How transformational leadership, education, and management experience relate to church business operations

Congregation demographics and style of worship have changed substantially over the past 30 years. The necessity for pastors to be more business savvy and possess administrative skills has increased since America entered the information age, especially within smaller churches. Pastors feel sufficiently prepared for their ecumenical duties, but lack adequate preparation for the administrative responsibilities. The Church Business Operations Assessment Tool (C-BOAT) measures the degree to which a church is structured to conduct business functions and the administrative protocols that are in place to run a nonprofit organization. It is essentially a business health assessment tool specifically developed for church operations. Some churches are experimenting with a new business model that falls somewhere between the for-profit sector and the nonprofit sector in order to remain relevant in the 21st century. This organizational concept is referred to as a hybrid business structure and is positioned in the emerging Fourth Sector that is wedged between the Private and Public sectors. The objective of this study was to assess the relationships between transformational leadership, education, and management experience with church business operations. Transformational leadership and management experience prior to assuming the role of pastor were found to be significant. Education level and the pastors' education source were not statistically relevant. The results of this quantitative study provide empirical data that can be used by church leadership to consider restructuring their business operations and assess leadership weaknesses and seminaries to revise educational and management preparation of pastors with the intent to increase the effectiveness of church business operations.