Running head: GRACE UNLIMITED CHURCH 2
Grace Unlimited Church (GUIC)
Grace Unlimited Church is an inclusive Christian Organization with the sole purpose of ministering to the world the good news of faith (Grace Unlimited). The Organization is headed by a senior pastor who is also the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) and subordinated by the executive pastor, the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and the Associate Pastors. These leaders ensure that the day-to-day activities of the Grace unlimited church operate smoothly. The organizational structure of this institution is represented as follows.
Organization structure of Grace Unlimited Church
CFO
Executive Pastor
Senior Pastor (CEO)
Associate Pastors
Degree of Specialization in this Unit
Grace unlimited Church is a bold community of faith that is a multi-cultural, dynamic, multi-campus and cutting edge ministry that is spreading the gospel of faith across the globe. The organization is a San Diego based, and with non-demo national and sponsored by Church Of God In Christ in the United States and other individuals of faith and goodwill (Grace Unlimited). As a church, Grace unlimited specializes in ministering to the world by spreading the gospel of hope to everyone regardless of gender, ethnicity, class, religion or orientation. It is with no doubt that Grace unlimited is deeply rooted in its specialization because it intends to open new insights and ensure that the ministry reaches the world.
The extent of Centralization/Decentralization
Centralization is the process where there is no delegation of responsibilities to lower levels. Instead, power is concentrated within the top management that makes every decision including the ones that concern the lower levels. The implication of centralization includes a reservation of authority at the high level, reservation of power at lower levels with the supervision of the top management and reservation of the authority with the middle-level leaders. Under centralization, the top management makes important decisions, and the lower management implements them with the supervision of the senior leaders. In contrast, the decentralization system allows power sharing between the top management and lower management. It involves delegation of power at all management levels.
In the context of Grace Unlimited Church, the extent of centralization or decentralization is based on the amount of power delegated to the lower management. This organization embraces total decentralization system because the senior pastor often delegates authority to the executive pastor and the associate pastors. Because the church aims to spread the gospel of faith across the world, the senior pastor finds it necessary to hand over other responsibilities to his juniors as it is a way of achieving the mission of the organization.
According to the organization’s website, Bishop Quacy Smith is the senior Pastor of the Grace Unlimited. The website reveals that the bishop does not provide all the answers by himself, but welcomes the opinions of others. This implies that the top management does not solely make the decisions of the organization, but they also involve lower management.
Sometimes, Bishop Smith prefers to be known as one of the teaching pastors although he is the lead pastor. He defers authority and leadership to individuals around him rather than embracing a hierarchical and centralized system. This action has modeled GUIC to have its team of elders. Grace Unlimited also has a board of directors that assist in business activities of the church. Again, the senior priest of the GUIC manages to share core responsibilities with a centered leadership team while delegating decision-making and innovation to other leaders and pastors who minister to the community. These examples show that Grace United is performing its activities in a decentralized fashion
Degree of formalization
Formalization is the extent to which an organization structures its roles, and governs the actions of the employees using the set rules and regulations. A formalized institution often focuses on the positions and functions instead of the individuals holding those positions. The aim of formalizing an organization structure is to rationalize the process of decision-making. GUIC, like other business organizations, must follow the rules and regulations set by the federal and state governments. Employees of this church including the pastors and other leaders are law abiding citizens. However, it is worth noting that the church has its doctrines that the believers need to follow.
Accordingly, the doctrines of the church are based on the Bible. This indicates that the first law that governs believers is the Ten Commandments. However, the church doctrines equip the leaders with the knowledge and understanding of the church activities. They help the leaders to conduct their roles according to the beliefs of the church. The doctrines of Grace Unlimited, together with the bible, governs the activities of the believers as well that the employees because these are the fundamental rules and regulations that they rely upon when it comes to religion. As such, Grace United has shown a high degree to which its roles have separated the people who carry out those duties, thus, indicating that the organization is highly formalized. This aspect characterized by the fact that a formalized structure includes various layers of supervision such as top managers, middle managers, and operational supervisors. Looking at the organizational structure of Grace United, the senior pastor is the top manager, the executive pastor is the middle manager, and the associate pastors are the operational supervisors.
A span of control my Immediate Supervisor
As an Executive pastor, my immediate supervisor is the senior pastor who also acts as the Chief Executive Officer of the Organization. The senior pastor has three spans of control who reports directly to him. They include the executive pastor, Chief Financial Officer, and the Associate pastors. These subordinates assist in the daily operation of the church activities including decision-making, problem-solving, and other management issues to ensure that the Church operates smoothly.
Finance Office
The finance office is the treasury of the Grace Unlimited Church. This office is headed by the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) who ensures that the finances of the church are managed appropriately. The CFO also helps in formulating the future direction of the church, participates in making decisions an executive member, oversees the financial operations of GUIC, Keeps the financial records, and prepares financial reports of Grace Unlimited Church. Due to these roles, the CFO is expected to have a bachelor’s degree in Accounting or Finance to qualify for the job. In addition, the person must have a certificate from Senior Pastor certifying in as pastor through courses and classes in Theology and heart for leading people to Jesus Christ to be entrusted with the finances of the church.
Conclusion
In conclusion, this piece has analyzed Grace United Church beginning with its organizational structure. It has then determined the degree of specialization in the unit, the extent of specialization in this organization, and the level of centralization or decentralization of the Grace United Church. Next, the analysis has determined the degree of formalization and the span of control in the immediate supervisor of the institution. Finally, the finance office of the Grace Unlimited Church and the qualifications of the CFO have been examined.
References
Graceunlimited. (n.d.). Retrieved April 17th, 2019, from http://www.graceunlimited.org/
Judge, T. A., & Robbins, S. P. (2017). Essentials of organizational behavior. Pearson Education (us). New Jersey: Pearson Education.
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