Governance advice, smoother operations and the IT to hold it together. From one partner.
Our position
Ministry Memos is an independent consultancy for UK churches and Christian charities. We bring governance, operations and IT together, so a church is safely governed, well organised and properly equipped. We advise first, build the systems that make the advice stick, and stay to support them.
What we do
Each works on its own, and they are built to work together.
A health check, the policies you are missing and training for your trustees.
Governance servicesClear roles, simpler routines and volunteer teams that do not rely on one person.
Operations servicesAn intranet for your buildings, people and admin, with the routine jobs automated.
IT services
Built inside a working church.
How the strands join up
One example, from a health check to a reminder in your inbox.
A health check finds your fire risk assessment is out of date.
We agree who owns it and how often it is reviewed.
It sits in your compliance register, with a reminder before it falls due.
From our field guides
Plain-English guides drawn from our training and from real church work. Free to read, no sign-up.
Who counts as a trustee, the six core duties and what you can and cannot hand to staff.
Read the guideFive questions that show where the church office is fragile, and what to do about it.
Read the guideWhy membership lists need extra care, and our rules for using AI with people's information.
Read the guide
Our approach
When the paperwork, the rotas and the systems work, people are free for what matters most. That is the whole point of what we do.
The problem we see
Most churches we meet are full of capable, committed people. The trouble is rarely effort. It is structure.
Elders, PCC members and deacons are usually charity trustees in law, whatever their title. Many do not know what that asks of them.
The administrator who knows where everything is. When they are ill, or leave, the church finds out how much lived in their head.
Calendars, inboxes, shared drives, paper files and apps nobody opens. Every staff meeting starts with a hunt.
Our position
We are consultants who build. We help UK churches and Christian charities run well by joining up three things that are usually handled apart: governance, so trustees know where they stand; operations, so the work is organised and shared; and IT, so the right systems quietly keep everyone on track.
Our vision
Not a slicker church. A calmer one, where everyone knows their part and nothing important slips.
What we believe
Structure is never the goal. Every policy, process and system we suggest has to free people for ministry, or we leave it out.
Policies exist to protect people. We write them to match what your church actually does, and help you live them.
Know-how gets written down, shared and backed by a system, so the church keeps going when someone moves on.
Most churches already pay for Microsoft 365. We build there first, with the sign-in your staff already use.
Each tool we build at one church becomes a tested starting point for the next. You get proven work at a lower cost.
AI can draft and sort. A named person always reviews and signs off, and personal data never goes into consumer AI tools.
Our model
Most consultants hand over a report. Most IT firms hand over software. We do both, in that order, and then stay.
A health check, a conversation with your staff and a look at how things really work.
You get: a written picture of where you stand.
Who owns what, how often it happens and where it is written down.
You get: clear roles, policies and routines.
The systems that hold the new way of working: registers, reminders, an intranet.
You get: tools that keep it on track.
Training for trustees, staff and volunteers, and a retainer if you want one.
You get: someone who already knows your church.
Every module starts as a fix for a real problem, used every week by real staff.
Proven parts we set up and adapt, instead of starting from a blank page.
Your name, your data, your choice of home.
Being clear
Who we work with
From a church with a single administrator to a multi-site church with a full staff team. Across traditions, because the trustee duties are the same.
Our compliance tools are not only for churches. Any charity or community organisation with a building to look after can use them.
Services
Governance, operations or IT. Add the others when you need them.
01 · Governance
Charity governance for trustees, PCCs and elders, across 8 policy areas.
A red, amber, green review of your policies, a written report and a 90-minute trustee debrief.
Missing or outdated policies written for your church, not lifted from a generic template.
A half-day session for your whole board, with a workbook for every trustee.
Guidance on reporting and decisions when something goes wrong.
A yearly policy review, updates when the rules change and someone to ask.
02 · Operations
We look at how the work really gets done, then make it simpler.
We map who does what and where things get stuck, then simplify it.
Clear lines between trustees, staff and volunteers, so decisions land in the right place.
A weekly rhythm, with one overview page and an agenda that builds itself.
Manuals, checklists and training pathways, so know-how is shared.
03 · IT and automation
Four packages from the same building blocks. You choose how much we set up and support.
Every check and renewal in one place.
A tailored intranet, built and supported for you.
Your intranet, inside Microsoft 365.
Repetitive admin, automated safely.
Your data stays in your own account. Staff use the sign-in they already have.
No Microsoft 365? Get your own address, with your church's name and colours.
Not sure what to use? We also advise on choosing church software that fits UK GDPR.
Fees are agreed in writing before any work starts.
How it works
The same steps, whichever strand you start with.
30 minutes on where it hurts.
Scope and fees, in writing.
We listen, read and map how things work.
We build, write or train, as agreed.
Live training for trustees, staff or volunteers.
Stay on with a retainer or termly sessions.
Data protection
On the Microsoft Track, data stays in your own account.
No new passwords for staff.
Every automation gets a data protection review.
We work with them. We do not replace them.
Expertise
Field guides on church governance, operations, data and buildings. Drawn from our trustee training and from systems running at a real church.
Field guide 01 · Governance
Almost every UK church is a charity, and every charity has trustees. The law does not go by job title. It asks who has control and management of the church. If major decisions rest with you, you are very likely a trustee, whether you are called an elder, a deacon, a PCC member or a director.
Trustees can hand day-to-day work to staff. They cannot hand away the responsibility for it. A board that delegates to a senior pastor or administrator and then stops asking questions is not doing its job.
Trustees can delegate authority. They cannot delegate responsibility.
The tool that holds this together is a written scheme of delegation: who decides what, and up to what amount. If yours is more than three years old, it probably no longer fits. Our governance services
Field guide 02 · Governance
Our health check reviews every church against the same eight areas. Here is why each matters, and the gap we most often find.
Trustees carry personal legal responsibility for how the church is run.
The area that draws the most serious regulatory action, including trustee disqualification.
Trustees are jointly responsible for the money, whether or not they handle it.
UK GDPR applies to every church, and church data needs extra care.
Trustees must understand the church's main risks and how they are managed.
Any church with paid staff is an employer, with the duties that come with it.
The law covers everyone in the building: staff, volunteers, members and visitors.
Websites, social media, livestreams and photos all carry obligations.
Field guide 03 · Operations
We ask these in every discovery conversation. If the answers are vague, that is where the stress in your week comes from.
Is it clear which decisions belong to trustees, which to staff and which to volunteers?
Signs it needs workThe same question goes to three people. Decisions get made twice, or not at all.
Is there a regular rhythm of meetings, reviews and checks, or does everything happen when someone remembers?
Signs it needs workRenewals are spotted after they lapse. Agendas are written the night before.
Can a new person find the procedure, the contact or the latest version without asking?
Signs it needs workThree versions of the same rota. Files in personal inboxes.
If the person who does this left tomorrow, could someone else pick it up next week?
Signs it needs workHolidays cause panic. One volunteer runs the sound desk every Sunday.
Is there a simple way to see what is complete, what is due and what is overdue?
Signs it needs workStaff meetings are spent asking for updates instead of making decisions.
Each answer points to a fix in one of our three strands: a policy or role description, a routine, or a system. Our operations services
Field guide 04 · Data and AI
A church membership list shows people's religious beliefs. Under UK GDPR that is special category data, which needs extra protection, whatever software holds it.
Any platform holding member data needs a data processing agreement in place first.
A retention schedule says when records are deleted. Without one, data piles up.
A breach that puts people at risk must be reported to the ICO within 72 hours.
Keep a list of every system that holds personal data, and where it is stored.
Field guide 05 · Buildings
Church buildings come with legal checks. The checks themselves are rarely the problem. Knowing who owns each one, when it is due and where the certificate is: that is where churches slip.
The right interval for each check depends on your building and your assessor's advice. We help you record it, not guess it.
Field guide 06 · Recent changes
Rules change. These recent ones touch most churches with staff or volunteers.
Statutory sick pay is now paid from the first day of absence, and lower-paid staff now qualify too. That matters for part-time cleaners, crèche and office staff.
Check: your sickness policy and payroll.
Paternity leave and unpaid parental leave no longer need a qualifying period of service.
Check: your staff handbook and contracts.
Employers must take reasonable steps to prevent sexual harassment at work, not just respond to it.
Check: your policy and a written risk assessment.
More employment changes are being phased in through 2026 and 2027. This is general information, not legal advice. For legal questions we work alongside solicitors who specialise in churches and charities.
Trustee self-check
Tick the ones you could answer confidently today. Nothing is sent anywhere.
Questions we are often asked
No. Your contractor looks after devices, networks and support tickets. We focus on how the church is governed and organised, and on the systems built around that work. We are happy to work with them.
No. We are governance and operations consultants. We help you understand your duties, write proportionate policies and put them into practice. When a question needs legal advice, we say so and point you to specialist solicitors.
No. If you already have it, we build inside it and your data stays in your own account. If you do not, we can set your church up on its own site with your name and colours.
The duties are the same for every church, but the answer should be proportionate. A small church may only need a health check and a few policies. We will tell you honestly if you do not need more.
Yes. Structures differ between an Anglican PCC, a Baptist church meeting and an independent eldership, and we take that into account. The trustee duties underneath are the same.
You do. On the Microsoft Track it never leaves your own Microsoft 365. Whichever route you take, your information belongs to your church.
It depends on what you need. After a free 30-minute call we send a short written proposal with the scope and fees. Nothing starts until you have agreed it in writing.
Showcase
Seventeen apps and tools in three families: systems at a working church, the Ministry Memos suite, and the tools behind our advice.
Family 01 · Church systems
Nine systems running or in build at one church with around 20 staff and officers, inside the church's own Microsoft 365.
Active leak, first in the sequence.
UrgentMore church systems
Hand uploads become an automatic flow to podcasts and a searchable library, checked against the preaching schedule.
AI drafts from the building profile and regulations. A named person signs off.
An outdated policy rewritten, on the path towards Cyber Essentials.
Sound, video and slides know-how written down for three volunteer teams.
Services drifting from agreed patterns, spotted and brought to the staff team.
Screens on this site are illustrations using sample data.
Family 02 · The Ministry Memos suite
Four apps and a featured module, built from the same lessons, for churches that want something ready to run. Each one works on its own.
One place to run the whole church, from members to the boiler service.
For: churches without Microsoft 365, or that want one system for everything.
The boiler service is due in 3 weeks. Last year's engineer was booked for a Tuesday.
Two new families joined in September. No welcome visit is recorded yet.
Policies, risks and compliance for trustees, with safeguarding kept under lock and key.
For: trustee boards, PCCs and safeguarding officers.
The sermon, subtitled live on people's own phones, in their own language.
For: churches with international members, guests or partner congregations.
欢迎大家今天来到这里。
请大家翻开圣经。
今天我们一起来看路加福音第十五章。
Plan the service, then run the slides on Sunday from the same place.
For: tech teams and service leaders.
Every bill, meter reading and contract in one place, so the treasurer stops chasing paper.
For: treasurers, operations managers and fabric committees.
The suite apps are at different stages. Ask us what is ready for your church today.
Family 03 · Consulting tools
What we use in governance work, so reviews are faster, consistent and grounded in UK guidance.
Upload any church policy from the 8 areas. Get a rated, section-by-section report against UK best practice, with priority actions.
A deeper check of a safeguarding policy against IICSA recommendations, Charity Commission guidance and Thirtyone:Eight standards.
The published policies of 65 UK churches across 5 traditions, so we can show you what comparable churches make public.
How they fit together
Every idea is proven at a working church first, inside its own Microsoft 365.
The lessons become apps any church can use on its own site.
The same knowledge powers our reviews, so advice is quicker and consistent.
About
Ministry Memos grew out of real church work: the policies, the rotas, the building checks and the systems that hold them together.
Our story
Working inside a busy church with around 20 staff and officers, Louis Chan kept seeing the same pattern. Good people, real commitment, and the week's information spread across around fifteen calendars, a fire-safety app nobody opened and a 106-item building report locked in a PDF.
So he started fixing it. A staff intranet with one front page. A compliance register with reminders. A clickable map of the building inspection. One weekly overview that writes the staff meeting agenda.
Along the way it became clear that systems were only half the answer. Trustees needed to know where they stood. Roles needed agreeing. Know-how needed writing down. So the training and governance work grew alongside the technology.
Ministry Memos brings those three strands together for other churches: governance advice, operational sense and IT that works, from one partner who has done the job from the inside.
Good systems give people their time back.
Why Ministry Memos existsIn numbers
What you can expect
No jargon in our reports, our policies or our training.
Scope and fees agreed before any work starts. No surprises.
Every piece of work ends with training, so the knowledge stays with you.
Inside your own Microsoft 365 wherever possible, and always handled with care.
If you do not need us, or need less than you thought, we will say so.
Your IT contractor, accountant, solicitor and denomination stay part of the picture.
Part of the team
Most churches already rely on a few trusted advisers. We do not replace them. We help the pieces fit.
Tell us what is taking up your week. You get a short written proposal.
support@ministrymemos.com
You will speak with Louis Chan, the founder, who built the systems on this site.
