BUDGET BITES: STAFF/PERSONNEL

/ Union Avenue Christian Church/

This week’s Budget Bites focuses on the personnel portion of the budget. As mentioned in the January 11 Budget Bites column, the annual withdrawal amount from the Martha Morgan Short (MMS) fund provides 25% of the personnel budget. According to the 2023 provisional budget, this equates to approximately $89,000 of the $355,264 budgeted for personnel expenses.  

Identifying an exact percentage that UACC personnel dedicate to outreach as part of their daily tasks is challenging. Although the MMS funds are dedicated to supporting outreach, trying to nail down exactly how much time a UACC staff person devotes to outreach will vary from month to month, and from year to year. Here’s a glimpse (which is certainly not a comprehensive list) of what UACC staff positions’ duties include: 

Senior Minister (1 full time position/currently vacant): Serves the pastoral needs of the congregation, their families, frequent and infrequent visitors, and friends of the church neighborhood; creates meaningful worship experiences and faith formation opportunities for the congregation, their families, visitors, neighborhood friends and others; leads these same groups of people in bringing Christ’s love to others through service and missional work; oversees the operations of the church, creates meaningful connections with civic leaders, area clergy, nonprofits and social service agencies that serve adults and children in St. Louis that help carry out UACC’s mission and vision, supporting church lay leaders in their ministry work…and the list goes on.

Administrator/Communications (1 full time position): Daily interactions with ministry partners who use the building and their guests; responding with compassion to guests who occasionally stop by the church in need of food, clothing, bus fare or housing; providing tours to visitors seeking a venue for a wedding or organization in need of meeting spaces; supporting the ministry teams of UACC with communications, logistics and other needs to carry out their activities and work; supporting worship leaders and Sunday School leaders with materials and supplies; ensuring the UACC building is inviting and welcoming; providing strategic communications for the congregation and beyond by keeping the website updated, using social media, electronic and traditional newsletters, signage inside and outside the building, and by building meaningful relationships with members and visitors of the congregation, ministry partners, building contractors, outreach visitors (Urban Mission Inn), local and regional civic leaders, school leaders, clergy, businesses and nonprofits.

Director of Music ( 1 part-time position): Ensures that all music for worship services connects with the liturgy; directs, coordinates and rehearses a high-quality choir and special music for holidays; is the primary pianist/organist for worship services; coordinates music for church funerals, weddings and other special events as needed. This position also has, in the past, coordinated and directed choir trips within the United State and Europe, produced professional music CDs with our choir. These CDs were used as part of the pre-recorded worship services that premiered every Sunday on Facebook during the pandemic when in-person worship was halted.

Financial Administrator (contracted service): keeps all bookkeeping and accounting records up to date for the church. This position is currently contracted with a certified public accountant.

Custodian (1 regular part time contracted position averaging 25 hours/week; 1 occasional contracted person for significant maintenance-related jobs): Ensures the building and grounds are maintained, clean, inviting and welcoming for ministry partners, guests, visitors and the congregation; assists in ensuring that equipment and utilities are in working order; although ministry partners may contract the UACC custodian to clean/maintain their space, it is done outside the hours dedicated to UACC needs; prepares common areas of the building for congregation-related meetings and events as well as organizations that occasionally use the building; supports UACC ministry teams’ needs; prepares building space as a polling place for St. Louis voters when UACC is a designated location; supervises the parking area during church events/services.

To read previous issues of Budget Bites, click on the following links:

  • February 2, 2023 Budget Bites focus on Arts Group of Union Avenue HERE

  • January 26, 2023 Budget Bites focus on Building Ministry Partners II HERE

  • January 19, 2023 Budget Bites focus on Building Ministry Partners I HERE

  • January 12, 2023 Budget Bites focus on Outreach & Justice Ministries HERE

  • January 5, 2023 Budget Bites focus on the Martha Morgan Short Funds HERE

  • December 29, 2022 Budget Bites focus on Plant & Property HERE

  • December 22, 2022 Budget Bites focus on Congregational Meeting and approval of 2023 provisional budget HERE

Please feel free to email or speak in person with Ad Hoc Budget Committee members: Doug Rademaker (Finance chair), Neil McNeill (Plant & Property chair), Richard Jones (Investment chair) and Michelle Mueller (Board Vice President) with any questions, concerns or ideas to strengthen the budget. A Town Hall meeting to discuss the budget will be Sunday, February 12 following worship. Together, with God’s guidance, we will continue to build God’s kingdom right here in St. Louis.