Congregation Council Agenda

Doing What's in the Constitution

There is so much in a congregation's constitution, and it is really easy to overlook or ignore it. However, the constitution can and should be a helpful guide for agenda items for a congregation council.

Warning: This page is not an attempt to cover everything a congregation council should do. Rather, the goal here is to make sure the congregation council does not overlook any of its constitutional duties.

Upon the Election of New Council Members

Every new council member should receive a copy of the constitution or shown how to access a copy digitally.
The Preamble, Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 12, plus provisions *C6.03. and *C8.04. should be read and discussed.
If desired, new members might sign a document agreeing to uphold the congregation's constitution.

Annual Duties

The following duties come up annually and should be on the regular calendar of the Congregation Council:

Evaluation of rostered ministers and staff. C12.04.d.
Prepare a budget. C12.05.d.
Audit the finances. C12.05.e.
Membership review. C12.07.
Prepare the annual report. C12.09.

Note: Even if some of these functions are delegated to a committee, the Congregation Council ultimately needs to approve the actions. Therefore, they still need to be on the Congregation Council's calendar.

Regular Topics

There are many duties of the Congregation Council, and though any may arise occasionally on their own, it might be worthwhile to set aside discussion time for the following topics each year:

The congregation's worship life (a particular focus of the Congregation Council). C12.04.
Progress on mission, long-range plans, and goals. C12.04.a.
Conflict management. C12.04.f.
Strength of partnerships and congregational awareness of such partnerships. C12.04.h.
Review of investments and insurance. C12.05.f.

The Congregation Council should also spend time making sure the congregation is fulfilling its purpose (*C4.02. and *C4.03.), setting aside discussion time for the following topics each year:

Worshipping God not just in formal services, but in our daily lives. *C4.02.a. and *C4.03.a.
The congregation's reception and knowledge of the Gospel. *C4.02.b. and *C4.03.d.
The congregation's use and accessibility to pastoral care and their participation in ministry. *C4.03.b.
Equipping members to exercise and actually exercising their faith in their daily lives. *C4.02.e. and *C4.03.c.
Sharing the faith with others. *C4.02.c. and *C4.03.e.
Serving those in need, including noticing gaps in the congregation's ministry. *C4.02.d. and *C4.03.f.
Members' financial stewardship and partnerships with other Christians. *C4.02.f. and *C4.03.g,h,i.

Note: If one topic were addressed per month, a Congregation Council could cover all the topics on these two lists within a year. Consider putting these items on the Congregation Council's regular calendar.

Note: It might be worthwhile to summarize the results of these discussions, possibly with a evaluation scale of some type (such as from "poor" to "excellent"), in the annual report to the congregation.

Individual Member Roles

The following duties of the Congregation Council, if not delegated to a committee, might aptly be assigned to one or two members to oversee:

Monitoring membership involvement, particularly noticing if any demographic is being excluded. C12.04.b.
Evaluating the administration of the congregation. C12.04.c.
Reviewing Congregation Council members' baptismal living (might rightly be the role of a rostered minister). C12.04.e.
Knowledge in pulpit supply (and musician supply) resources and what do to when needed. C12.04.g.
Watching for and uplifting those with a passion for ministry (a layperson who is an excellent mentor would be good for this role). C12.04.j.
Giving the property a detailed inspection (possibly focusing on a particular area of the property each month). C12.05.a.
Reviewing the governing documents for issues. C12.06.
Building good relations and checking in with each staff member regularly (possibly one-on-one, with any Congregation Council member only being assigned one staff member). C12.08.

Note: Though such items should appropriately be brought up when issues arise, it would also be good to have regular check-ins during Congregation Council meetings to make sure these duties are not being forgotten.

When Doing Long-Range Planning

Whenever the congregation is doing long-range planning, the Congregation Council should start by reviewing Chapters 2, 3, and 4, paying particular attention to *C4.02. and *C4.03.