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Church secretary skills for your resume and career

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Allison White,

Allison White

Below we've compiled a list of the most critical church secretary skills. We ranked the top skills for church secretaries based on the percentage of resumes they appeared on. For example, 16.4% of church secretary resumes contained payroll as a skill. Continue reading to find out what skills a church secretary needs to be successful in the workplace.

15 church secretary skills for your resume and career

1. Payroll

Payroll is the sum of all the compensation that an organization has to pay to employees at a specified time. Payroll is managed by the finance or HR department while small business owners may handle it themselves. Payroll isn't fixed as it varies every month due to sick leaves, overtime, etc.

Here's how church secretaries use payroll:

Served as Payroll Office Manager responsible for inter-office checks to employees and record keeping of the general payroll account.
Posted and reconciled 3 bank accounts each month Calculated, Entered and distributed payroll for the church employees

2. Office Equipment

Here's how church secretaries use office equipment:

Prepare weekly bulletin and announcements, congregational mailings, publicity materials, office equipment maintenance, public interaction.
Maintained office equipment and order service repairs when necessary.

3. Scheduling Appointments

Scheduling appointments is the practice of finding a free slot with the person(s) you want to meet. The process of scheduling appointments involves finding mutually free time, negotiating follow-ups, sending reminders, and creating new appointments. Scheduling appointments is important to ensure that the timings of consecutive meetings do not clash with each other.

Here's how church secretaries use scheduling appointments:

Maintained monthly calendar; scheduling appointments and arranging meetings/conferences.
Answer phone, screen, or forward calls, providing information, taking messages, or scheduling appointments.

4. PowerPoint

Here's how church secretaries use powerpoint:

Designed PowerPoint presentations for order of service and photographed, designed and updated church directories.
Developed innovative PowerPoint presentation used by the Pastors to market executive support programs.

5. Ministry

The ministry іѕ a gоvеrnmеnt dераrtmеnt hеаdеd bу a minister whісh deals with a ѕресіfіс cause оr area of activity. Frоm the religious point оf vіеw, the mіnіѕtrу іѕ an activity саrrіеd оut by one or mоrе bеlіеvеrѕ оf a rеlіgіоn tо еxрrеѕѕ or spread thеіr faith.

Here's how church secretaries use ministry:

Scheduled funerals in coordination with funeral home personnel, bereavement ministry and celebrant.
Organized food ministry and coordinated dates of delivery.

6. Meeting Minutes

Here's how church secretaries use meeting minutes:

Prepared the Board of Trustees monthly meeting packets via e-mail including the agenda, meeting minutes, and committee reports.
Maintained church files, including annual reports, church correspondence, committee reports and meeting minutes.

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7. Word Processing

Here's how church secretaries use word processing:

Prepare Church related papers, receptionist, make church programs, word processing, organize church meetings
Use computer for various applications such as word processingAnswer phones and give information to callers, take messages and transfer calls

8. Telephone Calls

Telephone calls are a communication means through which a caller is connected to the called party. The call is done through a telecommunications device called a telephone. The caller can use a landline, mobile phone, or satellite phone to make the call.

Here's how church secretaries use telephone calls:

Handle incoming telephone calls appropriately.
Perform administrative tasks, such as answering telephone calls, filing documents, or maintaining office supplies or equipment.

9. Travel Arrangements

Here's how church secretaries use travel arrangements:

Coordinated travel arrangements, maintained database and ensured the delivery of premium service to the congregation.
Prepare and organize paperwork and other materials as needed for meetings, conferences, and travel arrangements and expenses reports.

10. Bank Deposits

Any money that a customer chooses to leave with their bank account is a deposit. Deposits can vary in amounts and different banks have limits on the deposits their customers can have as a minimum. Banks charge customers for deposits especially when a teller is used by the customer to deposit money into their account.

Here's how church secretaries use bank deposits:

Prepared weekly bank deposits for financial accuracy.
Answered phones, typed monthly bulletins, reconciled weekly offering making bank deposits, and posted amounts to member's accounts.

11. Fax Machines

Here's how church secretaries use fax machines:

Operated office equipment such as copiers and fax machines along with entering information into computer databases.
Performed standard office equipment operations including data processing and usage of copy and fax machines.

12. Clerical Support

Clerical support performs activities that must be done in every workplace in order to support the company going forward. These duties, which come within the category of clerical support, are typically delegated to entry-level employees since they are simple and easy to learn. Even though clerical duties like printing and filing are easy, they require time and in many instances, other workers are preoccupied with other activities and unable to keep up with all that needs to be accomplished. As a result, many businesses employ clerical support staff who are solely responsible for these duties.

Here's how church secretaries use clerical support:

Provide clerical support to SPBC ministries, liaison between Church and Head Start Program, and other church ministries and organizations.
Provided clerical support to all program staff as needed.

13. Greeting Visitors

Here's how church secretaries use greeting visitors:

Managed church office and provided support for Senior Pastor: answering phones; greeting visitors, data entry, filing correspondences.
Managed the receptionist area, including greeting visitors and responding to telephone and in-person requests for information.

14. Computer System

Here's how church secretaries use computer system:

Assisted in the Office of Religious Education (assisted in the upgrade of the computer system, mailings, etc.)
Organized files and moved information over to a computer system for easier monitoring.

15. QuickBooks

Here's how church secretaries use quickbooks:

Maintained the accounting database using QuickBooks.
Maintain church records * Create church bulletins & flyers *Schedule all meetings/counseling sessions *Organize events *Pay church bills using QuickBooks

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What skills help Church Secretaries find jobs?

Tell us what job you are looking for, we’ll show you what skills employers want.

What hard/technical skills are most important for church secretarys?

Allison White

Associate Professor, Ohio University

In addition to production software skills, including MS Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, we often taught database skills using MS Access. Every employer has an employee database and a customer/client database that requires input and sometimes maintenance by office personnel. Keyboarding (65+ wpm), basic bookkeeping/accounting, and filing skills are a must.

What skills stand out on church secretary resumes?

Allison White

Associate Professor, Ohio University

Knowledge of spreadsheets software such as MS Excel is a commonly sought-after skill. Employers want word processing and spreadsheet skills but often say they want high school graduates and pay accordingly. These skills aren't always taught in high school. Those in the field should seek these skills. Additionally, medical and legal assistants have highly sought after. Terminology courses for these specialized areas are sometimes offered at the vocational schools but are usually offered at the post-secondary level.

What soft skills should all church secretarys possess?

Allison White

Associate Professor, Ohio University

Employers have told me repeatedly that soft skills are often the most important. They will ask for my reference after I've gotten to know a student and been able to identify their communication, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills. They want someone to take the initiative yet know when to ask questions. Customer service skills and confidentiality were also voiced by our internship supervisors. Verbal and non-verbal communication is a must. The applicant must be able to write well!!

Do you want to know more?

List of church secretary skills to add to your resume

The most important skills for a church secretary resume and required skills for a church secretary to have include:

Payroll
Office Equipment
Scheduling Appointments
PowerPoint
Ministry
Meeting Minutes
Word Processing
Telephone Calls
Travel Arrangements
Bank Deposits

Fax Machines
Clerical Support
Greeting Visitors
Computer System
QuickBooks
Direct Calls
Financial Statements
Event Planning
Facebook
Master Calendar

Church Services
Bank Accounts
Secretarial Support
Bulk Mailings
Writing Letters
Church Events
Phone System
Church Website
Church Database
Bible

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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