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Staff Handbook & Resources

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Highrock’s Mission: Create Christian communities that inspire curiosity, courage, and compassion.

 

We recognize the important role our employees play in living out this mission. This page is meant to serve our employees in the work that they do and to help create a staff culture of mutual support as we work together within our individual congregations and as a multi-congregation team in Arlington, Cambridge, MetroWest, and Online.

Below are the employee and church policies Highrock currently has in place. We are continually updating this page to better reflect the resources and expectations we have for our staff team. If you have questions about items you find here, or feel items are missing, please do not hesitate to get in touch with Katie Vogele-Bongiovanni, our Human Resources Director.

Staff Handbook

Benefits & Expectations

    • All 30+ hour employees are eligible for healthcare benefits from Highrock for themselves, their spouse, and any dependents, for which Highrock will cover 100% of the premium cost.
      • For those enrolled in the plan, re-enrollment happens automatically each year.
      • To make changes to your enrollment (e.g. to add dependents) please contact Katie Vogele-Bongiovanni, Human Resources Director.
    • Employees may opt out of Highrock’s provided coverage only if they have access to other insurance through a spouse’s insurance, as a dependant, or are receiving Medicare benefits. For those employees choosing to be on their spouse’s insurance:
      • Highrock will provide a stipend equivalent to the premium cost, up to the cost of the plan Highrock provides.
      • Highrock will include a small increase in the stipend to reduce the tax burden from the stipend.
      • Health Insurance Opt-Out Reimbursement Form
    • Access your Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield account here.
    • Resources from Bethany Benefits, our insurance coordinator:

  • Highrock wants employees to feel the freedom to care for their physical, mental and spiritual health needs, through time away for relaxation or recovery. For this reason, Highrock offers Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO).

    We offer our staff flexibility because we want to invest in their personal lives. This investment needs to be mutual. In return for flexibility, we ask our staff to invest themselves in our shared ministry work, making sure that it gets done well, so our congregations, communities, and larger vision are supported, and our colleagues can balance their lives too.

    In addition to days taken off for mental and physical health needs, we encourage employees to take at least 17 days of recreational time away (vacation) each year.  Individuals will not be penalized for taking more or fewer than 17 days. 

    Days off must be requested and tracked through Hrvey.com

    Expectations:

    • PTO will not negatively impact colleagues or department work.
      • Staff will consider carefully with their supervisor the impact of time away for multiple consecutive weeks or during a busy season (Christmas, Easter).
    • Staff will communicate time off plans in advance to their supervisor and coordinate extended time away with their department colleagues.
      • Staff with weekly worship responsibilities will engage in special consideration with their supervisor to take off more than two consecutive worship days.
    • PTO used for unplanned days off, such as physical illness or mental health needs (staff member or a household member who needs their care) will be communicated to the individual’s supervisor when the need arises.

    PTO must be recorded in our time tracking platform – Hrvey.com

    • This allows supervisors to approve the time off and our Highrock staff team to know when someone is away
    • PTO used for health needs (mental or physical health) must be recorded as sick time so that a record is in place should medical leave or long-term disability be needed. Long-term disability cannot be processed without a record of days off due to a health need.
    • Family and medical leave continues to be in place, and for insurance purposes must be recorded should it extend into long-term disability.

    Highrock encourages all staff to enjoy the following days off: ​their Birthday, Thanksgiving Day, Friday after Thanksgiving, Christmas Day, New Year’s Day

    • Paid Family & Medical Leave is available to employees who have been working at Highrock in a 30+ hour position for at least one year. Unpaid Family & Medical Leave is available to salaried employees who have been working at Highrock for at least one year in a position that is fewer than 30 hours. The details of an employee’s Family Leave will be worked out between the employee and their supervisor and approved by the Lead Pastor and Director of Operations. Please let your supervisor know your need for leave as soon as you are able so that whenever possible there is ample time for this discussion.
    • Family & Medical Leave at Highrock is up to 12 weeks a year of job-protected leave taken to bond with a new child in the family (newborn, newly adopted or foster), for the care of seriously ill family members (spouse, child, parent, sibling) or personal recovery from a serious illness/disability.
      • PTO may be used to extend the Leave period, following a discussion with the employee’s supervisor and Human Resources.
      • For Paid Leave, full pay is offered for up to 8 weeks. PTO can be used to extend the paid leave, following a discussion with the employee’s supervisor and Human Resources.
      • During Family & Medical Leave, all of the church’s contributions towards benefits and pension will continue to be paid fully.
    • Please let your supervisor know your need for leave as soon as you are able. They will discuss the details with you and process the request with the Lead Pastor and Director of Operations in a timely manner. As much as possible, employees will make plans with their supervisor for coverage of their responsibilities during their absence.

  • Life and AD&D Insurance is provided for all 30+ hour employees through Covenant Benefits.

  • Long-term disability Insurance is provided for all 30+ hour employees through Covenant Benefits. Benefits begin after a 90-day elimination period and cover 60% of monthly earnings.

  • All licensed pastors are eligible to designate a portion of their income as a housing allowance. Eligible expenses include:

    • mortgage payments (principal and interest)
    • rent payments
    • real estate taxes
    • property insurance
    • utilities (gas, electricity, water, sewer, garbage pickup, local telephone service)
    • appliances/furniture (purchase or rental cost and repairs)
    • remodeling expenses
    • homeowners’ association dues
    • pest control

    This form can help you determine the housing allowance you would like to take. Let our Human Resources Director, Katie Vogele-Bongiovanni, know if you need to make a change to your housing allowance.

    • Payroll is processed every two weeks on a Friday. This paycheck covers the employee’s previous two weeks of work.
    • Access pay stubs and a copy of your W2 through the online portal at paychexflex.com.
    • For questions about how payroll is processed, please speak to our Human Resources Director, Katie Vogele-Bongiovanni.
  • Sabbatical is offered to Highrock Pastors in or around their sixth year of cumulative full-time ministry, and every fifth year after that.
    • Sabbatical leave will be in addition to 17 days of regular paid vacation days in a sabbatical year.
    • Up to $1,000/week will be budgeted for approved expenses, in addition to regular salary and benefits. (up to $6,000 total)
    • This benefit applies to pastors in good standing, with no ongoing disciplinary actions against them.
    • Sabbatical leave may be extended by up to two additional weeks using regular paid vacation time. (6 weeks of sabbatical plus the option of extending it by up to 2 weeks using vacation time, resulting in a total of 8 consecutive weeks of leave.)
    • For pastors getting licensed while working full-time for Highrock, the year of the licensing process will count toward the six years of full-time pastoral ministry work.
    Pastors are requested to submit their initial sabbatical timeline at least 6 months before their hoped-for start date.   Once the dates have been finalized, a plan is made.
      • Write a paragraph or two (or bullet points) describing your plan for each priority, reflecting on the five priorities that make for a well-rounded sabbatical experience (outlined below).
      • A plan for a sabbatical must be approved by the Senior Pastor or Executive Director 12 weeks prior to the start of the sabbatical.
      • A sabbatical is the church’s investment in its pastors. The plan will be shared with the Council so that the church can stand behind each pastor on their sabbatical.
    Five Priorities that make for a well rounded sabbatical experience:
      • Rest: Observing sabbath in a deeper way to make space for God to do the work
      • Recreation: Investing in yourself, engaging in what gives you life and energy
      • Relationships: Investing in strengthening bonds in your marriage, family, and friendships
      • Renewal: Investing in your spiritual health and connection with God through spiritual practices or experiences, re-visioning your ministry call
      • Resourcing: Investing in your ministry through reading, seminars, and meetings with mentors or other leaders. How can you access new ideas to stretch your growth and learning?

  • Highrock is guided by our denomination’s framework for responding to allegations of sexual harassment. Our denomination has a complete list of Sexual Harassment: Response and Prevention resources available. The ECC’s guidelines are excerpted below:

    • Sexual harassment is never okay. The doctrine of the Imago Dei calls us to value and respect every person in our congregation. Jesus also calls us to advocate for the weak and powerless and to defend those on the margins.
    • Be predisposed to believe the person reporting harassment.
    • Acknowledge the difficulty surrounding the decision to report harassment. Stand with the victim and support their courage to speak out.
    • Listen prayerfully to the victim, resisting the temptation to minimize or dismiss their experience.
    • When someone reports or breaks silence to you, encourage them to document it in writing.
    • Trust your intuition. If a joke, remark, or story feels inappropriate, speak out.
    • Recognize that sexual harassment is more about power than it is about sex.
    • Make sure the victim has access to appropriate support and counseling.

  • Social media is one of the predominant ways to communicate our lives to family and friends. While we recognize that many of our staff members are on some sort of social media platform, and encourage engagement with those who attend Highrock, we want everyone to be aware of what they post and the impact it might have.

    • Do not post photos without checking that the individual or their guardian has given written permission.
    • We strongly advise that all staff use easily traceable methods (Facebook, email, text) for interacting with vulnerable populations and avoid platforms where traceability is difficult or uncertain (Snapchat, Yik Yak, etc.).

    Here is an outline for discerning how, when, and what to post (adapted from Forbes Magazine):

    • Reason. Simply put: use reasonable etiquette, the same as you would offline.​
    • Represent yourself. Anonymous profiles lend themselves to more negative content.
    • Responsibility. Make sure that what you’re saying is factually correct, not malicious to anyone, and meant to edify and connect relationally with others.
    • Respect. What you say online is a permanent record, so don’t say anything online you wouldn’t feel comfortable saying to the whole church – with a camera rolling.
    • Restraint. Before you hit that send button, pause and reread. If you wouldn’t want that particular thought or contribution forever associated with your name, don’t post it.

  • Highrock provides allowances for books, education, hospitality, and travel to all employees in positions that are more than quarter-time. Allowance amounts are based on the employee’s position and hours. Please reference this outline to review your allowances.

  • Staff reimbursements are processed through Expensify. Reimbursement requests must be made within 90 days of the expense.

    Highrock is grateful for the willingness of staff to make purchases for ministry and commits to reimbursing your expenses quickly. To streamline and bring consistency to the reimbursement process, the Finance team has established a reimbursement schedule and clarified expectations for review and approval of unbudgeted or over-budget expenses.

    Please review the updated Staff Reimbursement Approval & Submission Process, which covers:

    • Expensify Reimbursement Timeline
    • Reimbursement Review & Approval Expectations
    • Tax-Exempt Purchasing
    • Monthly Budget to Actual Report
    • Expensify Submissions

    The updated approval process applies to unbudgeted or over-budget expenses. We are all individually responsible for making sure reimbursements we submit follow the updated approval process outlined in the shared document.

    Reimbursement will be processed every Friday that does not fall during a holiday. Any change in this schedule will be communicated. Reimbursements submitted on a Friday might not be processed in that day’s batch, depending on timing.

  • Highrock will provide employees with the technology needed to successfully fulfill their jobs. Some technology will be for individual use (laptop, cell phone, etc.) and some shared staff use (central computers, video equipment, etc.).

    • The determination of what technology is needed for each job is at the discretion of Highrock. Employees are encouraged to discuss technology needs with their supervisor if the technology available to them does not allow them to do their job effectively.
    • All technology purchased for employees will remain the property of Highrock.

Church Policies

Financial Policies

    • A Form W-9 must be collecting from all guest speakers & leaders in order for Highrock to offer them an honorarium.
    • Request an honorarium payment by sending this form and a W-9 as a single PDF to Accounting@highrock.org.

     

    • Visiting preachers will be given a $500 honorarium for their preparation and preaching at one Highrock service (Arl/Cam/MW/HRO). For each subsequent Highrock service in which they preach that same sermon, we will add an additional $150 to their honorarium.
    • In addition, Highrock will reimburse all mileage for traveling between our locations. Additional travel reimbursements will only be applicable if we specifically solicited the person to come out and preach.
    • For honorariums for other guest leaders (speakers, worship leaders, facilitators, etc.), please contact the HR Director.

    Honorarium Payment Request Form

  • Volunteers are a key part of our ministries so it is appropriate that we would want to recognize all that they do and in some instances give them a gift as part of our thanks.

    • Gifts that are a cash equivalent (i.e. gift card, vouchers, etc.) should not exceed $25.
    • Gifts of tangible items are at the discretion of the Ministry Director.
    • When giving gifts of any kind, volunteers who serve in equivalent capacities should receive equivalent gifts.

  • Highrock does not accept earmarked, designated, or restricted gifts, except in the event of a capital campaign. We do this to protect our ability to adjust and adapt to the ever-changing needs of the Highrock community and its partners.

  • Cash Sheet Template

    • Cash sheets should always be filled out at the point of collection. It’s to help protect you, your volunteers, and your ministry from accusations of embezzling
    • If you hold a ministry event that has a small entrance fee, the fees should be counted and recorded by two trusted members of your team immediately after everyone has paid. Otherwise, there’s no proof that after collection, someone didn’t stick $100 in their pocket while they waited to find someone to count with three days later.
    • Please do not use the “Specified Cash” section to record checks. As this is a cash sheet, only cash needs to be recorded. The specified cash section is for anyone who provides their name with their cash donation. So if John Smith puts an envelope in the offering with $20 in it and writes his name on the envelope, his donation should be recorded in the Specified Cash section and not included with the general unmarked cash. Checks can simply be included in the envelope. They do not need to be marked, and in fact, will throw off the calculation of the cash sheet if they are marked.

  • There are legal restrictions around how reimburses are processed that both ministry leaders and volunteers making purchases on behlaf of ministries need to be aware of. Before having volunteers make purchases on behalf of your ministry, please review, and ask your purchasing volunteer to review, the Restrictions & Guidelines section in the reimbursement request form.

    • Volunteer reimbursement requests 2 staff signatures – ministry leader & their supervisor
    • The completed form and receipts must be sent as a single PDF to Accounting@highrock.org

    Third Party Volunteer Reimbursement Request Form (updated FY25)

    The Restrictions & Guidelines for volunteer reimbursements:

    • Do not purchase personal items on the same receipts as business items. This can legally invalidate your ability to be reimbursed for this charge. If you’re going grocery shopping for your ministry and you double it with personal grocery shopping, please do two separate transactions.
    • Take advantage of our tax-exempt status. Especially for big purchases, this is extremely important. Please contact Katie@highrock.org if you do not have a copy of our tax-exempt form.
    • Fill out your form digitally. Do not print out this form and handwrite in expenses. Your form will be returned to you unpaid.
    • Original receipts should always be included. Copies of credit card or bank statements should only be used in extremely rare cases when a receipt cannot be provided. If you do not have proof of purchase, we cannot reimburse you for your expense.
    • Do not add/subtract/alter lines from this sheet! This alters the automatic total function and could result in an incorrect reimbursement! If you have more purchases than fit on one page, please use the second sheet tab for additional items.
    • Do not use rewards for purchases; rewards used are not reimbursable. Things like CVS ExtraBucks, Kohl’s Cash, Costco Rewards Certificates, etc. are not able to be reimbursed.
    • Do not use gift cards for purchases; gift card payments are not reimbursable. American Express/VISA/MasterCard gift cards are all included in this category.
    • Receipts must be provided for any cash purchases. Cash payments (including tips) must be included in the receipt, or they will not be reimbursed.

  • Third Party Invoice Payment Policy updated FY25 by Financial Director, Pastor George Cladis

    • Third party contractors must have a completed W9 on file.
    • Invoice payment must be requested using the  Third Party Invoice Payment Request Form and send to Accounting@highrock.org
    • Invoice payment requests require 2 signatures for payment approval (see full policy above)

    Third Party Invoice Payment Request Form (updated FY25)

    COA list for reference

  • Childcare Worker Rates

Operations

  • To reserve space at Highrock Arlington, please follow this process:

    Send all facility use requests in writing to Facilities Director Lew Valenti – LewV@highrock.org

    Use the following considerations when sending your request:

     Email Title: Facilities Calendar

    Please include the following information in the email:

    • Group Name
    • Ministry Name, if applicable
    • Staff Contact information
    • Leader Contact information
    • Space Requested
    • Dates and times
      • For ongoing routine scheduled events, please let me know how far out the space should be booked. For example if the event is booked for the entire year, and doesn’t break for any period of time, please indicate as such. If the group has an end date, please include that in the details.

  • These links are not a replacement for professional tax services or an indication that Highrock agrees with or promotes these websites – they are simply public resources that our pastors have found helpful for their own personal use.