Many senior leaders dread weekly church staff meetings, because they are unorganized, lack direction, or are too long-winded. For some faith-based staff, they feel like the most unproductive time of the week.
However, staff meetings should be a time of problem solving and vision casting to help your team serve your organization effectively.
I recommend having your church staff meetings on Tuesdays. Allow your team to rest on Monday and then come in ready to debrief the Sunday experience on Tuesday. For nonprofits, schools, and values-based businesses, Monday or Tuesdays are optimal, so you can prepare for the week ahead.
Here are six characteristics of an effective church staff meeting:
1. Have the right people
It’s hard to know who to involve in your church staff meetings each week, but I recommend only involving the executive team and those who make things happen. Use this time to equip your senior leaders to then pour into their ministry teams. The smaller number the better because it builds a sense of community and efficiency.
2. Confidentiality
Make sure everyone knows that everything discussed in the meeting stays in the meeting. This is crucial to establishing trust among yourleadership team.
3. Casual environment
Create a relaxed environment to encourage open conversation. Encourage laughter and fun by telling funny stories from the last week. Have coffee and snacks as your team sits back on couches and comfortable chairs. White board walls help inspire creativity. Depending on your team’s personality, you may or may not need an agenda. I recommend not having a rigid agenda so that you can inspire organic conversation and problem solving.
4. Prayer
Make prayer a pivotal part of your meeting. Pray before, during, and after your meeting to recenter your team on the Lord.
5. Focus on big issues
Don’t get bogged down in the details in the meeting. Look at the big picture of where you’ve been and where you’re going as an organization. Equip the executive team with vision and tools to take care of the details throughout the week.
6. Accountability and critique
Open the conversation for accountability and critique. Make sure that your team feels comfortable sharing their thoughts and opinions. Feelings can’t get hurt because that’s where teams grow and develop. Deconstruct your ministries or departments and rebuild them in the church staff meetings. Whether it’s successful or not, pull off each layer and rebuild it.
What are some tips you have for staff meetings?
