Giving everyone a chance to participate signals that you value their presence and recognize their contribution to the greater good. For example, how your church might best respond to a fire in the community the evening before could be discussed or the forecasted hurricane in a neighboring city may need some aid. Something may have occurred right before the planned staff meeting, so including “New Information” in a timeslot on your shareable agenda will allot time when necessary. News that is relevant to the ministry needs to be discussed. The intention was strictly for team building and arriving prepared to tackle the agenda. I once worked in a company that included a random sentence in the agenda, such as wearing something yellow or bringing your favorite coffee mug. Also, sharing the agenda a few days before the meeting will be an informative precursor to the meeting and also allow anyone to advise of a missed item that should be up for discussion.

While I’m not saying there’s never going to be a better template, the point is to be consistent with your agenda. The key is finding one that best fits your needs and then sticking with it. You can use many templates to focus your time and energy most effectively in your next staff meeting. And, if by chance you are running late, appoint someone to start the meeting in your place as a courtesy to all who are on time. This sets a tone and a healthy precedent for future meetings. If you offer donuts and coffee, set them out 30 minutes before the start of the meeting.

That should be the exception and not the rule, right? When you start a staff meeting on time, people will quickly learn to attend on time. Knowing that flights were not quite as dependable as in days gone by, I booked flights with extra days ahead of the event to give me a buffer and scheduled meetings after my buffered return to accommodate any unforeseen delays. Recently I was flying out of state for a wedding. The purpose of leadership is to be the change you want to see in your church and community. Although communication is important, “walk the talk” by aligning your practices, routines, and behaviors with your core values that impact your personal and church life are critical. Here are 8 ideas to support you in leading a successful church staff meeting: 1. The Church was designed to be a local, life-giving organism and effective church staff meetings require a discipline that comes in knowing who you are, what you’re called to, and what values you’ve agreed to that shape your approach to that calling. These tips, and five others, will help your team stay focused in meetings.Does your staff cringe over the idea of the upcoming church staff meeting, or are they anticipating time spent together hashing through topics and action points? Ideas to run successful church staff meetings are constantly being researched and implemented. And indicate on the agenda who is leading each discussion so that they can prepare. Instead of writing “office space reallocation,” try “Under what conditions should we reallocate office space?” Let your team know if the purpose of the discussion is to share information, seek input on a decision, or make a decision. Another tactic for creating a better meeting agenda is listing topics as questions to be answered. Addressing topics that don’t impact everyone at the meeting wastes individuals’ valuable time. If your entire team is meeting, then the issues discussed should affect everyone present and require the whole team’s effort to solve. Seek input from your team members to ensure the agenda reflects their needs and keeps them engaged. To prevent holding a meeting in which participants are unprepared, veer off track, or waste the team’s time, you should create an effective meeting agenda that sets clear expectations for what needs to occur before and during the meeting.

Church staff meeting agenda template