There are very few pastors and church leaders who sing the praises of board meetings. Most often, board meetings are seen as a necessary evil, something required to keep the church “organization” running and to talk dollars and cents. They can often be a source of contention as personalities clash and discussions meander without clear direction or purpose.
Board meetings don’t have to be this way. The board meeting is a place where God should be glorified (1 Corinthians 10:31). His name must be hallowed (Matthew 6:9) – from the pulpit to the nursery, and yes, even in the board meeting. While not all churches have official boards, every church has (or should have) a governing body that regularly meets to discuss the current and future needs of the church.
Below are some thoughts and strategies to make your board, elder or church meetings more purposeful, effective and God-honoring.
1. Pray
Prayer should anchor every meeting of the church — before, during and after. The people of God should pray for the ministry and work of the church, and the church should be praying for the board meeting and its members. Those preparing and leading the meeting should be praying. Each board member should also pray for the church, their fellow board members and for the discussions that will take place.
Too often, we treat prayer as a mere procedural step, but it is the lifeblood of those who seek the Lord’s wisdom and guidance. The early church leaders committed themselves to prayer, and we should do no differently (Acts 4:31; 6:4).
Be sure to elect members who will labor in prayer. It is one of the most difficult and neglected disciplines in the Christian life. Without prayer, boards and churches make decisions in their own breath rather than by the breath of God. Cover your meetings and your people in healthy, committed prayer.
2. Plan and Communicate
A board should never meet without a clear plan and agenda. Someone – typically the chairperson – must be designated to set the agenda and lead the meeting. Business and discussion items should be planned in advance, not brought up spontaneously. While urgent matters may arise, a board should not be blindsided by unexpected business or waste time deciding what to discuss.
The chairperson should develop and distribute the agenda ahead of time. About a week before the meeting, it’s helpful to contact board members for input. Once finalized, send the agenda — along with the previous minutes and any reports or materials for review — no later than 48 hours before the meeting.
A Note on the Chairperson
Many churches default to having the pastor chair or lead board meetings, but this doesn’t have to, and often shouldn’t, be the case. Churches should raise up members of the body to share in leadership and take on responsibilities like this. While it’s not wrong for the pastor to lead, it’s healthy for another chairperson to be elected and work alongside the pastor in setting the agenda.
As the pastor and chairperson plan the meeting, the pastor or an elder should prepare a brief devotional to open the time together. These devotionals strengthen, encourage and root the meeting in God’s Word. Whenever the church gathers — even for business — it is good to ground everything in Scripture.
A typical agenda might look like this:
- Call to order with prayer
- Devotional
- Approval of previous meeting minutes
- Old business
- New business
- Reports
- Open floor
- Adjournment
The chairperson should keep the discussion moving and avoid excessively long meetings, knowing which items can be tabled and which require immediate action. Meetings that regularly exceed two hours can become discouraging, especially for boards that meet monthly or more often.
Board members should also come prepared having read the agenda, reviewed previous minutes and reflected on discussion items so that they can contribute concisely and thoughtfully. If everyone comes prepared, the board can steward its time wisely.
3. Focus
Focus can be one of the hardest things to maintain when gathering a group of people. Different personalities and opinions can easily lead to distraction. A clear agenda helps, but it’s also important to orient new members to how meetings are conducted.
Before their first official meeting, new board members should be walked through:
- The meaning of a quorum
- How voting is conducted
- A general overview of meeting procedures
Robert’s Rules of Order can be helpful, though not always necessary. However, if a board chooses not to use them, there should still be a clear structure for introducing topics, managing discussion and calling votes.
Board meetings are most productive when members come prepared, informed and focused on the agreed agenda. Church board meetings work best when there is teamwork, unity and shared goals. Humility and mutual submission are key to effective meetings. Members should also prepare their hearts and minds to engage in a manner worthy of their calling, exhibiting the fruit of the Spirit and treating others with humility (Ephesians 4:1; Galatians 5:22–23; Philippians 2:3–4). Board members need not always agree to walk in unity (1 Corinthians 1:10), but they should plan to contribute in a Christlike and God-honoring way.
4. Execute
It’s one thing to hold a meeting and another to emerge with actionable steps. There is value in reviewing budgets and finances to ensure the ministry remains on mission and solvent, but at the end of each meeting, every member should clearly understand the decisions made and their assigned responsibilities.
Before adjourning, it helps to review decisions and delegated tasks — who is responsible, and by when. After the meeting, send out a task list with due dates to support accountability and follow-through. This includes any subcommittees tasked with researching or addressing specific issues that would otherwise take too much of the board’s regular meeting time.
5. Conclusion
Much more could be said about how meetings can run more efficiently, but the heart of the matter is this: board meetings can glorify God when they are grounded in prayer, led with humility and carried out in order and love. When the people of God approach even business meetings in this spirit, the result is not mere organization but ministry that honors him.
