If I asked who handles HR at your church, would you name a role or just give me someone's first name?
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"Oh, Karen takes care of all that."
Karen might be your office manager, church administrator, or operations coordinator. She handles the calendar, keeps the office running, and somehow knows where everything is. She's the glue that holds your church office together.
But here's what else Karen does: She processes new-hire paperwork, answers benefits questions, runs background checks, coordinates onboarding, and fields whatever comes up when someone says, "We probably need to talk to somebody about this."
Karen has become the answer to a much bigger question than anyone remembers asking.
Today, let's talk about what happens when a capable administrator gradually becomes your church's entire HR department—and what to do about it.
It usually starts innocently enough. Karen begins by helping with hiring paperwork. That makes sense—she's organized, detail-oriented, and reliable.
Then someone asks her to explain a benefits issue. Next, she's updating the employee handbook, answering questions about PTO, and preparing documents for a difficult staff conversation.
Each individual request sounds perfectly manageable: "Karen, could you just take care of this?"
But together, those requests become a substantial responsibility. And here's the problem: Nobody ever pauses to ask whether Karen wants that responsibility, knows how to handle it, or has room for it alongside her original job.
The work simply follows the person who reliably gets things done.
Let me be clear: There's nothing inherently wrong with an administrator handling HR responsibilities. In a smaller church, combining roles isn't just practical—it's often necessary.
The question is whether you've intentionally built that role and properly supported the person doing it, or whether you've just kept piling on responsibilities as they arose.
Here's the distinction that matters: Are you asking Karen to handle administrative HR tasks within a clear scope, or are you expecting her to navigate complex employment situations, make judgment calls on sensitive issues, and essentially function as an HR professional without the training, authority, or compensation to match?
Exodus 18:17-18 - "Moses' father-in-law replied, 'What you are doing is not good. You and these people who come to you will only wear yourselves out. The work is too heavy for you; you cannot handle it alone.'"
Not all HR work is created equal. Understanding the difference is crucial:
These tasks may be connected, but they require different levels of authority, expertise, and experience.
Your administrator needs to know:
"Use your best judgment" can be appropriate guidance within a clearly defined role. It becomes a crushing burden when it means, "Figure out whatever the rest of us don't understand."
And here's what's non-negotiable: Leaders need to stay present for the difficult parts. You can delegate preparation and coordination, but you still need to own the decisions that are yours to make. Don't ask Karen to make leadership decisions that should rest with pastoral or executive leadership.
If HR has become a meaningful part of someone's job, it's time for a direct conversation:
A new title might help clarify the role, but it won't create capacity or expertise by itself. And buying HRIS software won't answer every question either. Software can organize a process, but someone still needs to understand how that process works and recognize when a situation requires more than a workflow can provide.
💡 Consider This: Support might come from an experienced HR professional who works with your church a few hours a month, or another qualified outside resource tailored to your situation. You don't necessarily need a full-time HR position, especially in a smaller church. But you do need a realistic plan for getting the work done well—without overwhelming anyone.
1 Timothy 5:17-18 - "The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching. For Scripture says, 'Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,' and 'The worker deserves his wages.'"
Honoring workers includes proper compensation for the actual work being done.
Here's a scenario that should make every church leader pause:
Imagine Karen reports to the executive pastor, and a staff member has a serious concern involving that executive pastor. What is Karen supposed to do with that information?
That shouldn't become a process she has to invent in the moment.
Your staff need to know:
Karen needs those answers too—especially if you're asking her to handle HR functions. Without clear pathways, Karen becomes the unofficial counselor, investigator, and messenger for every difficult situation in the building.
That's not what she signed up for. And it's not fair to put her in that position.
Here's something practical you can do right now:
Sit down with the person who handles your administrative work. (Maybe her name isn't even Karen—but you know who I'm talking about.)
Ask them to walk you through every staff-related responsibility they currently carry. Don't start by defending how things ended up this way. Just listen and learn what the actual job involves.
Then work together to identify:
Put dates beside those changes and schedule a follow-up conversation.
Your administrator's competence is a tremendous asset to your church. But competence without proper support, authority, and compensation isn't stewardship—it's exploitation, even if unintentional.
The goal isn't necessarily to hire a full-time HR director (though some churches need that). The goal is to ensure that whoever handles these critical functions has:
That way, the next time you say, "Karen handles that," you can be confident that Karen actually knows it's coming and has what she needs to handle it well.
Colossians 3:23-24 - "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving."
I know this can be a touchy subject. Many churches aren't large enough to have a dedicated HR professional, and that's okay. But that doesn't mean we can ignore the work or burden one person unfairly.
If you're wrestling with this in your church—if you're stuck and don't know what to do next—I'd love to hear from you. Reach out to me at podcast@chemistrystaffing.com and let me know what's going on. Let's see if there's a way we can help.
And if you're looking for more resources on building a healthy staff culture, head over to blog.chemistrystaffing.com where you'll find tons of articles, tools, and insights for church leaders navigating staffing challenges.
This post is based on Episode 730 of the Healthy Church Staff Podcast. Subscribe to never miss an episode.