A reply to /u/thomasin500

The situation was different at different periods in different locations. But in the 16th-17th centuries, what tended to happen was that explorers came first, while clergy and administrators came later, and sometimes much later. This is due to the limited extent that the Spanish monarchs were able to control their own agents. Columbus' own efforts at exploration and colonization serve as a good example whereby he had quite a bit of time to truly mess things up before a proper administration was put in place, and clergy sent to ensure the spiritual aspects are looked after. This same pattern repeated itself with each exploration effort.

small communities existing around catholic churches

So this is highly vague, I am not sure what you mean exactly.

In the early phase of exploration in a new area, the church had to catch up with the explorers/colonists. Later on, as the Spanish wanted to stabilize their frontier in the north, the church came first and then built small colonies around the churches.

You should read /u/RioAbajo 's posts here, and /u/anthoropology_nerd 's post here. In the northern frontiers, Franciscan missionaries established missions that are built around the church, and are run in the encomienda fashion.

As for the day-to-day activities, you may want to look up the encomienda system as it provides a starting point that became the effective template in the colonization / extraction phase.