NACBA CERTIFICATION AS FCBA THE PROGRAM FOR CERTIFICATION The National Association of Church Business Administration, through its Committee on Professional Training and Standards, has established a program of certification for church business administration. Achievement of this standard will be attested to by certification as a Fellow in Church Business Administration (FCBA). Training received in the NACBA certification program enables one with a business or other background to acquire knowledge and an attitude unique to church administration. Churches employing an FCBA can have a greater confidence in the business administrators understanding of and exposure to national standards of church administration principles. Introduction The mission of the National Association of Church Business Administration is to serve the church by promoting the highest level of professional competence in individuals serving Christ through administration in local churches. Basic to this mission is a determination for the development of professional standards for its members. Since its creation in 1959, the Committee on Professional Training and Standards has sought to carry out this mandate. Eligibility and Requirements Only an active national member of NACBA may become certified as a Fellow in Church Business Administration. Individuals, who work on local church staff or in a denominational office, provided their job responsibilities have a primary element of support to local congregations in one of the key areas of administration, are eligible for certification as an FCBA. A denominational candidate must submit the Document of Denominational Leadership which confirms their work with congregations. However, all members of NACBA and other interested parties are welcome and encouraged to take part in this educational opportunity. The national office of NACBA will maintain files on each student for future reference and use. Requirements include the following: 1. Candidate must have completed at least three years of fulltime service in a local con gregational church setting or denominational office in which he/she has had primary respons ibility in one of the key areas of administration.
2. Candidate must have been an active member of the NACBA national organization for at least two full years prior to receiving certification. 3. Candidate must be a current member of the NACBA national organization at the time of certification. 4. Church candidates must submit the personal evaluations completed by the senior pas- tor and a lay officer of the church currently being served, applicable forms and processing fees by June 1 of the year in which the candidate is to be certified. 5. Denomination candidates must submit the personal evaluations completed by the im- mediate supervisor and evaluations from three representatives of unique congregations that have benefited from the candidates work. This could include staff or lay evaluations. Applicable forms and processing fees must be submitted by June 1 of the year in which the candidate is to be certified. 6. Candidate must have completed the course requirement for academic study through one of the approved training centers. Seminars dates are available by clicking here.7. Candidates must complete an action-based certification project as outlined in the Project Guidelines. The project can be undertaken any time after the completion of two weeks of course-work at any one of the training centers. A copy of the approved project must be on file in the national office. By July 1, of the year in which the candidate is to be certified, the national office of NACBA must receive notification of completion of this requirement from the training centers which is supervising the project. An electronic version is acceptable and must be submitted on disk or CD using MS Word or PDF format. The project file should include all items in a single pdf or word file. In addition the candidate may choose to provide an academic "library" hard binding for inclusion in the NACBA project library. These bindings should include title and author’s name printed on the spine. 8. Candidate must subscribe to the NACBA Code of Ethics. 9. There is a time limit for completion of the certification process. The official start date for this period is the date the candidate completes the first seminar. From that date, a candidate has five years to complete all the work required for certification. Evaluation and Certification All candidates for certification will be evaluated as to basic ability, personality and interpersonal relationships, and comprehensive exposure to the content of the course curriculum. The final approval by the Committee on Professional Training and Standards will be based upon the satisfactory completion of all academic requirements, including the project, a favorable assessment of the working relationship with both pastor/supervisor and lay/church evaluations, and a complete examination of the background and existing job-related responsibilities to insure that the candidate is qualified to receive certification. The successful candidate will be presented and recognized at the Annual Conference of NACBA, at which time the certificate designating the candidate a Fellow in Church Business Administration will be awarded. The Certification Process All forms and the NACBA Code of Ethics are available on the web at www.nacba.net/certify . Decide which certification seminar you plan to attend. Factors to consider: date; denomination (all centers are open to applicants of any Christian denomination); location; cost (the PT&S Committee does not regulate the registration fee charged by the training centers, and it does vary); transportation to and from the seminar and lodging while attending the seminar. (Seminars are usually held during breaks from regular classes at the centers, lodging is sometimes available in dormitories at the centers). Once you have made your decision, contact the center about registration. Register for entering the certification program by sending registration form with your check for twenty-five dollars ($25) to the national office; this non-refundable fee will be applied against the certification fee of one hundred dollars ($100). Denominational leaders should submit the Document of Denominational Leadership at the time of registration to insure qualification. Begin your academic work and your project. Report on progress to NACBA. By June 1 of the year you expect to receive certification by NACBA, send your Application Form and seventy five dollar ($75) Application Fee. Provide evaluation forms to you senior pastor and lay officer which should be sent to the national office by the June 1 deadline. By July 1 of the year you expect to receive certification, send to the national office the final version of your approved and accepted project on disk or CD. This should be in MS Word or PDF format. As a certification applicant, you are expected to take the full initiative for planning, seeking approval, and implementing all that is necessary for certification, including submitting all forms and fees to the NACBA. If you have any questions, please contact the National Office. Please contact the National
Office for additional information at
info@nacba.net or (800) 898-8085 |
