PLANNING FOR THE NEW YEAR

• Plan your church calendar for the year

SAFE CHURCH

• Check that your Safe Church Coordinator has created new teams for programs in SMO
• Check that team leaders have submitted programs for approval in SMO
• Ask your Safe Church Coordinator to review and approve your programs and events for the coming year

COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING

• Copyright: Does your congregation use images, videos or music in worship service, sermon slides, Bible studies, advertising materials or other uses? Ensure you are copyright compliant. Generally, this means you need to obtain permission from the copyright owner. This includes anything you find on the internet. (Anything you use from the LCA Worship Planning Page is copyright compliant.) LCANZ congregations have been contacted by lawyers, acting on behalf of copyright owners, to produce evidence that they have permission to reproduce the material.  More information: Copyright page

FINANCE

• Finalise your end-of-year financial statements and arrange for a review or audit
• Review and update (if necessary) automatic debits or money transfers

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Assess office equipment to ensure it meets the needs of staff and volunteers
• Identify hazards and arrange repairs or replacement as necessary

CHILD SAFETY

• Review the implementation of your Child Safety Standards Action Plan and (if necessary) take actions to get back on track.

CHURCHWIDE AND DISTRICT SYNODS

(If there are Churchwide or District Synods this year), ensure that all church council members are on the eNews mailing lists for LCA eNews and District eNews (Queensland, Vic–Tas, SA–NT) so that you can receive information and updates. For more information and to manage your subscription: eNews page

COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING

• Statistics: Submit your congregation's statistics via LAMP2. More information: LAMP2 page
• CCLI: (If your congregation uses the quarterly reporting model), complete your quarterly CCLI report. More information: CCLI

FINANCES

• BAS: (If your congregation operates with quarterly BAS returns), lodge your BAS for the October to December period.
• GST: Lodge and pay your annual GST return.

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

• Signage: Assess all signage and arrange for revisions, repairs or removal if necessary.

SAFE CHURCH

• Review the Safe Church compliance for your volunteers and staff, background checks and referees.

CHILD SAFETY

• Review Child Safety Standard 1. More information: Child Safety Standards page

COMMUNICATIONS

• If you elected new office-bearers at the last AGM, ensure you have updated LAMP2 with their details (and removed retiring office-bearers). This ensures that the LCANZ Churchwide Office and your District Office are able to communicate with the right people. More information: LAMP2 page
• Ask your new office-bearers to sign up to receive LCA eNews and your District eNews (Queensland, Vic–Tas and SA–NT), if they haven't already done so. More information: www.lca.org.au/enews

FINANCES

• Review your congregation's money-handling policy and procedures, and ensure that people recently appointed to money-handling roles understand their obligations and accountability. More information: Introduction to Finance page – Money Handling section

COMMUNICATIONS

• Name badges: Find out who requires a new name badge, compile the list and contact LCA Communications for design and supply. More information: Name Badges page

CHILD SAFETY

• (Every two years), complete your Child Safety Standards Self-Assessment. Review Child Safety Standards 3. More information: Child Safety Standards page

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Arrange for flu shots for your staff (if applicable).
• Assess your church's heating and arrange for servicing or replacement as necessary.

FINANCES

• Review your congregation's money-handling policy and procedures, and ensure that people recently appointed to money-handling roles understand their obligations and accountability. More information: Introduction to Finance page - Money Handling section

COMMUNICATIONS

• Website: If you have a website, review it for correctness and completeness, and check that all the links are working. Check that the Find a Church function on the LCA website is pointing to your website (and if it is not, update the field in LAMP2). More information: Websites page

CHILD SAFETY

• (Every two years) complete your Child Safety Standards Self-Assessment. Review Child Safety Standards 3. More information: Child Safety Standards page

COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING

• ACNC: (If your congregation is registered as a charity with ACNC), lodge your Annual Information Statement. More information: Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission
• CCLI: (If your congregation uses the quarterly reporting model), complete your quarterly CCLI report. More information: CCLI

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Emergency contact details: Review and update emergency contact details for members and securely destroy out-of-date information. (Never leave member directories or other private information in a public place.)

FINANCES

• LCA levy: Your congregation's annual LCA levy is due for payment on 30 June.  More information: LCA Levy page

COMMUNICATIONS

• Social media: (If your congregation has a social media presence), review your social media policy and procedures, and ensure that your social media administrators are trained for their role. More information: Social Media page

CHILD SAFETY

• Review the implementation of your Child Safety Standards Action Plan and (if necessary) take actions to get back on track.
• Discuss your next Child Safety Standards Plan at your church council meeting and start work on it. Review Child Safety Standards 4. More information: Child Safety Standards page

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

• Plan now for any planting, gardening or repairs that need to be done in spring and organise tradespeople or a working bee

FINANCES

• Finalise end-of-year finances
• (If your congregation adopts a June end-of-financial-year), arrange for a review or audit
• Ensure the LCA levy has been paid. More information: LCA Levy page

COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING

• Check that your congregation or parish's constitution is still current and that it works for your situation and circumstances. More information: Contact your District office

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Check that your first aid kits and other medical equipment (eg defib machine) are serviced and fully up to date, and that your members know how to use them

CHILD SAFETY

• Review Child Safety Standard 5. More information: Child Safety Standards page

INSURANCE

• Review your insurance for the church, manse and other properties.
• Take photos of buildings and contents for insurance purposes and store them securely.

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

• Follow up on quotes and finalise plans for necessary repairs and maintenance to be undertaken in spring.

FINANCES

• (If your congregation operates with quarterly BAS returns), lodge your BAS for the April to June period.

CHILD SAFETY

• Review Child Safety Standard 6. More information: Child Safety Standards page

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Ensure your fire extinguishers and other fire equipment have been serviced.
• Check that other fire risks for your location have been mitigated and that necessary actions have been taken.
• Update and publicise your evacuation plans.

COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING

• CCLI: (If your congregation uses the quarterly reporting model), complete your quarterly CCLI report. More information: CCLI

SAFE CHURCH

• Review the Safe Church compliance for your volunteers and staff, background checks and referees.

CHILD SAFETY STANDARDS

• Review Child Safety Standard 7. More information: Child Safety Standards page

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Prepare for fire season. Check gutters, air conditioners and trees, and clear debris around properties.
• Check that evacuation posters are current and displayed appropriately.

CHURCH WORKER SUPPORT

• Regular inspections of your manse are an important part of responsible property stewardship and help ensure that the home remains safe, functional and well-maintained for your pastor and their family. Springtime is a good time for an inspection. More information: Manse inspection resources

FINANCE

• Your treasurer will need to prepare the budget for review by the church council, with sufficient time for adjustments to be made, for presentation to the AGM and adoption. If relevant for next year, remember to include General Pastors Conference and Convention of General Synod and/or District GPC and Convention costs in the budget. More information: Introduction to Finance page, Budgeting section

NCLS SURVEY (every five years)

• Keep an eye out for the promotion of the Survey, sign up, advertise it among your people, and complete it during the allocated time frame

PLANNING FOR NEXT YEAR

• Add important dates to your congregation's calendar (e.g. Easter, Advent), note your pastor's anticipated leave dates, and ensure affected people are aware.

CHILD SAFETY 

• Review the implementation of your Child Safety Standards Action Plan and (if necessary) take actions to get back on track.
• Review Child Safety Standard 8. More information: Child Safety Standards page

CHURCH WORKER SUPPORT

• Staff reviews: Check-ins with staff at least annually contribute to developing staff as well as nipping any performance issues in the bud. It is good practice for both you as the employer and for your staff. Resources: Employment and Service page: Performance Management section

GOVERNANCE

• Nominations: It's time to make the call-out for nominations for positions up for election at your AGM. This includes not only the church council positions (e.g. chairperson, secretary, treasurer, etc) but also for committees and working groups. If there will be a General or District Synod next year, now is the time to be calling for nominations for delegates.

FINANCES

• BAS: (If your congregation operates with quarterly BAS returns), lodge your BAS for the July to September period.

WORKPLACE HEALTH AND SAFETY

• Hazard reduction: Assess all church properties for hazards (eg tripping, electrical, chemical, etc) and take action to repair or replace.

CHILD SAFETY

• Review Child Safety Standard 9. Resources: Child Safety Standards page

ADVENT/CHRISTMAS SERVICES

• Check that Advent/Christmas visitors can find your church via the LCA website. More information: Find a Church page
• Add your Advent/Christmas services into LAMP2. More information: LAMP2 page
• If you are in a District that promotes Christmas services on their website and eNews, provide the details to them.

FINANCES

• District contribution: Ensure that the full contribution due to your District has been paid. If in doubt, or if you are struggling to pay the amount due, contact your District office.
• Advise your District of the amount you plan to contribute next year.

PROPERTY MAINTENANCE

• Spring clean: Check the contents of cupboards and other storage units. Dispense with unwanted items (donate to charity, dump run, etc).

COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING

• CCLI: (If your congregation uses the quarterly reporting model), complete your quarterly CCLI report. More information: CCLI

CHILD SAFETY

• Review Child Safety Standard 10. More information: Child Safety Standards page

It's Advent. Down tools and spend this month preparing to receive the Christ Child. Consider how your congregation might be a light in our community in this season.