How should be the meeting of the church committee lead?

Being involved in the international mission, I am far away from the country and the ”Bunavestirea” church  that I pastorate from planting. I wrote this article to advise and teach the pastors from Chişinău and those who work in our churches and mission places how to effectively lead a church committee meeting. Meetings are very important, because …

Without consultation, plans are frustrated, but with many counselors they succeed. (Proverbs 15:22)(NASB)

Each church must have a meeting of counselors or church ministers who think, those who lead the ministries in which the rest of the saints are involved. Here are some tips and important steps to lead a church committee meeting.

1. Prepare for the meeting

The pastor who remains responsible for leading the meeting must be prepared well on the items that will be discussed. He should make a list of topics that must be discussed at that meeting. It will not be possible to discuss all things at once, but important issues need to be discussed and then urgent to ensure the good work of the church for the spiritual growth of the saints, the fulfillment of their needs, and the preaching of the Gospel to those who do not know it yet. Think of the solutions to all the topics you will discuss, have the proposals, and ask the responsible pastor all the questions before he is gone so that you can get the necessary directions from him before the committee meets. Also consult the minutes of the previous meeting so that they know what will be discussed in the first part of the meeting and whether they need time. Check what is being requested. He should also prepare a Bible study lesson that suits the needs of those who will come to the discussion and the topics that will be discussed.

2. Start the meeting with a Bible study lesson

This may be a study of 15-30 minutes. We do the ministry of God, and therefore we always want to let Him speak to our hearts from His Word in each of our meetings. That’s why you should prepare this Bible study well and teach it at the highest level. Do not let it become a formality to be fulfilled, believing that the other things are more important. If we do not have time to obey God and direct our hearts and minds to Him, let us not expect to receive direction and wisdom from Him when we will need it in the decisions we should made and the plans we will make.

3. Pray for the things which will be discussed

Once you have presented the things for discussion, pray together for what you have studied in the Scriptures and for the subjects to be discussed. Ask God to give you guidance, supply you with wisdom, and lead you with His counsel, so all the decisions that will be made will bring Him glory and honor.

With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. (Ephesians 6:18)(NASB)

If someone has to add other issues that are necessarily discussed, you will include them in the list. In fact, it is always good to leave time for other urgent matters that can appear even during the hearing.

4. Verbal proces

The Secretary will have to write a verbal process for each committee meeting. There must be indicated the date, the place of the meeting, the people who participated, and the individuals who led it. Then write the matters that are being discussed, the proposals that are made, the conclusions, the decisions, and the objections and then write the person from whom it came.  This verbal process will then be emailed to all participants so that everyone knows what they have to do and can follow and fulfill the tasks they should do. I advice the secretary to study chapter 15 of Acts in order to know and learn how to make a good record. There is also included the record of the meeting of the Jerusalem Committee. Luke clearly wrote who spoke, what he spoke, what decisions that had been made, and who had to fulfill them. He also wrote the place and people who participated. Therefore, the secretary should follow this pattern and always put a copy of the record, signed by the pastor or minister who led the meeting, in a file in which it will be kept for reference and which then will be kept in the archive of the church.

5. Check the progress of the decisions made at the last meeting

For this, the secretary will bring a printed copy of the verbal process of the last meeting of the committee and will give it to the pastor or the minister who will lead the current meeting. He will go through the decisions taken at the previous meeting and check how they have been fulfilled or what progress has been made on each. If they do not check and follow the decisions made at the previous meetings, the warning from Solomon’s next proverb may become reality:

In all labor there is profit , but mere talk leads only to poverty.( Proverbs 14:23)(NASB)

We do not want meetings to be a waste of time, but that’s the way it is,when there talking without laboring. Therefore, every decision must be checked and insisted on the part of the leader and those who have the responsibility to carry it out. That is also the principle we will follow when choosing people who will take a part in the committee.

6. Keep the discussions on the subject at hand

The leader of the meeting will have the responsibility to keep the discussion on the subject, and if someone tries to divert it, he will watch and bring the discussion back to the things that need to be discussed and decided.

7. Everybody knows what he has to do after the meeting

Ensure that each decision you have made is clear and the person or people who must do it, has understood well what they have to do and they know the deadline also. Provide help to each one so that he or she knows what he or she will need. Do not discuss at the meeting details that are only for one or two people. Discuss any other things that can be decided in private discussions so you can bring them to fulfillment.

8. End with prayer

Without God, we would not be able bring any of the decisions to fulfillment. That is why it is important to spend a while at a time  praying with the participants in the meeting to bring before God the decisions they have made and the tasks they will have to accomplish, and will ask for guidance and prosperity.

9.Communication of decisions

The church secretary will send the record of the meeting to all the participants and the chief pastor. Decisions that will be required to be communicated to the entire church will be announced during the next and online service if there is a church group on social networks or mobile phone. The pastor or the minister of the church who led the committee meeting will communicate to the pastor about the decisions that were taken and  any details they consider important. They will also communicate whether it will be necessary to consult about the fulfillment of the decisions made at the meeting. I thank the Lord for the team of the ministers from “Bunavestirea” church and for all the missionaries who are working on planting new churches at mission points because they are action men and devoted to the gospel ministry. I pray that this advice will be of help, and if other pastors or other churches find them useful, I will rejoice and thank the Lord. With this thought I decided to publish this article on the portal http://www.moldovacrestina.md and in the newspaper “Moldova Creştină”.

Translated by Didina Cravcenco