requirements regarding the length of training based on the employee’s role.
- SB 553 requires employers to develop and implement a workplace violence prevention plan. The plan must include additional administrative tasks for the church, including documented responses to reports of violence, comprehensive training at the time of hire and annually for each employee (including childcare workers that may only work once), an emergency response plan, annual workplace violence assessments, and ongoing record keeping.
Add to the list the accurate recording and reporting of employee wages and withholdings involving timecards, overtime, meal breaks, time off, W2s, W4s, etc. Of course, providing accurate donation records is essential for any church, which means annual PCI compliance to allow for online donations. And if your church facility is over 50,000 sq. ft., AB 802 requires yearly energy benchmarking. The list goes on and on and on…
Utilizing the X-Factor
When SB 553 passed with a July 1, 2024, implementation deadline, it almost pushed me over the edge. I was wondering how I could possibly add one more compliance issue to my plate. Then it happened. A retired HR professional with over 40 years of experience in the field asked how he could volunteer and use his gifts at the church. Yes, that really happened. This incredible volunteer put in untold hours to create a compliant policy that fits our church, and then he came in and performed the required training for our staff.
You Can’t, But Someone Can
The truth is, you and I can’t do it all, and there’s a good chance our church cannot afford to hire the people necessary to do it all. But we weren’t meant to do it all or do it alone. Utilizing volunteers is not only necessary, but it’s also part of our calling. In Ephesians 4:12, Paul wrote part of the job description for church staff is “for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ.” Empowering this talented volunteer to use his gift ensured we were compliant and freed up staff members to work in their gifted areas. Together, we’re remaining compliant and building up the body of Christ. Suddenly, I’m not so tired.
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