Ever feel like your staff doesn’t know what’s going on in your church? Or worse, that you don’t either?
Misalignment like this is a result of the absence of a strategic meeting rhythm. If you’re on a church staff, chances are you have your fair share of meetings. But too often, those meetings aren’t actually strategic, and people still leave feeling confused.
Establishing a regular, strategic rhythm brings clarity, alignment, and a shared understanding of how each person contributes to the mission.
Our current meeting structure is one of our ‘COVID keeps.’ It’s a shift we made out of necessity during that challenging season in an effort to keep everyone on the same page. It worked so well, we kept it in place after the pandemic ended, and we’ve continued to refine it. We almost never hear a staff member say, ‘I didn’t know that was happening!’ anymore. The team stays aligned and everyone knows what they need to know and how to contribute to the mission we’re on.”
Here is an example of a day of meetings:
ALL STAFF MEETING (30 minutes)
Led by senior pastor and executive pastor, includes the entire staff
- Celebrate the weekend, review key metrics (compiled Sunday evening by administrative assistant),
and open up space for stories from the team - Update everyone on key initiatives; review the “scoreboard”
- Share what’s coming up
- Housekeeping/HR items
- Celebrate examples of staff exhibiting culture/values
- Close in prayer
CREATIVE TEAM MEETING (30 minutes)
Led by creative director, includes senior pastor, communications team lead and weekend experience team lead
- Debrief the weekend
- Confirm assets to create for next weekend
- Confirm communications plans for the week
STRATEGY TEAM MEETING (30 minutes)
Led by senior pastor, includes executive team and strategic directors
- Discuss leadership learnings from podcasts and blogs (e.g. Nieuwhof, Stanley, Groeschel, Ramsey)
- Discuss big picture/long range planning
- Discuss personnel needs or issues
DIRECTIONAL TEAM LUNCH (90 minutes)
Includes senior pastor and executive team
- Discuss any issues or matters that arose in the early meetings of the day that need to be addressed by the senior leadership
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