Pastoral workers are teachers of the soul. Then how should the church assess their work? Minister Y, in charge of the office at Church A in a downtown southwest city, shared how the church has established a pastoral evaluation system, driven by a strong commitment, a scientific framework, and close relationships among coworkers.
According to Y, the church’s worker evaluation system includes two types: regular ministry and temporary service. The former covers planned activities such as annual, quarterly, and monthly scheduled "teaching ministries," including Sunday worship, prayer meetings, Bible studies, and discipleship training. Clergy members are required to submit their sermon manuscripts in advance to ensure the quality of their preaching.
Temporary ministries primarily involve activities such as visits, weddings, and funerals, especially memorial services, as well as hosting church visitors from across the country. When church staff serve outside the church, they are required to take site photos as proof of work. After visits, they must also submit expense receipts. Additionally, administrative staff use indirect questions to gather feedback from volunteers. For example, they might ask, "What did you think of Minister X's sermon at the memorial service?" instead of asking, "Did Pastor X attend the memorial service?"
Before this system was established, at times, someone might slack off and ask others to handle outreach or lead a prayer meeting for them under the guise of convenience. Such reciprocity could lead to the "temptation."
On one occasion, temporary reception duties needed to be arranged, but the office was empty, and over ten staff workers claimed to be working outside. There was even an instance where a pastor missed a ministry duty.
"These matters can be seen as either trivial or significant. On one side, it's deceiving others; on the other side, it's making a fool of God." Pastor Y believes that implementing an attendance management system is about being truthful and helping each person honestly face their sacred duties.
Attendance tracking is a relatively new practice for many Chinese churches, so resistance is to be expected. However, Church A smoothly implemented a rigorous attendance monitoring system and garnered its staff workers' full cooperation and affirmation. This success can be attributed to several factors.
First, Church A has a team of young full-time staff and a senior pastor who is determined to promote standardized management.
Pastor Y explained that apart from four pastors born in the 1970s, the rest of the pastors were born around the 1990s, the youngest being only 22 years old. All of them are graduates of formal seminary programs with either associate or bachelor's degrees. They are open to new practices and willing to follow the guidance of older pastors. The senior pastor is highly respected by the seminary graduates, valuing the opinions of the younger generation. He advocated for an attendance system, which secured the approval of the entire team, with the qualified pastors leading by example.
Second, not implemented in isolation, the evaluation system was integrated with the church’s salary and financial systems, aligning with initiatives for standardized church management.
After establishing the attendance system, Church A experimented with a clock-in system, which was abandoned after two months. Pastor Y explained that clocking in was incompatible with the flexible and dynamic nature of church work. Clergy members often provide pastoral counseling to believers late into the evening or attend to dying individuals for end-of-life care in the early hours, making it difficult to report to the office the next morning. Instead, the church relies on on-site photos, post-service reporting, and workgroup records as the basis for performance reviews and year-end bonuses. This approach provides oversight while affirming the clergy's efforts.
Additionally, Church A set salaries benchmarked against local public sector rates, offering base salaries, performance bonuses, holiday service overtime pay, and year-end bonuses, while also providing five types of social insurance and a housing fund.
To ease housing pressures, Church A follows public sector practices by contributing to the housing fund for full-time clergy. Pastor Y explained that this encourages clergy to purchase their own homes. For single clergy, the church provides free accommodation, while families pay rent at below-market rates.
The structured salary system has brought church financial management into order. Previously, the church had disorganized practices, such as issuing "cooling fees" in summer and "heating fees" in winter. With the attendance system in place, those who only stayed in the office without participating in ministry no longer qualified for such allowances. The saved funds are reallocated to year-end bonuses, rewarding those who genuinely serve the congregants.
In 2019, the provincial CC&TSPM underwent leadership transitions. The new team launched three major initiatives: pastoral care, age limits for clergy tenures, and standardized church management. Church A has adopted the attendance system as an entry point to improve its salary and financial management systems, care for its clergy, and facilitate leadership succession.
The third and most crucial aspect is combining the framework of institutional management with the internal unity of church-worker relationships.
Church A holds weekly staff worker learning and team-building sessions, helping reduce stress or pressure stemming from strict attendance policies. Initiated by the senior pastor, the church hosts church worker meetings every Friday morning, where one staff member leads the discussion and study of the resolutions of provincial and municipal CC&TSPMs, religious policies, and regulations, as well as shares personal devotional insights. Mistakes and areas for improvement in their work are also addressed in the meeting without causing resentment.
After the learning sessions, the team engages in group activities like coffee gatherings and sports. Although seemingly unproductive, such activities, under the senior pastor’s persistence, deepen relationships over time. Coworkers become not only ministry partners but also companions during leisure activities.
This harmony and mutual support transform the attendance system from a top-down imposition into a trust-based, proactive framework. This reduces potential dissatisfaction or passive resistance.
While the attendance system tied to salary and performance is the most visible evaluation mechanism, the most fundamental assessment comes from the hearts of mentors, church workers, and believers.
Regardless of how stringent the system is, it is not overly difficult for a clergy member to meet requirements. Clocking in or taking photos can prove a pastor's presence at a visit or memorial service, but the quality of their work—whether heartfelt or perfunctory—cannot be quantitatively measured. Pastor Y believes that believers’ recognition and testimony serve as an irrefutable standard. While this is not the ultimate guide for clergy service, it should be considered the benchmark for fulfilling one’s duties.
- Edited by Katherine Guo, translated by Abigail Wu
教牧同工是灵魂的教师，他们的工作该如何考核？Y传道在西南某市中心A堂分管办公室，他分享了该堂建立并巩固传道人员考核体系，推动的决心、科学的制度、同工之间亲密的关系缺一不可。
据Y传道介绍，该堂同工工作评估分为固定圣工和临时服侍考勤两种。前者针对如年度、季度、月度排布的“教导圣工”，包括主日崇拜、祷告会、查经会、慕道和跟进栽培等。同工需提前交讲道稿，以保障讲道质量。
临时圣工主要涉及探访、婚丧礼拜尤其是追思礼，以及来自全国各地教会的交流接待。同工外出服侍，要求拍摄现场照片作为工作凭证；探访结束后还需提交所花费用。此外，行政同工负责询问在场义工反馈——采用迂回而非直白的方式，比如询问“你觉得这场追思礼X传道讲的怎么样”，而不是“X传道有没有去现场”。
这套规范建立之前，同工彼此抬头不见低头见，有人偶然犯懒，请别人外出到片区讲道时“顺路”探访一下；或请在堂内的传道人“顺便”带一下祷告会——有来必有往，今天我帮你，明天你便要帮我——现象并未发酵。但有了前例，就有了“诱惑”。
某次需安排临时接待，办公室空无一人，十几个同工都表示自己在外做工；甚至果真发生传道缺席圣工的情况。
“这些事可大可小。说小点你是在欺骗人，说大点是在欺哄神。”Y传道认为，规范考勤意在实事求是，帮助大家诚实地面对圣工。
考勤对很多中国教会是一件新生事物，遭受阻力可以想见。A堂推行严密的考勤监督，过程平稳顺利，且收获同工肯定配合，得益于以下原因。
首先，A堂拥有一批年轻的全职同工和一位决心推行规范管理的主任牧师。
Y传道介绍，堂内除四位七零后长辈牧师，其他都是九零前后出生的传道人。最年轻的不过22岁，且都是正规神学院专科、本科毕业生。他们容易接受新生事物，也愿意顺服长辈牧者的带领。主任牧师也深受堂内神学生敬重，尊重年轻人的想法。当他倡导规范化考勤，几位前辈牧者带头示范，就顺理成章地得到了大家的认同。
其次，考勤并非孤立提出，乃与薪资体系、财务体系相互配合，同时顺应全省教会规范化管理倡导。
确定规范考勤之后，A堂尝试打卡，两个月之后果断放弃。Y传道指出，打卡考勤跟教会工作灵活机动的特征不符。传道人有时晚上八九点还在为信徒做教牧辅导。有时凌晨两点接到电话，说老人即将过世，邀请他去做临终关怀；使得他第二天早晨无法赶回办公室打卡。相比之下，A堂以现场拍照、后期报备、工作群内的记录为工作和年终奖评奖依据。一方面能起到监督作用，另一方面肯定同工的工作。
同时，A堂比照当地事业单位工资水平，设立基本工资；另有绩效、节假日圣工的加班费、年终奖；也帮忙缴纳五险一金。
A堂为全职同工按照事业单位的做法，购买住房公积金。Y传道解释，这是为鼓励同工自己购房，缓解教会住房分配压力。在帮忙缴纳公积金之外，A堂为单身同工提供免费住所，家庭则需要按低于市场的价格交租金。
专职同工的薪酬制度使得教会整体财务管理变得规范化。此前财务“乱糟糟”，夏天发一笔“清凉费”，冬天一笔“取暖费”。考勤制度落实之后，冬夏不外出做工只坐办公室的人，清凉费、取暖费便师出无名。节省下来的钱会划归年终奖，激励踏实服侍信徒的人。
2019年该省基督教三自爱国运动委员会和基督教协会换届，新一届领导班子在全省推动三大项工作，包括教会牧养，依据全国基督教两会规定的教牧人员任期年龄换届，以及教会规范化管理。A堂便是以考勤为切入点，完善薪酬、财务管理制度；关怀牧者生活，并助力新老交棒。
第三，也是最重要的一点，制度管理的外在框架搭配同工关系建设的内在血肉。
A堂每周一次同工学习会和团建活动，缓冲了同工们因严格考勤而有的情绪、压力。由主任牧师发起，A堂每周五上午举行同工会议；由一位同工带领，学习省、市基督教两会会议精神、宗教政策法规，分享个人灵修感悟。同工们工作中的失误和需改进之处，也被指出，因为会议上公开批评不生嫌隙。
上午学习会结束，他们会组团喝喝咖啡打打球，看似无用功的活动。在主任牧师的坚持下，日复一日加深着彼此间的感情。他们不仅是一起服侍的同工，也是游戏休闲时的伙伴。
因着彼此的和睦和支持，同工不把考勤当做从上到下推行的任务，而是带着信任的积极视角。无形中减少可能出现的不满、消极抵抗等内在张力。
跟薪资和考核挂钩的考勤制度是最外显的评价系统；此外更本质的考核评估，是长辈、同工、信徒内心里那杆秤。
不管考核制度如何严密，对一个传道人来说，表面完成它都不会太过艰难。打卡、拍照能表示一个传道人出席了探访、追思的现场；但质量如何，用心还是敷衍，无法被显性量化。但Y传道认为，信徒是否认可你、见证你，这是无法否定。虽然这不是教会服侍同工的最终动力，但却应当成为检验本职工作的标准。
一教堂建立传道人员考核体系的实践经验/教牧同工的工作做得怎么样？——制度考勤是基本，“被认可”才是目标
Pastoral workers are teachers of the soul. Then how should the church assess their work? Minister Y, in charge of the office at Church A in a downtown southwest city, shared how the church has established a pastoral evaluation system, driven by a strong commitment, a scientific framework, and close relationships among coworkers.
According to Y, the church’s worker evaluation system includes two types: regular ministry and temporary service. The former covers planned activities such as annual, quarterly, and monthly scheduled "teaching ministries," including Sunday worship, prayer meetings, Bible studies, and discipleship training. Clergy members are required to submit their sermon manuscripts in advance to ensure the quality of their preaching.
Temporary ministries primarily involve activities such as visits, weddings, and funerals, especially memorial services, as well as hosting church visitors from across the country. When church staff serve outside the church, they are required to take site photos as proof of work. After visits, they must also submit expense receipts. Additionally, administrative staff use indirect questions to gather feedback from volunteers. For example, they might ask, "What did you think of Minister X's sermon at the memorial service?" instead of asking, "Did Pastor X attend the memorial service?"
Before this system was established, at times, someone might slack off and ask others to handle outreach or lead a prayer meeting for them under the guise of convenience. Such reciprocity could lead to the "temptation."
On one occasion, temporary reception duties needed to be arranged, but the office was empty, and over ten staff workers claimed to be working outside. There was even an instance where a pastor missed a ministry duty.
"These matters can be seen as either trivial or significant. On one side, it's deceiving others; on the other side, it's making a fool of God." Pastor Y believes that implementing an attendance management system is about being truthful and helping each person honestly face their sacred duties.
Attendance tracking is a relatively new practice for many Chinese churches, so resistance is to be expected. However, Church A smoothly implemented a rigorous attendance monitoring system and garnered its staff workers' full cooperation and affirmation. This success can be attributed to several factors.
First, Church A has a team of young full-time staff and a senior pastor who is determined to promote standardized management.
Pastor Y explained that apart from four pastors born in the 1970s, the rest of the pastors were born around the 1990s, the youngest being only 22 years old. All of them are graduates of formal seminary programs with either associate or bachelor's degrees. They are open to new practices and willing to follow the guidance of older pastors. The senior pastor is highly respected by the seminary graduates, valuing the opinions of the younger generation. He advocated for an attendance system, which secured the approval of the entire team, with the qualified pastors leading by example.
Second, not implemented in isolation, the evaluation system was integrated with the church’s salary and financial systems, aligning with initiatives for standardized church management.
After establishing the attendance system, Church A experimented with a clock-in system, which was abandoned after two months. Pastor Y explained that clocking in was incompatible with the flexible and dynamic nature of church work. Clergy members often provide pastoral counseling to believers late into the evening or attend to dying individuals for end-of-life care in the early hours, making it difficult to report to the office the next morning. Instead, the church relies on on-site photos, post-service reporting, and workgroup records as the basis for performance reviews and year-end bonuses. This approach provides oversight while affirming the clergy's efforts.
Additionally, Church A set salaries benchmarked against local public sector rates, offering base salaries, performance bonuses, holiday service overtime pay, and year-end bonuses, while also providing five types of social insurance and a housing fund.
To ease housing pressures, Church A follows public sector practices by contributing to the housing fund for full-time clergy. Pastor Y explained that this encourages clergy to purchase their own homes. For single clergy, the church provides free accommodation, while families pay rent at below-market rates.
The structured salary system has brought church financial management into order. Previously, the church had disorganized practices, such as issuing "cooling fees" in summer and "heating fees" in winter. With the attendance system in place, those who only stayed in the office without participating in ministry no longer qualified for such allowances. The saved funds are reallocated to year-end bonuses, rewarding those who genuinely serve the congregants.
In 2019, the provincial CC&TSPM underwent leadership transitions. The new team launched three major initiatives: pastoral care, age limits for clergy tenures, and standardized church management. Church A has adopted the attendance system as an entry point to improve its salary and financial management systems, care for its clergy, and facilitate leadership succession.
The third and most crucial aspect is combining the framework of institutional management with the internal unity of church-worker relationships.
Church A holds weekly staff worker learning and team-building sessions, helping reduce stress or pressure stemming from strict attendance policies. Initiated by the senior pastor, the church hosts church worker meetings every Friday morning, where one staff member leads the discussion and study of the resolutions of provincial and municipal CC&TSPMs, religious policies, and regulations, as well as shares personal devotional insights. Mistakes and areas for improvement in their work are also addressed in the meeting without causing resentment.
After the learning sessions, the team engages in group activities like coffee gatherings and sports. Although seemingly unproductive, such activities, under the senior pastor’s persistence, deepen relationships over time. Coworkers become not only ministry partners but also companions during leisure activities.
This harmony and mutual support transform the attendance system from a top-down imposition into a trust-based, proactive framework. This reduces potential dissatisfaction or passive resistance.
While the attendance system tied to salary and performance is the most visible evaluation mechanism, the most fundamental assessment comes from the hearts of mentors, church workers, and believers.
Regardless of how stringent the system is, it is not overly difficult for a clergy member to meet requirements. Clocking in or taking photos can prove a pastor's presence at a visit or memorial service, but the quality of their work—whether heartfelt or perfunctory—cannot be quantitatively measured. Pastor Y believes that believers’ recognition and testimony serve as an irrefutable standard. While this is not the ultimate guide for clergy service, it should be considered the benchmark for fulfilling one’s duties.
- Edited by Katherine Guo, translated by Abigail Wu
Evaluating Pastoral Work: From Attendance to Heartfelt Recognition
