Church Structure Opportunity

Our small country church of 25-30 is in the process of deciding what sort of organization to be. This coming Sunday we’re hoping to settle on one of two possible structures, one involving a church leadership team of three plus two paid one-eighth-time pastors, and the other something M and I have been cooking up for a while. I’ll keep you posted about which model is chosen.

Here’s the proposal M and I sent out this week:

A small church like ours may be well-suited to guidance by lay leaders who share the workload with other members. Here is the makeup of a five-member Church Leadership Team as I envision could be very suitable for us considering our size and giftedness:
1. Church leader: This person guides the CLT, calls leadership and congregational meetings, and is the “go-to person” who knows where to point people for help in their various needs. This person–or a willing designee–could be the liaison to the conference.
2. Worship/teaching coordinator: This person provides focus to study themes/topics and coordinates worship schedules, enlisting the help of interested others.
3. Facilities manager: This person coordinates building and grounds maintenance, enlisting the help of interested others.
4. Secretary/treasurer: This person maintains church records and finances, enlisting the help of interested others (as needed).
5. Congregational caregiver: This person coordinates the church’s responses to needs that arise, enlisting the help of interested others.

Original term lengths could vary so that term end dates and subsequent terms are staggered.

CLT members are NOT expected to do all the work in their area of expertise. Rather, while as church members they certainly are invited to chip in with the work, as CLT members they are primarily coordinators and responsible for delegating tasks to willing volunteers. (For example, if a person is hospitalized, the congregational caregiver might send out a request to everyone to provide visits, meals, etc. to the hospitalized person and family, establish a schedule for those willing to participate, and sign up him/herself to take a meal.)

For meeting the occasional, larger need–such as a funeral or wedding–the CLT would need to meet together to plan and then pull in other members (or even outside support?) to help with the church’s response. Certainly this would require much of everyone involved (although many hands make light work).
All of this said, a leadership structure like this–and a church our size–can support only so much large programming. Even with a 1/4-time pastor (or two 1/8-time pastors), our church is not/would not be equipped to provide large-scale operations (such as larger funeral services/weddings or large Bible school sessions like those that some churches offer) or be fully involved in all that our church district and conference have to offer. We just may have to accept and act creatively within our limitations.

In general, there would need to be an understanding that if no one steps up to do a task, it may not get done–which may indicate that it’s not of utmost importance. We may also need to establish a relationship with our conference overseers that will enable their participation in our church’s times of particular need and allow us to help meet the conference’s needs to the degree we are able.