Governing Board Meetings Going Way Long

Wednesday, August 22, 2018

Hey Fletch … You have got to help us. Our board meeting last night began at 7:00 pm and ended at 11:30 p.m. There was so much discussion on important but not vital issues. How can we focus on the critical issues of our church and not get bogged down?

DRF—I have been giving some strategic coaching to an XP and he had a similar issue. The challenge for board members is that the stakeholders of the church see them every week. Members want to know that their board members know about the major ministry issues in the church. Informing the board can take a significant amount of time, as you are experiencing.

What I have done for many years is prepare a five-page report before the meeting. I email it out a few days in advance so they have time to read it. I also ask that people contact me before the meeting if they have areas of concern. This allows for one-on-one discussion of an area of special interest for a board member. Instead of chewing up valuable time in the board meeting, we may spend fifteen minutes to an hour on their topic.

The major areas of the report are:

- Finances
- Attendance
- Operations
- Fiduciary Issues
- Vision and Strategic Priorities
- Personnel Issues
- Ministry Issues
  Special Events
- Ministry Photo

Try sending out a report for the next three months. Let me know what happens!

By David Fletcher|2019-08-15T14:05:38-05:00August 22nd, 2018|Governance|

About the Author: David Fletcher

As an experienced pastor, Fletch knows church life. As a professor, he delivers insightful material. As a seasoned coach, he helps you grow. Dr. David Fletcher is often called "The Dean of Executive Pastors." Fletch was a pastor for 35 years in churches from 1,000-8,000 members, single and multisite, churches with mergers, camps, schools, apartments and cafés. He founded XPastor in 2003 and its 1,300 free articles from over 350 authors have become a principal resource for leaders in a complex church world.