• The Executive Pastor focuses on business functions of the church.church image by pearlguy from Fotolia.com
  
  The primary role of the Executive Pastor is to focus on the business functions of the church, including staff supervision, use of resources and strategic promotion of the church's mission and ministry formation. Thus, the Executive Pastor allows the Senior Pastor to place more emphasis on the preaching and teaching of Scripture in addition to counseling and other pastoral duties. The work is performed in three major areas: strategic planning, personnel management and financial operations.
  
  

Strategic Planning

• The Executive Pastor cooperates with the Senior Pastor in implementing the church's mission and setting goals for improvement. The person coordinates and leads weekly staff meetings, designs and implements church surveys and ensures that facilities, programs and staffing are effective in meeting the mission and goals of the church. At times, the Executive Pastor may be required to perform pastoral functions.
  
  

Personnel Management

• The Executive Pastor acts as a Human Resources Manager who hires and, if necessary, dismisses staff. Executive Pastors also coordinate and maintain communication between church departments (e.g., ministry leaders, staff and Senior Pastor) and oversee the annual employee review process. Other personnel duties may include performing interviews, maintaining work schedules, training and professional development and managing employee requests for vacations and retreats.
  
  

Financial Operations

• Although the Executive Pastor may not be a financial analyst, the person must delve into the church's finances in order to maintain fiscal operations. The Executive Pastor is likewise responsible for budgeting, salaries, bonuses, annual audits, expenditures and financial data management. Like an HR manager, the person is also responsible for managing insurance and benefits packages for church employees.