Creating a healthy, remote work culture in your church is more possible than you may think. 

Working remotely isn’t such a rare thing anymore. Small, medium, and large companies have been adapting it for years. 

But does working remotely really work? Can it function in the church world? The answer is yes!

Numerous studies have been done on remote work, showing its benefits. It has an impact on everything from productivity to church staff salaries.

Here at Tithe.ly, we’ve had a remote workforce for years, and we love it!

When we joined forces with Elvanto over a year ago, their team successfully transitioned from a traditional office space to working remote.

Creating a remote work culture at your church is within reach.

So much of what happens in the church is outside the four walls of the building so why not give your staff and volunteers more flexibility to “be the church”?

Here are some practical ways your church can create a remote work culture.

1. Make the decision from the top that remote work is ok

Culture comes from the top—so it’s important that leadership promotes working remotely.

A senior pastor or high-level leader needs to be onboard with the idea and encourage it.

This is the first vital key to success because if the leaders aren’t onboard, it isn’t going to fly.

2. Make remote work possible

Logistically, the first thing to think about is physical things like equipment.

If you provide your church staff and volunteers with desktop computers, consider providing them with laptops instead. It’s possible that a lot of your team may have their own laptops already, which may be an alternative.

Another option could be to allow people to take their church desktop computers to their homes (if they’re not too hard to move).

The second thing to think about is non-physical things like computer programs and software that you use.
If you’re using a modern church management system or accounting platform, it’s most likely in the cloud and will work anywhere.If not, you should find one that is.

Be sure to also implement tools like Slack to allow your team to quickly send messages, and Zoom to allow them to conduct video calls.

3. Try it out

You don’t need to go all out from day one. Why not try remote out?

Have a few members of your team try working remotely a day or two at a time. 

Test the waters. Make sure you have the right tools in place to make it work.

4. Encourage more team members to try remote

Now that you’ve got everything in place for remote to work, encourage your team to try it.

Some people will be hesitant. But encourage them to try a day here or there. It’s likely working from home will become easier as your team adapts. 

Next steps

The ball is now in your court. 

Working remotely allows staff and volunteers to spend more time with their family as well as engage with the community around them. It can be a huge blessing.

Are you ready to foster a remote culture in your church and reap the benefits? Start today!