CHAPTER 1
Called to a Ministry of Faithfulness and Vitality
You are so important to the life of the Christian church! You have consented to join with other people of faith who, through the millennia, have sustained the church by extending God's love to others. You have been called and have committed your unique passions, gifts, and abilities to a position of leadership. This Guideline will help you understand the basic elements of that ministry within your own church and within The United Methodist Church.
Leadership in Vital Ministry
Each person is called to ministry by virtue of his or her baptism, and that ministry takes place in all aspects of daily life, both in and outside of the church. Your leadership role requires that you will be a faithful participant in the mission of the church , which is to partner with God to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. You will not only engage in your area of ministry, but will also work to empower others to be in ministry as well. The vitality of your church, and the Church as a whole, depends upon the faith, abilities, and actions of all who work together for the glory of God.
Clearly then, as a pastoral leader or leader among the laity, your ministry is not just a "job," but a spiritual endeavor. You are a spiritual leader now, and others will look to you for spiritual leadership. What does this mean?
All persons who follow Jesus are called to grow spiritually through the practice of various Christian habits (or "means of grace") such as prayer, Bible study, private and corporate worship, acts of service, Christian conferencing, and so on. Jesus taught his disciples practices of spiritual growth and leadership that you will model as you guide others. As members of the congregation grow through the means of grace, they will assume their own role in ministry and help others in the same way. This is the cycle of disciple making.
The Church's Vision
While there is one mission—to make disciples of Jesus Christ—the portrait of a successful mission will differ from one congregation to the next. One of your roles is to listen deeply for the guidance and call of God in your own context. In your church, neighborhood, or greater community, what are the greatest needs? How is God calling your congregation to be in a ministry of service and witness where they are? What does vital ministry look like in the life of your congregation and its neighbors? What are the characteristics, traits, and actions that identify a person as a faithful disciple in your context? This portrait, or vision, is formed when you and the other leaders discern together how your gifts from God come together to fulfill the will of God.
Assessing Your Efforts
We are generally good at deciding what to do, but we sometimes skip the more important first question of what we want to accomplish. Knowing your task (the mission of disciple making) and knowing what results you want (the vision of your church) are the first two steps in a vital ministry. The third step is in knowing how you will assess or measure the results of what you do and who you are (and become) because of what you do. Those measures relate directly to mission and vision, and they are more than just numbers.
One of your leadership tasks will be to take a hard look, with your team, at all the things your ministry area does or plans to do. No doubt they are good and worthy activities; the question is, "Do these activities and experiences lead people into a mature relationship with God and a life of deeper discipleship?" That is the business of the church, and the church needs to do what only the church can do. You may need to eliminate or alter some of what you do if it does not measure up to the standard of faithful disciple making. It will be up to your ministry team to establish the specific standards against which you compare all that you do and hope to do. (This Guideline includes further help in establishing goals, strategies, and measures for this area of ministry.)
The Mission of The United Methodist Church
Each local church is unique, yet it is a part of a connection, a living organism of the body of Christ. Being a connectional Church means in part that all United Methodist churches are interrelated through the structure and organization of districts, conferences, and jurisdictions in the larger "family" of the denomination. The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church describes, among other things, the ministry of all United Methodist Christians, the essence of servant ministry and leadership, how to organize and accomplish that ministry, and how our connectional structure works (see especially ¶¶126–138).
Our Church extends way beyond your doorstep; it is a global Church with both local and international presence. You are not alone. The resources of the entire denomination are intended to assist you in ministry. With this help and the partnership of God and one another, the mission continues. You are an integral part of God's church and God's plan!
(For help in addition to this Guideline and the Book of Discipline, see "Resources" at the end of your Guideline, www.umc.org, and the other websites listed on the inside back cover.)
CHAPTER 2
What Is the Church Council?
The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church says that the church council is the executive agency of the charge conference (¶244). This means that between meetings of the charge conference, the church council is the group of leaders who guide and further the ministry of the congregation. The church council exists to create and supervise the strategic plan for an effective congregation. The church council as a group should reflect the character and population of your congregation. The decisions made by the council will shape the future and demonstrate for everyone how God's kingdom comes in your immediate community.
The work of the church council is to envision, plan, implement, and annually evaluate your congregation's ministry and mission. This broad description of the work of the church council has several implications. Here are three implications that this Guideline will expand in the following pages.
First, this description implies that the church council must hold a broad view or "big picture" of the future of your congregation. That is what visioning is – holding the "big picture" of the way your congregation will live into the mission of The United Methodist Church. The mission is stated in the Book of Discipline: "The mission of the Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world" (¶120). Another way to think about the work of keeping a "big picture" is to recall Biblical images of the church as the body of Christ, carrying out ministry on earth. Ask how your congregation helps to carry the gospel message into your community. The church council members should remind themselves frequently of the vision they have for being God's people in your community.
The second implication for your work is that the leadership group manages and administers the on-going life of the congregation. Generally, the church council oversees and coordinates ministry among several groups including trustees, finance committee, discipleship groups, outreach efforts, pastor- parish relations, nominations, and others. However, in congregations with less than fifty people, the church council may actually be the group that works together to do the ministry. The work of administration must be accomplished with the vision of your congregation in mind.
The third implication is to schedule and seriously evaluate your congregation's ministry. An important role of leaders is constantly seeking ways to be more effective. There is a subtle difference between being "in the groove" and being "in a rut." Being "in the groove" is a good thing! An "in the groove" church has developed ministries that operate effectively to help people grow in faith and live as disciples in the world. Being "in a rut" means the church is doing the same old things in the same old way with the same old results! Sometimes the way we do things keeps us from seeing other options. Leaders must evaluate ministry, always looking for a better way to be the people of God in the community.
What Does the Church Council DO?
The church leadership group has responsibility for planning, implementing and evaluating effective ministry. This Guideline and resources listed at the end will help you with this responsibility that has been entrusted to you by your congregation and by God.
In the last several years, many congregations have experimented with new ways to describe ministry and to define leadership. The church council terminology has been replaced by other terms, such as leadership team or discipleship team. Ministry areas may be described in categories such as "Loving God, Loving Neighbor" or "Learning Together, Serving Together, and Worshiping Together." The terminology is important only as it represents your understanding of God's call to the congregation. In whatever form, your council will need to determine how it will be organized, how often it will meet, how it will set priorities, how it will evaluate the congregation's plan for discipleship, and how it will allocate your congregation's resources.
The Discipline (¶252) gives the church council these specific responsibilities:
• Plan and implement programs for nurture, outreach, and witness in the local church
• Provide for the administration of the church and its daily life
• Carry out the actions approved by the charge conference
• Meet at least quarterly
• Review the membership of the local church
• Fill interim vacancies among lay officers between charge conference meetings
• Recommend salary for pastor and staff to the charge conference after receiving recommendation from the pastor/parish relations committee
• Review the PPRC recommendation for the pastor's housing and report to the charge conference for approval
CHAPTER 3
Administration Is Ministry
The church council is an administrative leadership group. This leadership group organizes and coordinates ministry. Notice that the word administration" has the word minister in the middle. Ministry is the heart of church administration. One dictionary defines the verb "minister" as "to perform service of any kind, to furnish relief, to contribute and be of service, to govern." The Latin prefix "ad" means "move in the direction of" or "increase." Effective administration is ministry, increasing service, relief, and appropriate governance for whatever is being administered.
Remember that the work of the church council is an essential function of discipleship. As a leader in your church, you are using your gifts as one who has been baptized into the ministry of all Christians and who has been called to specific leadership in your congregation. The council's work is designed to encourage and support the formation of Christian faith and discipleship in your congregation.
Management and administration can shift any group's attention away from the purpose of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world. Individuals, as well as groups, can easily become focused on the details of administration, especially when there is a problem to be resolved. You must remember that a church council is always greater than the sum of its parts. Think of the council as a ministry team for the local church. Each team member brings unique gifts and experiences. Each church council member has a particular role on the team. Knit together as Christian community and empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit, the leadership group can accomplish much more than any individual.
The Discipline (¶244.3) states clearly that members of the church council shall be persons of genuine Christian character who love the church, are morally disciplined, are committed to the mandate of inclusiveness in the life of the church, are loyal to the ethical standards of the church and are competent to administer its affairs.
Spend time individually and together in worship, prayer, mission, and giving. Remember that the church council is leaders who model Christian living for the rest of the congregation.
Bible Study for the Church Council
Select portions of these reflections for individual and group reflection.
Thoughts about the congregation the council is leading. The letter to the Ephesians celebrates the life of the church, a unique community established by God through the work of Jesus Christ who is the head of the church. This letter probably circulated among several early churches and can guide our thinking about God's intention for Christian congregations.
• Read Ephesians 1:17-23. What do you do so that "the eyes of your heart are enlightened?" Does your congregation remember that Christ is the head—the church is not ours? How is this evident?
• Read Ephesians 4:4-7, 11-13. In what ways does your congregation exemplify the unity described in verses 4-6? What gifts are present in your church council (other gifts are listed in 1 Corinthians 12 and Romans 12)? How do the gifts on your council work together "to equip the saints for the work of ministry?"
• Read Ephesians 6:13-17. What does the whole armor of God look like in today's world?
Thoughts about the way the council works together. The Christian community at Philippi was the first church established by Paul on European soil (Acts 16:11-13). Paul kept in touch with the people, guiding their development and ministry.
• Read Paul's prayer for the leaders (Philippians 1:9-11). Ask yourself how Paul's prayer is fulfilled in your church council work. Allow Paul's prayer to encourage your prayers for one another.
• Read Philippians 2:3-5, 14-15. How do these verses guide your decision-making? What examples do you see of your congregation operating with "the mind of Christ?"
• Read Philippians 4:2-9. How does your council address differences of opinion? What decisions have you made that reflect these values rather than worldly, cultural values?
Thoughts about a life of discipleship. From the 16th century, Teresa of Avila is credited with a poem we need to consider today. How does your church reflect these ideas in your setting?
Christ has no body now but yours
No hands, no feet on earth but yours
Yours are the eyes through which He looks
compassion on this world
Christ has no body now on earth but yours.
CHAPTER 4
Who Is on the Church Council?
The Discipline is clear that every congregation shall organize itself in a way to be most effective at carrying out the mission of the church in its own setting. Each congregation has permission to organize in the way best for them, using the Discipline as a guide. The charge conference shall determine the size of the church council, and generally all leaders for nurture, outreach, mission, and administration are part of the council. The church council may have as few as eleven people or as many as the charge conference deems appropriate.
Every congregation must make provision for including these functions according to the Book of Discipline (¶252). Positions may be combined except for the financial functions. "The positions of treasurer and financial secretary should not be combined and held by one person, and the persons holding these positions should not be immediate family members (¶258.4)."
• Nominations and Leader Development
• Pastor/Staff Parish Relations Committee
• Trustees
• Finance Committee Chair
• Lay Leader
• Lay member of annual conference
• Financial secretary
• Church treasurer
• Membership secretary
• Church Council chair
In addition to leaders who manage these functions, the church council shall include people who represent the program ministries of the church, a representative of organized units of United Methodist Men, United Methodist Women, and United Methodist Youth, plus a young adult and the pastor. The members present and voting at any announced meeting constitute a quorum.
