Most clergy graduate from seminary or divinity school without coursework, training, or exposure to church administration, church management, or human resource management. Clergy commonly presume most of their time will be spent preaching, presiding at liturgies, forming their congregation in the Christian faith, ensuring the pastoral care of their congregations, and doing good work for those in need in the community. Church leaders are often surprised to find out how much of their time is spent managing staff and volunteers and handling personnel issues.

This third course in the Duke Divinity+ Church Administration series is designed to enable clergy and lay leaders serving the church in congregational settings or in other church-related venues to develop healthy frameworks and practices for human resource management. While as church leaders you rely first and foremost upon God to successfully perform your ministries, this work is accomplished through human resources—staff and volunteers. It is your responsibility, as one entrusted to minister in God’s name, to steward those human resources in the best manner possible. In this course, you will connect human resource management to theological principles, and we will provide real-life examples and case studies of what to do and not do as a manager, all while learning the basics of human resource management in a church-related setting. If you are a pastor or ministry professional in need of Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits for your professional development, CEU credits are available for this course. Please share your Coursera course certificate and a copy of the course description with your church denomination or employer as recognition of your earned 1.5 CEUs. This course qualifies for 1.5 Continuing Education Unit (CEU) credits. Completion of all three courses in the “Church Administration: Human Resources” Specialization qualifies for a total of 4.5 CEU credits.