A secretary is an administrative assistant who performs administrative tasks for an organization like taking notes, managing schedules, and record keeping. Historically, secretaries have provided support to politicians and businessmen. Effective secretaries anticipate needs, quickly solve problems, and work competently without drawing attention to their important contributions. Key qualities for a secretary include good listening, organizational, communication, and judgment skills. In a religious organization like a church, the secretary must be discreet, trustworthy, and protect confidential information while presenting a welcoming personality as the first contact for visitors.

2.  What is a secretary?
 Who is the secretary?
 Who can be a secretary?
 What are the qualities of a secretary?
 What are the roles of a secretary in an organisation?

3.  Secretaries can also be known as an administrative
assistant, a clerk or a personal assistant. These titles
might reflect various types of a secretarial job, but they
all carry out administrative tasks. A
secretarial position is actually quite old: Roman and
Greek politicians and businessmen used clerks and
personal secretaries to supervise their affairs.

4.  A secretary is usually a very important person within
the office, and they do not always command a salary
as well as respect from an outsider that a higher
ranking person within the office does.

5.  Good secretaries will anticipate the requirements of
the office staff, will solve problems quickly, and work
so competently that a lot of people will not realise just
how valuable they are until they leave the job. In
companies a secretary can work as a temporary
employee, part-time, or full-time secretary.

6.  GOOD LISTERNING.
 ABILITY TO ACT.
 ABILITY TO READ AND WRITE.
 ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE.
 ABILITY TO MAKE JUDGEMENTS(WHEN NEEDED).

7.  One of the toughest jobs in a church is that of the
church secretary. A church secretary can be an asset to
a pastor; she can also ruin a pastor’s ministry. There are
attributes for a secretary other than office skills that
many forget to consider. If you are a church secretary,
seeking the position or are a pastor with or without a
secretary, here are a few qualities to consider in a
church secretary.

8.  Discreet. Another way to say this is “selective amnesia”; she needs to
be able to forget certain information easily. A church secretary is privy
to confidential information from counselling sessions to tithe records.
It is important that the one in this position be able to forget what she
knows when seeing the individual on Sunday. There should be no
change in behaviour toward an individual because
of what is known.
 Trustworthy. The church secretary needs to be able to keep “secrets”.
Confidential information
 does not belong on the church’s prayer tree as gossip. Many things are
said in the church office
 Monday through Friday that do not need to be repeated to others at
any time.

9.  Protector. A great church secretary will protect the
pastor’s reputation. She will dress modestly. She
should make sure that there is no question regarding
the relationship between pastor and secretary.
 Personality. A church secretary should be personable.
Many times she is the first contact strangers will have
with your ministry. She should be friendly, out going,
and pleasant. She needs to be helpful and able to
handle herself in many situations, both business and
social.

10.  Organized. The secretary should be able to organize the
office into a well run machine. While a church is a ministry
it is also a business. Files, correspondence, church
membership records, the calendar and financial accounts
should be kept up to date.
 Foresight. A good church secretary will constantly be two
steps ahead. She should be able to keep the pastor
informed of up coming meetings, activities and unexpected
problems. A pastor’s schedule is constantly changing; one
phone call can disrupt a “normal” routine. The secretary
needs to be able to make quick adjustments when
necessary.

11.  Equipment skills. Today’s office has many new gadgets to make
the office run smoothly. Computers, copiers, fax machines, and
the like are constantly changing and/or breaking down. The
secretary needs to know how to work these machines; however,
this should not be a main criterion. Machine usage and office
skills can be learned. A “trained” secretary will be a detriment to
a pastor if she does not possess certain personal attributes such
as discretion and trustworthiness. These qualities far outweigh
any mechanical skill she may or may not possess. The church
secretary is a vital position in a church. She helps take on the
little day to day things such as fielding phone calls, opening mail,
producing the church bulletin and keeping track of membership
and tithe records.

12.  Agenda
1. Apologies
2. Minutes of last Meeting
3. Matters arising and follow up actions
4. Correspondence
5. Reports
9. Other agenda items, e.g. item(s) postponed or item(s)
motion(s)
10. Financial Report
11. Requests for approval of expenditure
12. Any Other Business
13. Date for next meeting

13.  WHY REPORTING?
 HOW TO REPORT?
 WHAT TO REPORT?
 WHEN TO REPORT?