Welcome to the seventeenth article in a series designed to enhance the use of the Small Membership Church Guideline. Ideally, this Guideline will be shared among your church leaders, read, discussed together, and used to strengthen ministry.

Think of the last church meeting you attended. How would you rate the experience? Was it a:

• Productive, vital session?
• Long-winded free-for-all that resulted in no actual decision or resolution of crucial issues?
• Series of reports on what has happened rather than inviting support for what will occur in the near future?
• Gathering of people to discern and accomplish their shared task of mission and ministry?
• Major disappointment?

When church leaders come together, it is different from a "business" meeting in another organization. Together, we focus on ministries that nurture faith, outreach that meets people's needs, and witness to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. We meet so that God's will is done both in and through us. We serve on committees and ministry teams, expecting our gifts to glorify God. Having a good agenda (or meeting guide) is just as important as having the right people at the table or the resources necessary to support ministry.

Remember that the entire church council must practice careful agenda planning and group process. It is helpful to request minutes and all "action items" coming from committees and ministry groups to be available in printed form for distribution to church council members on the Sunday prior to the regular meeting. This allows time for thoughtful consideration and questions about the item.

Here is an agenda that you can use to organize for ministry using the NOW(rm) model in your congregation. As with trying anything new, it is recommended that you give this meeting outline six months to see if it works for you. Leaders who use an intentional agenda find that they are able to accomplish more in less time and involve more people.

Compare the agenda you are currently using with the one below to see how you can make your next church meeting be time well spent.

AGENDA
Opening (5 minutes)
Name an effective ministry that occurred since last gathering. Prayer.

Celebration of an Alive Church (10–15 minutes)
The primary emphasis should be on what is happening. Choose two or three of these:

• Report on the average attendance at Sunday school and worship, noting the number of visitors and introducing them by name and providing relevant information.
• Briefly observe any deaths, including a celebration of "saints" or an expression of shared grief over a specific loss.
• Celebrate new baptisms and church members.
• Give an informal report on how spiritual growth is happening in the congregation.
• Provide an update ministry that is shared with another congregation or group.
• Share joys and concerns.
• Take a moment of personal testimony or witness.
• Teach briefly from a recent experience (retreat, training, mission trip, etc.)
• Lead a short Bible study.

Reports from Ministry Groups or Teams (20 minutes)
Emphasize what is exciting and being planned to meet your mission goals, including recommendation of new ventures for council approval. Include:

• Nurture ministry (Sunday school, Bible study, fellowship groups, other)
• Outreach ministry (mission project, community development, other)
• Witness ministry (worship, stewardship, communication, other)
• Lay leader and pastor
• Other seasonal or special ministry reports, as necessary.

Resource Ministry Reports (20 minutes total)
Address how the resource ministry groups can continue to support the congregation's mission and ministry in terms of facility, staffing, finances, and volunteers. Include the:

• Committee on finance
• Committee on staff/pastor-parish relations
• Committee on lay leadership
• Board of trustees
• Administrative reports (corrections to minutes from last meeting, financial secretary or church treasurer reports, reminder of next meeting)

Sending or Benediction

Making This Agenda Work in Your Congregation

The council chairperson should be able to keep the agenda time and items with sensitivity. Make sure that all participants, not just a few, have an opportunity to be heard. Whenever you sense there is a split over a decision, ask the group: "Is this a decision that needs to be made at this meeting or can it be made later?" If the group decides to make the decision later, get a consensus on the date. Ask what else the group needs in order to make a good decision and be sure to work to have that in place at the next meeting so that decisions are not postponed indefinitely. If it is more information, invite the appropriate people to assist.

Discern: Whatever is done in the name of the church is done for God and with God's help. As leaders, share in Christian practices that help you work as spiritual partners with one another and with God and that provide an avenue to discern the direction that God would have you go. Such discernment not only helps you determine faithfully how best to serve God but also how best to use your gifts and resources. You can't do everything. Are you doing the needful thing?

Evaluate and Celebrate Ministry: Take stock regularly of:

• What you are doing
• How you are doing it
• Why you do it
• What the results are
• What impact it has on the spiritual and material lives of the participants.

Impact awareness is a key factor in determining whether and how to proceed to use the finite resources of any church. While personal benefits are usually intangible, they can be described and observed, and therefore, in some way, quantified. Consider a few of these possible measures of spiritual growth:

• Participates regularly in worship
• Participates regularly in other Christian formation group(s)
• Tells personal stories attesting to spiritual growth and change
• Moves from "member" to "leader"
• Indicates that involvement is Christ-centered and other-directed
• Invites and/or mentors others
• Invests in the ministry and nurture of children and youth
• Practices one or more means of grace
• Seeks continuing education and formation activities.

Leaders guiding vital ministry answer these three crucial questions:

• What is the will of God for this congregation and community?
• Who are our partners in ministry committed to this vision (and how well will they work together)?
• Does (or could) the church have the resources necessary for ministry?

Thank you for visiting our website and for giving us the opportunity to serve you.

Julia K. Wallace is former Director of Small Membership Church and Shared Ministries at the General Board of Discipleship.

Copyright 2009 The General Board of Discipleship. Permission is granted for use in local church training or study groups. No portion of this article may be reprinted or republished in any form for any other reason without written consent.

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