Why Invest in the Church Board?
Members of the church board are some of the finest people to ever walk alongside the lead pastor. They help carry the vision and mission of the church forward to reach spiritually lost people with the Gospel.
The best Church Board members are truly the result of pastors taking seriously the charge in Ephesians 4 to “…equip the saints for the work of ministry.”
In this post we’ll look at seven ways to invest in your church board.
I’ve had the privilege of working with some of the finest church boards anywhere. And I can tell you a consistent theme I’ve seen with all of those boards.
The pastors with whom they served took the time and invested resources in equipping the board, as a whole, and board members individually, to be all they could be not only for the pastor and the church, but most importantly for the Lord.
Don’t assume. Just because a person has been around the church for a long time and maybe even been on the board before, does not mean they know all there is to know about being a church board member.
So, how exactly should a pastor and church invest in their board members?
Consider these seven ways to invest…
1. While together in board meetings practice praying for the pastor, for fellow board members and the church. All of the church’s investment in the board should begin with the understanding of the board members’ individual responsibilities to pray.
2. Spend time with the board as a whole and the board members individually. It is important for each of them to hear the heart of the leader on a regular basis as to how the board should function.
3. Provide clear and concise orientation at the outset of their service on the board. Maybe provide something like a Board Member Orientation video to help set the stage for what is expected of them. You might look at the 14-minute bonus video for new board members provided to this end in the Church Board Track of Church University.
4. Meet with a new board member immediately upon their selection to serve on the board. This includes providing them with updates on the most recent actions and activities of the board as well as, the most current documents, minutes, financials, etc.
Finding these helpful? Check the bottom of the page for more resources.
5. Take time to provide regular training on board roles, responsibilities and functions. Start with the fundamentals. Help them understand church governance as opposed to human governance.
6. Utilize outside counsel and resources to speak best practices – spiritual and practical – for church boards. Tap into a premier training tool like the Church Board Track of training inside Church University. This resource provides you the systematic A to Z of church boards. BTW, Church University offers a 30-day money back guarantee on all their resources. So, you have nothing to lose to go kick the tires for 30 days to see if this could be helpful for your church board.
7. Plan times away from the church periodically to review the roles and responsibilities of church board members and to pray together. Consider Saturday morning half-day gatherings to review how pastors and church boards work best together. Certainly, get the board together for an annual Pastor/Board Retreat. It is at this time the pastor can reinforce why the board does what it does and to cast vision for the future. This becomes a great time of unifying this key leadership team of the church.
Here’s the thing. Good church boards don’t happen by accident. They happen when the pastor and church acknowledge that the people sitting around the board table are unbelievable gifts to the pastor and the church. Invest in the church board.
Churches that don’t grow seldom invest financially in their church boards. They consider it a frill or waste of money. They wrongly use terms like, “Let’s not spend money on ourselves.” And hence, they continual the flat and downward spiral of “no growth.”
On the other hand, churches that want to see growth, are willing to invest financially in this key front-line ministry team for any lead pastor – The Church Board! And they know the old phrase, you get what you pay for. The church’s bottom line will be improved when the church board works best together having learned to do so from invested resources designed with that improvement in mind.
So, what’s the takeaway?
Invest in your church board. Pray for them, equip them, spend wisely on them and demonstrate the best in overall human and financial stewardship. Help them be the best in their service to the church not only around the board table but in their respective ministries, as well.
When you do these things, you’ll find the board members getting up-to-speed correctly, serving with enthusiasm and ultimately being more effective in fulfilling that which the Lord asks of them. Your church will be way more effective in reaching spiritually lost people with the Gospel. Period!
Board members that walk in alignment with spiritual and practical best practices are able to best serve the pastor and the church. And most important these wonderful partners in ministry fulfill all God wants to do in their lives and that of the church.
Looking for other helpful blogs on the pastor and church boards?
Church Government: Democracy or Theocracy
Church Board Members: Disagreeing without Drawing Blood?
10 Steps to Navigating Change with Your Church Board
How to Set the Pastor’s Salary and Benefits
Top 3 Responsibilities of Every Church Board
How Self-Policing Can Help a Negative Church Board Member Become Positive
How to Equip Church Board Members
The 5 Investments a Church Board Needs to Make in Their Pastor
7 Essential Purposes of the Church Board
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