Great Expectations: The Role of the Council in Church Renewal

What role does the governing board play in your church, and is it the right role? Do your church’s elders and deacons have clarity around expectations? Or does each one have a different idea about what they are supposed to do?

Last week, I began a mini-series about the roles played by the staff, the council, the laity, the visioning team, and the pastor. In the book Inside the Large Congregation, Susan Beaumont explains that these five systems must work together correctly in order for a church to thrive.
As churches grow, it can be especially tricky to help each of these five systems work together seamlessly. Their roles shift in big and small ways, and they can come out of alignment easily.

In this week’s newsletter, we’ll focus on how the church council’s role typically changes as a church grows. Below are some ideas to help you make sure your board is firing on all cylinders and ready to move forward.

The role of the council in growing churches

1. A Move Away from Micromanagement

In small churches, paid staffs are typically very small. For this reason, elders and deacons are frequently expected to get in the trenches and to manage the church’s ministries in a very hands-on way.
However, as a congregation grows (and the staff size grows along with it), the council typically begins to leave day-to-day ministry management to staff members. They are the ones who are “on the ground” throughout the week and know their ministry needs the best. Doing this also helps avoid having “too many cooks in the kitchen,” stepping on toes, and becoming a bottleneck in the church’s forward progress.

2. A Move toward Strategic Thinking

Council members are in a prime position to think strategically and focus on the future. They can discern the church’s strengths and weaknesses, as well as opportunities and threats on the horizon.
As visionary leaders, the elders and deacons set the congregation’s strategic priorities and then evaluate the church’s progress toward its long-term goals.

3. A Smaller Number of Elders and Deacons

While congregations and church staffs grow, the governing boards typically decrease in size. This may seem counterintuitive at first, but Beaumont says it is necessary.
It all comes down to the psychology of decision-making. To be able to deliberate well, the ideal size of a board is 5-7 people. Additional members typically hinder the process more than help increase the quality of decisions made. Past a certain size, decision-making and strategic thinking becomes almost impossible, so the board forfeits the role described above.

4. A Smaller Number of Committees

Church councils often delegate work to task forces, committees, and other teams of people. In growing churches, these committees may end up duplicating (or conflicting with) the work of the staff.
While a few standing committees like personnel, facilities, and finance are typically needed, Beaumont advises that others should be kept to a minimum. She says other committees should be formed for a specific task and for a limited period of time.

5. The Creation of an Executive Committee

Because larger churches tend to have sprawling systems that come out of alignment easily, it may be helpful to form an Executive Committee that brings them all together.
Beaumont recommends this committee might contain the lead pastor, executive pastor, board leaders, treasurer, and 1-2 other central board members. This group would triage potential agenda items before they end up consuming the valuable time and energy of the full boards. They would also be able to meet more frequently to do high-level creative and generative work (i.e., “out of the box” thinking).

Which of these changes do you think would most help your church’s renewal effort? Do you worry that you are not big enough to implement these ideas yet? If you are on a growth track, it is helpful to plan ahead and structure for the size you intend to become. These changes may be needed in the near future, so planning has to start now.