Meetings, Procedures & Importance of Church Administration

Question: Please describe meetings procedures and the importance of church administration.

Answer: Each meeting needs to respect the time of the individuals involved. Most meetings we are involved in need to be no longer than 1-1.5 hour(s). A few exceptions may be Church Council Meetings, an offsite planning or strategy meeting, etc. Remember the quote: “The mind can only absorb what the seat can endure.” A meeting also needs to follow a reasonable agenda prepared in advance. Do not fly by the seat of your pants. It may initially be exciting to some who volunteer with you, but eventually everyone gets fed up with a lack of preparation and direction.

As far as meeting procedures…
1. Open/close every meeting with a simple prayer.
2. State the reason for the meeting and review the agenda.
3. Discuss the subject as needed.
4. Before ending, delegate any follow up items and assign them reason timeframes for completion or review.

Church administration is a ministry gift (Rom. 12:6-8; I Cor. 12:28) to be used by the Body of Christ. It brings efficiency and effectiveness to the other gifts. To not employ it would be like trying to win week in and week out with only an offensive team/strategy and no defense. You may be able to score well but your opponent is also completely free to score on you at will. The stakes are too high to risk that. People’s eternities are hanging in the balance!