{"id":2159,"date":"2023-09-22T15:44:11","date_gmt":"2023-09-22T22:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faithfulandfruitful.com\/?p=2159"},"modified":"2023-09-22T15:47:34","modified_gmt":"2023-09-22T22:47:34","slug":"church-staff-meetings","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/faithfulandfruitful.com\/church-staff-meetings\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Have Great Church Staff Meetings"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When I was first hired into full-time ministry at my church, it was a dream come true. I\u2019d spent a few years praying for an opportunity and investing in myself so that I could be ready if one came. Everything about it was exciting. And there was one part I was especially excited to experience: the church staff meeting<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Attending the church staff meeting meant I was no longer a wannabe on the sidelines. I was actually on the team.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I had grown up playing sports and always enjoyed being part of a team. Now, I was on the team again. Going to the staff meeting was a chance to be close to the heart of our \u201ccoach\u201d (the senior pastor) and an opportunity to build camaraderie with my \u201cteammates\u201d (the fellow staff).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was exhilarating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over time, I realized that not everybody looked forward to staff meetings as much as I did. And, as I interacted with leaders from other churches, I figured out that some folks actually dreaded<\/em> church staff meetings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some environments, these meetings were just one more thing on an already overcrowded schedule. In these situations, staff meetings were happening only because they had always happened. And, of course, whenever we\u2019re doing something void of clear purpose and intentionality, it\u2019s going to stink.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Whenever<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

But it doesn\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eventually, I was sent out to plant a church and had the privilege of seeing the church grow \u2014 in both people and staff. All along the way, the staff had to grow and change. And, of course, that meant our staff meetings had to adjust accordingly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve experienced leading a staff of many different sizes, whether as the solo pastor whose \u201cstaff\u201d is a group of volunteers or as a large church pastor with layers of leadership and 30+ people in a staff meeting. At each stage, staff meetings have been essential and \u2014 more often than not \u2014 a lot of fun.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, let\u2019s consider church staff meetings from various angles so that your team can be as effective as possible in what God has called you to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Great Church Staff Meetings Accomplish<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When church staff meetings are effective, they cultivate a number of extremely valuable dynamics in the life of the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Model a Healthy Culture<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

One of the most important roles of a senior pastor is to cultivate a healthy culture. However, this is easily overlooked and underappreciated in light of all the other responsibilities a pastor has to preach, shepherd, counsel, train leaders, and provide oversight for the church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Every group of people has a culture\u2014sports teams, companies, families, high school drama departments\u2026 and churches. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The culture is the shared set of attitudes, behaviors, values, flinches, and relational patterns that exist within the group. Culture is the way it feels<\/em> to be around a group of people. It\u2019s a vibe<\/em>. It\u2019s a sense<\/em>. It\u2019s a dynamic<\/em> \u2014 and it\u2019s one of the most powerful dynamics in play in any church.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Organizational guru Peter Drucker famously said, \u201cCulture eats strategy for breakfast.\u201d In other words, regardless of your stated strategy, the culture will make it work (or not work).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A church can write anything it wants in terms of its core values, but the culture reflects what is actually valued. That\u2019s why culture matters so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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