Whenever CMA surveys its members about the challenges of organisational leadership and management, the most common issue to emerge is usually related to ministry staffing.
Christian workplaces should be the most fulfilling places to turn up each day - but they're often not.
It's rarely because of outright exploitation, or deliberate bad behaviour. It's often because ministry leaders, so intent on pursuing the critical mission that God has placed before them, overlook some seemingly small things. These small things seem unimportant initially, but if neglected they eventually contribute to the creation of a workplace environment that is at best less than effective, and at worst, dysfunctional.
Christian ministries operate according to some unique principles, different even to the wider non-profit sector. This makes our organisations very challenging - and the Best Christian Workplaces Institute does the best work we've seen anywhere, in assisting Christian organisations to identify and resolve the problems.
We like it for several reasons:
1. It's Christian - not just business or nonprofit.
2. The certification process rewards those who do well - it creates an incentive to reach a certain standard.
3. Experience shows that it actually does help the organisations who participate!
4. The collective learning that comes from the process gives us real information about what ministries should be paying attention to.
5. The price is accessible for Christian organisations - far less than many business-oriented commercial products.
6. The whole process raises the bar generally - and helps to make people aware that they CAN influence the type of workplaces they are creating - and make them truly 'Christian'.
We invite you to participate and help improve Australia's Christian workplaces. |
