How to Run a Great Staff Meeting
The "best practices" of ministry include keeping the key people in touch.
John Sommerville

Are staff meetings really necessary? Some pastors have told us that they consider them a waste of time ("There's only the three of us, and the other two are part-time. Aren't hallway conversations enough?"). Others confess that they consider staff meetings a burden ("It feels like one more event I have to plan") or even a source of dread ("I always come away with more on my to-do list"). Still others admit they used to have weekly meetings but stopped because of resistance and apathy.

We decided to see how staff meetings are run at one of the best-led churches in America, Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

A thoughtfully conceived, well-run staff meeting will improve the effectiveness of ministry in virtually any church. Moreover, great staff meetings are not hard to achieve. For more than 25 years, several important disciplines have made weekly staff meetings worthwhile at Wooddale Church.

Why meet?
Many churches struggle with "ministry silos"—uncoordinated ministries operating within the church but unrelated and disconnected from each other. Regular staff meetings facilitate communication and coordination among these ministries and build a sense of team. The time together allows each ministry leader to discuss challenges and opportunities and benefit from the collective wisdom of the entire team.

These meetings fortify the common purpose and activities of the church and become a time to reinforce values, clarify priorities, and support one another. Without a regular time to interact, staff teams tend to fragment. Coordination and teamwork become more difficult.

Who comes?
Some consultants suggest limiting meetings to only those who have to be there. Others suggest that the number of participants be no more than ten. At Wooddale, we expect all 17 staff pastors to participate in each week's meeting. In smaller churches, it may be helpful to include ministry directors or part-timers and volunteers who are responsible for significant ministries, which allows for adequate representation of the breadth of the church's ministry.

When those responsible for key ministry areas are not in the meeting, communication and coordination suffer.

What makes a great meeting?
Generally, each week we focus on one or two specific ministries (in addition to the repeating staff business), which allows for variety as well as covering the necessary recurring details.

Our staff meetings always begin with 10 to 20 minutes of prayer, though the time can vary as the needs of the day dictate. We'll pray about ministry issues and upcoming church events, as well as individual needs within the staff and church. The format varies, at times with directed prayer around a specific need or theme. Prayer may also take place at other times in the agenda, especially when we need wisdom for a specific area.

Then, a number of items are a part of every staff meeting. Here's our repeating agenda:

First-time visitors and new regular attenders: Reviewing reports of calls to first-time visitors and new regular attenders allows us to track newcomers' reactions to services and ministries, to flag items for follow-up, and to be aware of any emerging trends.

Program inserts/display ads and public announcements: To coordinate communication efforts and establish priorities, we discuss the items scheduled to appear as either inserts or ads in the worship program or included in the list of public announcements made during services.

Future dates: Before adding any new ministry event to the calendar, we review and discuss the merits of the idea and try to minimize scheduling conflicts.

Name clearing: We review all potential ministry leaders before they are offered a specific ministry position. This allows the head of a particular ministry to benefit from the collective wisdom of the full team about the skills and character of the potential leader. It also helps prevent burnout of a volunteer who may already be involved in other ministry areas.

Weekend review: Time is allocated to discuss the weekend's worship services and special events. We try to affirm what went well and to identify what could have been improved.

Current projects: We monitor the development of a priority ministry, such as a new church start, staff search, or capital campaign.

Next comes what we call priority business, listed in three categories:

1. General discussion. Issues about which staff must be informed, and reminders of upcoming priorities.

2. Proposals. We review the development of new ministry ideas and plans for addressing problem areas. Each idea or problem is assigned to a specific staff person, and a date is designated for the staff member to present a report.

3. Deferred matters. Any items that were previously tabled.

Then comes new business: If an issue surfaces during the staff meeting and needs attention, it is listed under new business. If time allows, this item could be discussed immediately, tabled, or assigned to a staff member or team for study.

Finally, the meeting concludes with reports, an opportunity for staff members to offer a ministry update, new ideas, or anything else that might be of interest to the entire team. This can be just a few minutes or an extended time, depending on the time available.

Ground rules
We have several principles for effective staff meetings.

Have a regular time and place (and don't cancel!). The discipline of meeting each and every week at the same time, even if the meeting is abbreviated, builds a pattern that reaps long-term benefits. Most staff teams find it best to meet early in the week. We meet at 8 A.M. on Monday. (If you are wiped out from the weekend, why not be paid for it!) We expect all staff to be there. Allowing staff to skip at their discretion will undermine the meeting's effectiveness.

Start (and end) on time. Starting late is disrespectful to those who have made it a priority to be on time. Soon those who are prompt will start coming late, and then the first ten minutes of the meeting are spent waiting or rounding up the participants. The discipline of the end time moves the meeting along and allows people to plan the rest of their day with confidence. We end by 10.

Have an agenda and stick to it (most of the time). Most meetings fail when adequate thought has not been put into what the group should discuss. Place priority items at the top, not the bottom, of the agenda.

Be prepared. Those with assignments must come prepared. If this discipline breaks down, participants begin to consider preparation optional. At Wooddale, preparation includes a weekly report from each pastor. These reports are circulated in advance of the meeting.

Have an established leader. Consistent leadership enhances the effectiveness of the meeting. At Wooddale, the senior pastor leads the meeting, but that doesn't have to be the case. At some churches, the leadership of the staff meeting is delegated to another pastor skilled at meeting management.

If possible, decide. Meetings lose their usefulness if the participants discover that process, not action, is the primary activity.

Maintain task orientation (with human sensitivity). The meeting must move briskly through the agenda, but with sensitivity to the relational dynamics. Build a sense of team around the task of ministry.

Be realistic. Groups generally have energy for one or two significant issues in any one meeting. It is best to avoid the temptation to add too many agenda items besides the routine business.

Set aside additional time for experiences and long-term thinking. Weekly meetings alone will not be sufficient to address all the issues. On occasion, time must be set aside for brainstorming, planning, and for experiences designed to build community, perspective, and skills. At Wooddale, we have six annual retreat days. These include a planning day with the church board, a family retreat, and four days for planning and staff development experiences. One retreat day we spent an afternoon racing go-karts!

Keep confidentiality. When discussing volatile issues, particularly related to people within the church, the conversation must not leave the room. When a difficult issue surfaces, it's often wise to table the discussion until later and include only those directly involved.

Be unified. At times it's impossible to have complete agreement, but it is important that, once a decision is reached, the staff not air any differences elsewhere.

John Sommerville is executive director of Wooddale Center and on the staff of Wooddale Church, Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

PASTORAL STAFF AGENDA Monday 8:00 a.m. Room 206 I. PRAYER All II. REPEATING AGENDA Visitors & new regular attenders Outreach/Pastoral care Program inserts/display ads Executive pastor Public announcements All Future dates All Name clearing All Weekend review All Capital campaign Senior pastor Staff search Executive pastor New church project New church pastor III. PRIORITY BUSINESS A. General Discussion: B. Proposals: Staff: Report Date Proposal "A" Pastor 11/10 Proposal "B" Pastor 11/24 Easter Service Outline Music Pastor 12/08 C. Deferred Matters: Item "A" All Next year IV. NEW BUSINESS V. REPORTS 1. Senior Pastor. 2. Executive Pastor. 3. Outreach. 4. Music. 5. Discipleship. 6. Senior High. 7. Junior High. 8. Children. 9. Missions. 10. Pastoral Care.

Copyright © 2004 by the author or Christianity Today International/Leadership Journal.
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Winter 2004, Vol. XXV, No. 1, Page 75