Cary Presbyterian Church
Organizational Structure Task Force
Final Report
July 2006
Executive Summary
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do
not have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and
each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to
the grace given us. If one’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to
his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is
encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let
him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is
showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”
Romans 12:4-8
In October 2005, the Organizational Structure Task Force was formed at
the request of the session. The task force was asked to look at the current
officer structure, by-laws and policies of Cary Presbyterian Church to insure
consistency with the Book of Order as well as the intent of the session. A
number of concerns were identified including:
•
Responding to the recommendations of the Noah Report.
•
Moving the deacons closer to the roles identified in the Book of Order.
•
Enabling the members of the church to clearly see the ministry areas of
Cary Presbyterian and, thereby, to be better able to make long-term and
short-term commitments to the ministry and mission of the church.
•
Clarifying roles of the officers to more evenly distribute the workload.
•
Equipping, nurturing and supporting the members of our faith community
who commit to active participation in the work and ministry of our
church.
•
Empowering the officers of the church to participate in both the longterm planning and the short-term operation of the church.
After a thorough review and careful discernment, the Organizational
Structure Task Force recommends to the session of Cary Presbyterian Church
that:
•
our leadership structure be changed from a bicameral system (deacons
and elders) to a unicameral system (elders only);
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•
our session be organized around seven ministry areas: Worship,
Christian Education and Spiritual Development, Christian Fellowship,
Missions and Social Action, Pastoral Care and Healing, Operational
Support, and a new Equipping Ministry;
•
our current committee structure be replaced with teams; and
•
our session appoint and utilize a new “discernment committee,” which
will provide advice and assistance to the session on long-term ministry
issues.
The intended results of these changes are:
•
Elders will have the opportunity to spend more time and energy on being
leaders instead of operational managers.
•
Members will more easily match their time and talents to one of the
church’s ministry areas.
•
Members will become more involved in the church’s ministries because
they have been better equipped and labor has been more effectively
distributed.
Central to our recommendations is the creation of interconnected
working teams. Each of our existing ministry areas (the first six listed above),
as well as the new Equipping Ministry, will be led by a leadership team
consisting of elders, staff and team leaders. At least two elders will serve in
each ministry area. A new primary role of each elder will be to recruit and
provide guidance to team leaders, and the new Equipping Ministry will help to
invite, train, nurture, and support volunteers.
The new “discernment committee” is intended to help the session carry
out its critical strategic leadership role, and to be a tool for overcoming the
problem of excessive focus on operational and administrative detail. Members
of this committee will meet regularly to think, discuss, and pray together about
the life of our church -- where it is strong, where it is weak – and will report
their concerns and recommendations to the session.
Finally, the task force makes a number of suggestions regarding current
and new staff positions that we believe will facilitate the effective
administration of our church. These recommendations are detailed throughout
the full report and should be considered on an equal footing with the changes
mentioned above.
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Our call as a congregation is dynamic and we should constantly
encourage adaptation to meet the challenges we face. We believe the proposed
changes detailed in this report will contribute to the spiritual growth of CPC.
But we also believe the changes recommended must be open to continual
adjustment, as we face the exciting challenges God will present to us in the
future.
With God, all things are possible. We believe our recommendations are
not only possible but have been guided by the Holy Spirit.
Respectfully submitted,
Francis Giesbrecht
Sally Goettel, Chair
Gary Govert
Sue Harley
Rod Morton
Jerry Slaymaker
Tom Stuart
Belinda Weinbrecht
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Background
In the fall of 2005, the board of deacons asked the session to form a task
force to examine the organizational structure of Cary Presbyterian Church. The
idea was to use this interim time, between pastors, for a review of our programs,
organizational structure, policies and procedures, and to make
recommendations as to how we might operate more effectively and efficiently.
The session agreed and a task force of nine members of various backgrounds
within the church was formed. We sought to determine the best and most
efficient organizational model for our congregation, taking into account our
strengths, our weaknesses, our interests, our growth, our traditions, our needs
and our goals.
Previously, in June 2005, the Noah Team had presented its report on
where members of the congregation want our church to be headed. A copy of
the Noah Report is attached. Our task was to take this information and create a
working model that will allow us as a congregation to implement the vision of
that report.
To provide some background to members who may not be familiar with
our present organizational structure, we operate through three primary bodies:
(1) the session, which is a body of 15 elders serving in rotating three-year terms,
and which is the primary governing body, (2) the board of deacons, which is a
body of 15 deacons serving in rotating three-year terms, and which oversees a
number of programs within the church, but which is subject to the session, and
(3) the trustees, who primarily sign all legal documents when requested by the
session. Although we have trustees, ours is considered a bicameral system.
There are also several staff members, including the pastors, who perform
myriad duties. Most of our programs are run as committees, whose leadership
is provided by either one or more elders, deacons or some combination of the
two. Most committees also have at least one staff liaison. A few programs do
not have either elder or deacon representation. CPC is a corporation and owns
the real estate in the corporate name.
We began our process with an examination of the Book of Order and the
organizational structures that other local churches use. Relevant excerpts from
the Book of Order and a chart of the responses of several local churches are
attached. As is evident from these, there is much flexibility and divergence in
the way Presbyterians organize themselves. Our process then shifted to
determine what would work best for CPC within those parameters.
We set out to identify our primary ministry areas as a community of faith
and to determine within those areas what is needed. After much discussion and
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review of our practices with the present officers, we identified our primary
ministry areas as:
•
•
•
•
•
Worship
Christian Education
Christian Fellowship
Missions
Pastoral Care
In addition to identifying these ministry areas, we examined the
infrastructure necessary to support these ministries and to help train and support
the volunteers serving in them. Only after defining our primary ministries did
we examine our present programs to determine which functions each serves and
how they fit together. We dedicated the officers’ retreat in February to an indepth analysis of each ministry area and held many subsequent discussions with
church officers and various committees. In the process, we discovered some
redundancies, some gaps and some mismatches, but mostly we discovered that,
for the most part, we have a structure for operation that has worked in the past,
but which needs revision as we transition to a larger congregation.
None of the members of our task force entered into the process with any
preconceived notions about the wisdom of a bicameral system, with both a
session and a diaconate, or a unicameral system, which operates only through a
session. We debated this aspect of our recommendation in considerable depth
before arriving at our unanimous decision, as set forth in more detail below.
As a growing church, CPC is facing a number of organizational issues
that are new to us, and we must learn to adapt to the changes we face. The new
pastor, no matter how gifted, will not be able to monitor all aspects of the
administration of a church our size. No longer can we rely on a few people to
maintain our facilities and programs. As a community of faith, we depend
primarily on volunteers to run our programs and we want to be able to distribute
the workload fairly. We have been blessed with many gifted, giving and caring
volunteers. We need to ensure that they are operating in an environment that
can best use their gifts by providing them with the support and resources they
need. We also need to make sure we reach out to all members of the church to
encourage their involvement in our ministries.
The Noah Report described our congregation as a “community of
seekers … of a better understanding of both themselves and their place in God’s
creation.” We would add that we are also seeking to discern our individual and
collective calls to action, both within and outside of our church community.
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Our task is to help find ways to encourage the discernment of those calls. The
Noah Report also defined one of our challenges as finding ways to broaden the
congregation’s participation in the life of the church. Our hope is that our
recommendations will move us closer to that goal.
The task force also recognizes that the changes we are recommending
will not, in and of themselves, change the way we do business. Our
congregation and our calls are dynamic and we should constantly encourage
adaptation to meet those challenges. Our recommendations recognize the
challenges we face today. The model must be open to continual adjustment as
we face other challenges in the future.
Operating Principles
Early in our process, we identified several basic operating principles
from which our model would evolve. Many of these arose from our recognition
of certain strengths and faults within our present system, but others came from
discussions with other churches regarding the strengths and faults of their
systems and from workshops and literature available on this subject. Still
others came from an examination of the Book of Order. These are some of the
basic operating principles that we discovered and used:
1. Ministry areas should be run through teams and not as committees.
The terms “ministries” or “ministry areas” and “teams” are used
intentionally. Our goal is that our ministry areas, as described in more
detail below, will each be run through a group of teams that will have
responsibilities for discrete tasks. The leadership of the ministry areas
will be there to support the teams and to recruit team leaders, but the
teams themselves will “own” the activities belonging to each team.
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Although this may seem like a change in semantics only, it is a
shift in thinking. Teams run cooperatively, with members joining and
leaving as appropriate to the tasks. What is clear to us is that volunteers
prefer to take on tasks that are short-term in nature rather than ongoing.
Some members will need to be involved for longer periods of time, but
there are many tasks within each ministry or team that require short-term
volunteers only and that require a different skill set than the skill set for
the ongoing members. For example, running the stewardship campaign
takes different skills than developing the budget. It may be easier to
recruit someone to take on the campaign, which may be more of a sixmonth commitment, if this person does not also have to serve on the
Finance Team for a full year or as an officer for three years.
Our hope is that the ministries and teams will recruit different
individuals to take on discrete projects rather than relying on their own
members all of the time. It is assumed that while some teams will have a
continuing existence, other teams will be organized as perceived needs
arise and disbanded when the needs are satisfied. Similarly, we have
developed an organizational structure for each ministry area and team,
but we believe that they may find that a slightly different arrangement
would be better. We fully anticipate that the ministries and teams will
restructure themselves as the need arises. A team structure will allow for
more flexibility than our previous committee structure.
For the teams that have an ongoing purpose, the ministry area
leadership is responsible for recruiting, training and supporting the team
leaders. How long a team leader remains in that role will be up to the
ministry area leadership, recognizing the counterbalancing needs for
continuity and fresh ideas for that particular team. We hesitate to put any
term limits in place for team leadership, but we also recognize that
staying in one position for too long is not ideal either. Individuals should
feel free to come into a team, and even the team leadership position, for
only as long as they feel called to do so.
2. Elders should not be expected to chair committees but should instead
serve as liaisons to ministries and teams. We have found that officers
who chair committees often get overwhelmed by the sheer weight of the
workload associated with running that committee and its programs. It
becomes much more difficult in these circumstances for them to provide
the leadership role required of the session for the good of the church,
particularly in identifying and addressing the needs of the congregation
outside of any of the designated committees. The elder team assigned to a
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specific ministry area will be responsible for identifying opportunities for
service, for recruiting, training, equipping and nurturing the teams (and
their leaders) who will be doing the actual work within that area, and
serving as the liaisons to the session. The leadership for each ministry
will be a combination of staff, elders and team leaders. The team leaders
and members may also want to attend session meetings when there are
important agenda items relating to their area, but the elders will be the
primary liaisons. Relieving elders from the responsibilities of ministry
and team leaderships will also help provide more continuity at the end of
an elder’s term. It would also allow elders time to discern and envision
not only the opportunities within their own ministry area, but within the
church as a whole.
3. A structure needs to be in place to help session identify issues to be
addressed. Because the session spends so much time on operational and
administrative issues, it does not have the time necessary to provide
spiritual and ministerial leadership. We have developed what we call a
discernment committee, which is discussed below in detail, to address
this problem.
4. By definition as a community of faith, we are seeking to discern our
callings for service, both individually and as a congregation. The
central theme of the Noah Report is congregational self-discovery – to
discern God’s plan for our congregation. One challenge from this report
was how CPC can encourage members to “envision God’s call” for each
of us and for the church. We are each called to different paths of service
in our community of faith but we have difficulty in discerning them and
in connecting with those who feel similarly called. Likewise, many feel
burdened by what the Noah Report referred to as the “80-20 rule”: that
20% of the congregation does 80% of the work. We believe these two
statements are related. A directed effort to discern our callings will result
in a significantly more involved congregation. If individuals are active in
an area for which they have a passion, their time and talents will be more
freely given and more rewarding. Having a greater number of individuals
involved will also spread the work out over a larger group and fewer will
feel overwhelmed. This cannot happen, however, unless we provide
significant support and training for our volunteers.
We believe that an Equipping Ministry is vital to help with that
challenge. This ministry is built upon Romans 12: 4-8:
“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these
members do not have the same function, so in Christ we who are
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many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a
man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.
If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is
encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of
others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern
diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.”
In Sue Mallory’s book, The Equipping Church, she writes:
“We cannot preach people to serve or command people to serve or
beg people to serve. But as Paul says in Ephesians: People must
be trained (prepared) to serve.
“God has a unique purpose or calling for each of our lives. God
knew before we were born what he intended our purpose and
calling to be. The purpose God created us for is where we find the
greatest connection to God, ourselves, our church, each other, and
the world in which we live.”
We are each called to different paths of service in our community of faith.
Instead of trying to simply fill offices, we should instead be trying to
discern what we are called to do and then find ways to accomplish those
callings. The new Equipping Ministry has been developed with these
principles in mind.
Recommendations
The task force recommends that CPC adopt a unicameral system by
merging the session and the diaconate into one session that will eventually
consist of 21 elders. The session would operate through seven ministries:
Worship, Christian Education, Christian Fellowship, Missions, Pastoral Care,
Equipping, and Operational Support. Teams would be organized within each
ministry area to carry on the tasks of that area. In addition to these ministry
areas, we propose that a discernment committee be formed annually by the
session. This committee would consist of three to five active and inactive
elders or deacons to serve as an advisory body to the session to assess and make
recommendations regarding the spiritual health of our congregation and the
quality of our ministry. The following chart summarizes our proposed structure:
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Under the Book of Order, each congregation may choose to use trustees
and, if trustees are not used, the session is to perform that role. The role of the
trustees within the Presbyterian denomination historically has been to hold title
to the real estate, but legal title to our real estate is in the name of the
corporation and not in the names of the trustees. We are recommending the
continuation of the election of trustees for the purpose of signing necessary
legal documents, but more from an historical tradition within our congregation
rather than a legal need for them. It should be clear, however, that they serve as
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officers of the corporation, subject to the written direction of the session.
According to the Book of Order, if trustees are to be used, they must be elected
directly by the congregation.
If these changes are adopted, the Articles of Incorporation and the
Bylaws will have to be updated and a vote of the congregation will be required.
Since it is now premature to do so, this task force has not yet drafted any
necessary amendments. When the session decides what form the structure
ultimately will take, we will review and recommend changes.
1. Unicameral System and Number of Elders
Our decision to recommend a unicameral system was based on a number
of factors. The Book of Order requires elders to “exercise leadership,
government, and discipline and have responsibilities for the life of a particular
church.” Their duties include assisting and encouraging people in worship and
service, equipping and renewing people for their tasks and missions, visiting,
comforting and caring for the people, informing the pastor of the persons and
structures that require special attention, and teaching the Bible. Having a
diaconate is the option of each particular church. The office of deacon is
described as “one of sympathy, witness and service,” and the responsibilities
include ministering to those in need, to the sick, to the friendless, and to any
who may be in distress, either within or outside of the faith community, and as
may be assigned by the elders.
At CPC, we have strayed from the role of the diaconate as described in
the Book of Order. The deacons have taken on the role of maintaining the
facilities, providing short-term caregiving, ushering and counting, coordinating
information technology, and assisting elders in a number of other roles. The
delineation of responsibilities has been artificial and the workload uneven.
Previous attempts at CPC to even out the workload have not been successful
and issues that fall outside the purview of our current committees have been
inadvertently overlooked.
Our task force’s attempts to realign the roles of elders and deacons as set
forth in the Book of Order created artificial assignments, and the workload
again would have been uneven. The session would have been enlarged and the
diaconate made smaller. The deacons again would have felt like second-class
officers. Many of the present deacons are uncomfortable with a complete
change of responsibilities and do not feel capable in the caregiving role and our
new shepherding program is not yet sufficiently established to take on the
caregiving role by itself. Although this group or the Pastoral Care Ministry as a
whole may evolve into a diaconate, we are not yet at that point. The
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shepherding program serves a primary function within the church, particularly
as we transition into a larger congregation, and we do not want to jeopardize
that at this pivotal juncture. With a unicameral system, this function will still
be served and the complexity of a bicameral system simplified.
Having a unicameral system with a team approach provides many
advantages. First, the government of the church will be under one body and
there will not be gaps in coverage of responsibilities. Second, it will simplify
the work of the Nominating Committee since it will be able to focus on
leadership ability, rather than on finding persons to fill specific roles on the
session or diaconate. Third, it expands the number of leadership opportunities
within the church since ministry and team leaders will not also have to be
officers. This will allow for greater continuity of programs since ministry and
team leadership will not be affected when an elder’s term is completed. Fourth,
as elders will have fewer operational responsibilities, they will be freer to focus
on leading and discerning our more collective call.
The number of elders that we have chosen to recommend is based on
what we believe is necessary to operate the ministries and teams in an efficient
manner. There are counteracting considerations that must be taken into account.
On the one hand, we must ensure that there are sufficient officers to handle the
business before the session. On the other hand, the number must be
manageable enough for session meetings to be meaningful. On balance, we
have chosen the number to be 21, with the ministry assignments as follows:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Worship – 2
Christian Education – 2
Christian Fellowship – 4
Pastoral Care – 3
Missions – 3
Equipping – 2
Organizational Support – 5
We presently have 30 officers (15 elders and 15 deacons), so we must
transition to 21 elders. This is set out in more detail below, but we should
combine the session and the diaconate by ordaining as elders in 2008 the
present active deacons, and by reducing the total number of officers by 3 each
year, beginning in 2008, until we achieve 21 in 2010. There will be many
adjustments that will need to be made to accomplish this and this will give us
time to make those transitional changes.
2. Ministry Areas
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As noted above, we propose that we organize ourselves under seven
ministries: Worship, Christian Education, Christian Fellowship, Missions,
Pastoral Care, Equipping, and Operational Support. We now look at each of
these ministries in more detail:
A. Worship Ministry
Purpose: To coordinate all matters relating to the worship services and music
programs.
Composition of Leadership:
1. Pastor
2. Associate Pastor
3. Director of Music
4. Two Elders
5. Team Leaders, as appropriate
Programs to be Included: The following activities would be folded into the
Worship Ministry:
1. Music and Worship Committee
2. Chancel Guild
3. Ushering, but not Counting (to Finance) or Greeting (to Christian
Fellowship)
4. Music Ministry (all groups, including music camp)
5. Acolyte Training and Scheduling
6. Weddings, including covering receptions
7. Funerals (receptions under Pastoral Care)
Programs of the Music and Worship Committee to be Moved to Other
Ministries:
1. Preparing Children for Worship (to Christian Education)
2. Preparing Children for Communion (to Christian Education)
Other Programs to be Included at the Discretion of the Worship Ministry:
1. Liturgy Teams – These would serve for either one month at a time or for
a liturgical season or a part of a season (e.g., one for Advent or Lent, but
more than one for Ordinary Time). The determination of how these
would be implemented would be up to the ministry leadership.
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2. Reflections on Services – It was suggested that there be a set time and
place each week for individuals to meet with the preacher for that week
to discuss the sermon further.
B. Christian Education Ministry
Purpose: To coordinate all activities related to Christian Education.
Composition of Leadership:
1. Pastor or Associate Pastor, as they determine
2. Coordinator of Christian Education
3. Two Elders
4. Team Leaders, as appropriate
Programs of Christian Education to be Included:
1. Sunday School (youth and adult)
2. ACE Series
3. Wednesday Night Live
4. Rally Day
5. Christmas Pageant
6. Vacation Bible School
7. Nursery (Sunday mornings)
8. Library
9. Disciple Bible Series
Programs from Other Areas to be Moved to Christian Education:
1. Confirmation Class (from Youth Ministry)
2. Youth Bible Study (from Youth Ministry)
3. Preparing Children for Communion (from Music and Worship)
4. Preparing Children for Worship (from Music and Worship)
5. Inquirers Class (from Congregational Nurture)
Notes:
1. All activities during the Sunday School hour would be coordinated
through the Christian Education Ministry.
2. We recommend that the position of Coordinator of Christian Education
be expanded to a full-time position.
3. There should be greater coordination between the Youth Ministry and
Christian Education programs.
C. Christian Fellowship Ministry
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Purpose: To invite the congregation, including visitors and new members, to
participate in faith-based groups in the spirit of inclusiveness, keeping in mind
that each individual brings a diverse set of gifts and/or history which serves as a
valued contribution to our community of faith.
Composition of Leadership:
1. Pastor or Associate Pastor, as they determine
2. Four Elders
3. Team Leaders or Representatives, as appropriate
Programs to be Included: The following activities would be folded into the
Christian Fellowship Ministry:
1. Newcomers /New Members
a. Greeters – introduction, engagement, cross-informational, follow-up
b. Inquirers – presenting a faith-based perspective on CPC and PCUSA
(in conjunction with the Christian Education Ministry)
c. Sponsors – continued engagement, nurturing, weaving into
congregation and the Shepherding Team
2. Life Stages
a. Youth Fellowship
1) Christian Adventurers – Grades 3-5
2) Middle School Youth Group – Grades 6-8
3) Senior High Youth Group – Grades 9-12
4) College Students
b. Young Professionals – fellowship and fun for single or married
younger adults
c. Presbyterian Women – fellowship for a connected, caring group of
women
d. Presbyterian Men – fellowship and fun among an inclusive body of
Christian men
e. Covenant Groups – small, nurturing groups of adults who meet
regularly for fellowship
f. Triple F – interdenominational group, open to those fifty and older,
who seek “food, fun and fellowship” through a variety of activities
g. Others who may want to form a group, as needed or identified
3. Congregational Nurture – This team provides the congregation, as a
whole, with intergenerational opportunities to engage, nurture and
confirm their faith journeys as a committed body of Christian followers.
Notes:
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1. The most often stated comment to our task force was the request for more
social interaction on Sunday mornings. We recommend that the
Congregational Nurture Team and the Christian Education Ministry
examine this possibility in more detail. We recognize the difficulties
inherent in providing this time, but we ask that they jointly examine the
possibilities.
2. The greeting program has been a welcome addition to services. We
recommend that this team examine what type of permanent or semipermanent, manned station we can install in the narthex to welcome all
visitors on Sunday mornings.
D. Missions Ministry
Purpose:
To provide a support and coordinating structure for mission projects engaged in
by members of CPC. The basic function is to support the teams, help in the
quest for workers and funds, and help organize new teams as the need arises.
The motivation for new teams may come from the ministry leadership or team
members, or arise from concerns perceived by members of the congregation. A
major task will be to integrate volunteers into the various teams. In some cases
a team may consist of one person with a specific task in mind.
Composition of Leadership:
1. Pastor or Associate Pastor, as they determine
2. Parish Nurse
3. Three Elders
4. Team Leaders and other congregational volunteers, as appropriate
Programs to be Included:
1. Childcare Ministries: To clarify the relationships among the childcare
programs (preschool, afterschool and summer camp) and the church, we
recommend that the present childcare board become an advisory panel
and that the responsibility for the administration and oversight of the
programs rest with the Childcare Ministry Team connsisting of CPC
officers and members.
2. Peacemaking Ministries: Peacemaking in families, in the congregation,
in the community, in the world. This team is involved in celebration of
World Communion Sunday, Peacemaking Sunday, MLK Sunday, assists
with Habitat for Humanity, works with Central Children’s Home in
Oxford, and with the Carying Place.
3. Habitat for Humanity and Rebuilding Together.
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4. Appalachia Service Project.
5. Rest Home Visitation Ministries: A number of church members are
currently visiting area rest homes.
6. Dorcas Shop and the Christian Community in Action Ministries.
7. Meals on Wheels.
8. Scouting Program: The ministry leadership should designate a liaison for
each of the various scouting groups.
9. Blood Drives: There is need for a team to assist with the blood drives
which our parish nurse has organized at various times.
10. Hurricane Relief Response: This team will be organized as the need
arises and disbanded when needs are satisfied.
11. Haiti Project: This is presently a one person team but we want to be ready
to provide Jim Sylivant with assistance when he feels he needs it.
12. Boxes to Service People in Iraq: This may well be a one or two person
team that needs help in short bursts.
Notes:
The Missions Ministry is in the process of reorganizing its priorities to provide
concentration to one or two larger missions and we support that examination.
We also recognize that CPC undertakes and supports a number of smaller,
sometimes short-term, mission projects that will be continued as set forth above.
E. Pastoral Care Ministry
Purpose: To coordinate all matters relating to pastoral care, including the
spiritual, physical, and emotional healing of the congregation.
Composition of Leadership:
1. Pastor
2. Associate Pastor
3. Associate for Pastoral Care
4. Parish Nurse
5. Three Elders
6. Shepherd Leaders
7. Team Leaders, as appropriate
Programs to be Included: The following activities would be folded into the
Pastoral Care Ministry:
1. Caregivers – short-term needs
a. Sending notes/cards
b. Making phone calls (some, but not all, of this task will likely become
a Shepherding responsibility)
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c. Preparing and delivering meals
d. Interfacing with Pastors and Parish Nurse to obtain care concerns
e. Keeping prayer list updated in The Link
f. Maintaining supply of Care Notes
g. Coordinating occasional transportation needs
h. Delivering extra Christmas poinsettias and Easter lilies
i. Coordinating funeral receptions at the church
2.
Shepherding -- The CPC Shepherding Ministry seeks to strengthen the
level of pastoral care of our congregation by using lay persons as caring
shepherds. It is our goal to ensure that all members of our congregation
understand that their church family cares about them, prays for them, and
communicates with them.
3.
Stephen Ministry – The Stephen Ministry provides longer-term, one-onone counseling and support for individuals in need by trained lay
ministers.
4. Parish Nurse
Recommended Program to be Included at the Discretion of the Pastoral Care
Ministry:
Older Adult Support Team– We recommend that the Pastoral Care Ministry
consider the establishment of a ministry to focus on the needs of the older
adults in our congregation. This would be a care-based ministry to address the
issues facing this group, many of which are daily and ongoing. We believe that
there is a strong need for this ministry and there is not currently a formal
structure for this type of assistance.
F. Equipping Ministry
Purpose: To invite, nurture, support, equip and recognize volunteers by:
1. Helping people discover their gifts;
2. Encouraging people to discern and answer God’s call to service to the
church and the community;
3. Finding a place of service for each person so that they can grow and
mature in their faith through training and by helping them to recognize
and remove obstacles in their path; and
4. Recognizing and celebrating the volunteers in their service.
Composition of Leadership:
1. Pastor or Associate Pastor, as they determine
2. Two Elders, one of whom also serves on the Nominating Committee
3. Team Leaders, as appropriate
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Programs to be Included:
1. Volunteer coordination
2. Volunteer training resources for other teams
3. Resources for helping individuals, teams and ministry areas discern
God’s call
4. Childcare and nursery services for volunteers (other than Sunday
mornings)
5. Leadership development and training
6. Coordination of time and talent sheets and information for ministry areas
and teams (in cooperation with the Finance and the Communications and
Information Technology Teams)
7. Nominating Committee (see note below)
Notes:
1. We anticipate the development of an unpaid volunteer coordinating team
that will help fulfill many of the tasks listed above, particularly in being a
resource for members who want to get involved in either the workings of the
church or in the community. They can also collect and distribute
information from other teams about what volunteers are needed from time to
time, and publish a list of volunteer opportunities for members in each issue
of The Link. Although the coordinating team can be a resource, they are not
intended to be the recruiters. That will remain with the team responsible for
the particular program. Our expectation is that this will result in more
individuals getting involved in the life and missions of our church.
2. Elders should be assigned to a specific ministry area through a reflective and
deliberative process with the Pastor and Associate Pastor.
3. The Nominating Committee is a committee of the congregation, not of the
session, and operates independently although it does report its actions. The
Equipping Ministry should support the Nominating Committee in its search
for officers and the Nominating Committee should support the Equipping
Ministry by sharing information, as appropriate, that its members discover in
their discussions with potential officers. To ensure this communication, the
elder in charge of the Nominating Committee should also serve on the
leadership team of the Equipping Ministry.
4. We also recommend that the Equipping Ministry continue with an annual
gathering of all ordained officers (whether ordained at CPC or at another
church) similar to the gathering held this past winter for the purposes of
fellowship, gathering information and encouraging enthusiasm and
connectedness.
We recognize that many of the details of this new ministry will need to
be developed as the ministry more fully matures. Our expectation is that this
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area will evolve over time as one of the primary resources for our other ministry
areas.
G. Operational Support Ministry
Purpose: To provide the infrastructure and services necessary to the operation
of the ministry areas, teams and programs, the staff and the congregation as a
whole.
Composition of Leadership:
1. Pastor and/or Associate Pastor (who should also assist with particular
subteams as they determine)
2. Five Elders, including the Clerk
3. Office Staff Member(s)
4. Team Leaders
Programs to be Included: The following activities would be folded into the
Operational Support Ministry as separate teams:
1. Facility Usage Team
Purpose:
a.
b.
c.
d.
to handle all matters relating to our church facilities, including:
Building and Grounds
Kitchen Guild
Buses
Columbarium (The Columbarium Committee would remain in effect
as presently operating but would report to the session through this
team.)
Composition of Leadership, working with the Operational Support Ministry
leadership:
a. Team Leader
b. Sexton
c. Office Staff Member(s)
d. Subteam leaders, as appropriate
Notes:
a. The Facility Usage Team will need to develop more members than
have been used on Buildings and Grounds in the past. We would like
to see more of a team approach rather than have officers be directly
responsible for all matters relating to the buildings, grounds and
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kitchen. We also recommend that the position of sexton be made a
full-time position. The sexton would serve as a facility manager with
responsibility for the maintenance of the building and grounds,
including lawn services, but not including general cleaning services
which would continue to be outsourced. This area has traditionally
been one of the highest burnout areas for officers and CPC needs to
spread the responsibility out over a greater number of people. We
think that the combination of a full-time sexton and an active search
for more volunteers within the faith community willing to take on
smaller roles in maintaining the facilities will alleviate this problem.
An office staff member would oversee the daily building use requests
by both members and nonmembers.
b. Kitchen Guild – We recommend that a Kitchen Guild be formed to
oversee the stocking and maintenance of the kitchen, to provide
training for kitchen workers and to be a resource for groups wanting
to use the kitchen. This group would not be responsible for actually
putting on dinners or receptions, but would serve only as a resource
for the individual group or team sponsoring the event. We
recommend that there be a single line item in the budget for the
stocking of all kitchen goods to avoid having several groups maintain
supplies. The cost of maintenance and repair, however, would remain
with the Facility Usage Team to ensure that maintenance priorities
within the building and grounds are maintained.
2. Finance Team
Purpose: To address all issues relating to the financial matters of the church,
including:
a. Budget Administration
b. Stewardship
c. Counting
d. Insurance
e. Endowments and Memorials (see below)
Composition of Leadership, working with the Operational Support Ministry
leadership:
a. Team Leader
b. Office Staff Member(s)
c. Treasurers
d. Endowments and Memorials Representative
e. Subteam leaders, as appropriate
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Notes:
a. The stewardship campaign involves both the pledging of funds and
service. The Pastor or Associate Pastor and the Volunteer
Coordinating Team under the Equipping Ministry will also assist in
the stewardship campaign.
b. Counting will move from Ushering to Finance to provide consistency
and allow for the proper financial controls and safeguards.
c. Matters relating to insurance coverage and claims will be coordinated
under the Finance Team but will be handled primarily by an office
staff member.
d. The Endowments and Memorials Committee will be under the
Finance umbrella and will coordinate their efforts with the Finance
Team, but will continue to operate separately with its own chair.
3. Communications and Information Technology Team
Purpose: To handle all matters relating to the computer network, website
maintenance and general distribution of information, including:
a. Website
b. Computer and Network Maintenance
c. Information Database
d. Publications
e. Email distributions
f. Coordination with the Equipping Ministry for the collection of time
and talent sheets and the maintenance and distribution of information
in those sheets
Composition of Leadership, working with the Operational Support Ministry
leadership:
a. Team Leader
b. Office Staff Member(s)
c. Subteam leaders, as appropriate
Notes:
a. Many of the actions necessary to develop the Communications and
Information Technology Team have already begun and we
recommend the continuation of those efforts.
4. Records and Representation Team
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Purpose: To maintain the records of the corporation, to coordinate the actions
of the trustees and to coordinate matters relating to the Presbytery, Synod and
General Assembly, including:
a. Minutes and communications
b. Communication to congregation of session actions
c. Coordination of trustees and legal matters
d. Coordination of Presbytery representation (commissioners to be
elected by the session)
Composition of Leadership, working with the Operational Support Ministry
leadership:
a. Clerk
b. Trustees
Notes:
a. The Clerk is responsible for communicating to the congregation the
actions taken by the session. We recommend that the Clerk include in
each issue of The Link a short summary of the major decisions taken
by the session since the last issue.
5. Personnel/Office Management Team
Purpose: to handle all matters relating to staff and to work with the various
ministries and teams on all staff-related matters. This team, in conjunction with
the Pastor, is responsible for defining the roles and
responsibilities of the various staff members, including the role and scope of
authority of the Pastor as Head of Staff. This team is also responsible for the
development of job descriptions, performance standards and personnel policies
and procedures, and for performance evaluations.
Composition of Leadership, working with the Operational Support Ministry
leadership:
a. Team Leader
b. Subteam leaders or representatives, as appropriate
Notes:
a. Some of the specifics relating to staff are set forth in the ministry
areas to which they are assigned.
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b. We have purposefully made reference to an office staff member or
members instead of to the Office Manager or Information Technology
Coordinator. The breakdown of responsibilities within the office staff
is to be determined by the Personnel/Office Management Team. The
following tasks are among the tasks that are to be specifically handled
by staff:
1) coordination with the Finance Team for the counting and deposits
of revenues;
2) insurance claims and payments (subject to the Finance Team’s
decision on amount of coverage);
3) coordination with the Columbarium Committee in the
administration of that function, such as the development of
brochures, sales and as the initial contact for related matters;
4) coordination of facility usage requests. An office staff member
would have the ability to approve routine usage requests under the
Building Use Guidelines. Requests outside of those guidelines
would have to be approved by the Facility Usage Team and would
only have to be brought before the session if the team believes that
it is warranted; and
5) Keeping the master calendar.
3. Discernment Committee
The Book of Order says that the Church, as the body of Christ, is “the
provisional demonstration of what God intends for all of humanity . . . a sign in
and for the world of the new reality which God has made available to people in
Jesus Christ.” The Church is specifically called to evangelism, worship,
fellowship and various ministries of healing, service and justice. It is called to
undertake this mission, moreover, “even at the risk of losing its life, trusting in
God alone as the author and giver of life, sharing the gospel, and doing those
deeds in the world that point beyond themselves to the new reality in Christ.”
(G-3.0200-G-3.0400)
“The session is responsible for the mission and government of the
particular church” – i.e., the local congregation. The Book of Order lists the
session’s duties at some length, often using the phrase “to lead the
congregation.” (G-10.0102) Among other things, the session is called “to lead
the congregation in participation in the mission of the whole Church in the
world,” by which is meant all of the activities and ministries that are intended to
be a sign of the new reality available to people through faith in Jesus Christ.
One of the dangers faced by any session, and certainly by ours, is that it
will get so wrapped up in governing the church – so thoroughly entangled in
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complex administrative and operational details – that it will have little time or
energy left for the kind of spiritual and ministerial leadership contemplated by
the Book of Order. Many of our committee’s recommendations are aimed at
helping members of the session be the congregation’s leaders, not the church’s
managers. The establishment of what we’ve chosen to call a “discernment
committee” is one of the most important of those recommendations.
The exact name, composition and tasks of this committee should be
considered carefully by session, but what we have in mind generally can be
described as follows:
•
the committee would have three to five members, selected annually by
session (perhaps in the way that members of the Noah team were
selected), for one-year terms (with no one serving more than three years
in a row);
•
members of the committee should be ordained, but need not be actively
serving (ideally, there would be a mix of active and inactive elders and/or
deacons);
•
members of the committee would meet regularly, on a schedule that they
determine, sometimes with pastoral staff and sometimes just among
themselves, to think, talk and pray together about what is going on in the
life of the church – where it is strong, where it is weak – with a particular
focus on the congregation’s spiritual maturity and the quality of its
ministries;
•
members of the committee would report monthly, or at least regularly, to
session, and there would be significant time set aside at session meetings
for the discussion of such reports.
The committee we envision is not intended to supplant the role of the
session. It would have no policy-making authority, but instead would be
strictly a study, prayer and advisory body. Its task would be to work with the
pastoral staff, and on its own, to assess and make recommendations to session
regarding the congregation’s spiritual health and direction, the quality of its
ministry, and whether we as a body are fulfilling the mission described for us in
the Book of Order. The purpose of the committee is to help the session carry
out its critical leadership role, and to be a tool for overcoming the problem of
excessive focus on operational and administrative detail.
As noted above, our suggestions regarding the composition and
functioning of this committee may bear some refinement. The purpose of the
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committee is what is most important to us and, we think, to the congregation. It
is very important that this committee have the trust and respect of the session,
and our recommendations for how it is selected and what it should look like are
aimed at ensuring that kind of trust and respect.
Transition to New Structure
The transition to the new structure will not occur overnight. Although
many of our recommended changes are already underway, we propose that the
change to a unicameral system not occur before the elections for the year 2008.
We also recommend that the number of officers be reduced gradually to make
the transition easier. Beginning in 2008, we suggest that all deacons be
ordained as elders and that we reduce the number of officers by three per year,
so that there would be a total of 27 elders for 2008, 24 for 2009, and then to the
final number of 21 in 2010. This allows ample time (1) to make the structural
changes necessary to reduce the number of elders, and (2) to refine the model
based on our actual experiences during the transition.
While we recognize that there are always unforeseen consequences when
making systemic changes, there are three primary factors that must be
acknowledged. First, the most obvious is that there will be a new pastor who
will need some time to settle into our congregation and to be brought up to
speed on this plan and vision.
Second, in changing to a team structure with elders who will serve as
liaisons and not necessarily as chairs, ministry area and team leadership will
need to be identified and developed. In some cases, entire ministry areas and
teams will need to be developed. For example, the Buildings and Grounds
committee has traditionally been comprised solely of the deacons assigned to
that task. An entire Facility Usage Team will need to be established to bring
together many different individuals willing to work in such areas as building
maintenance, grounds upkeep, kitchen management and bus usage. The
Equipping Ministry will have to be built in total.
Third, some teams will find the transition easier than others, depending
on the number and kinds of changes to be made in each area. The Worship
Ministry will not have many changes but a number of programs have been
added to the Christian Education Ministry. The Christian Fellowship Ministry
will be organized differently but the basic structure of the programs is not
significantly altered. The Pastoral Care Ministry with the new shepherding
program, the Mission Ministry with its change in focus and the
Communications and Information Technology Team with its work on the
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website and data development are already undergoing major adjustments.
Developing a new ministry to older adults will take time.
For these reasons, we recommend that the number of elders assigned to
the teams during the transition be altered from the model proposed for 2010.
The actual numbers for each team should be determined by the session for each
year. We propose that the base number for the 2010 model be used and that the
additional elders (over the 21) be assigned to those areas that will need
additional time to make the transition. In particular, we recommend that the
following teams be considered for additional elders during the transition: the
Pastoral Care Ministry for the continued development of the shepherding
program and for the establishment of the older adult ministry, the Christian
Education Ministry to help coordinate the additional programs placed under that
area (but this may be adjusted if the Coordinator of Christian Education
position becomes full-time), the Equipping Ministry to get established
(particularly for support for the new volunteer coordination program), the
Facility Usage Team to develop more of a team structure, and the Operational
Support Ministry for general coordination of this team. Priorities will need to
be established for each year, keeping in mind the ultimate goals of the 2010
model.
In addition to reorganizing the teams, we suggest that each ministry area
develop a plan that sets forth in detail what types of decisions are to be made
within the ministry leadership and which decisions must come to the session for
approval. Once the plans are developed, each must be brought before the
session for its approval. This will ensure that both the session and the ministry
leadership clearly understand the decision-making process for each ministry
area.
Since we do not recommend that the actual conversion to a unicameral
system occur before 2008, the question becomes what must occur during 2007.
The answer depends in large part on how and when the final changes are agreed
upon, but several steps must be taken. Once the final decisions on the structure
are made, our task force will recommend changes to the Articles of
Incorporation and Bylaws. A congregational vote will be required and the
Nominating Committee must have sufficient lead time to complete its slate for
2008. The session and the diaconate will need to be working more closely
together and we suggest that joint meetings be held whenever possible. The
session must continue to make changes to their meeting format to eliminate as
much operational detail as possible. We will have to find ways as a
congregation to fund the Coordinator of Christian Education and the Sexton as
full-time positions. We will also have to prepare ourselves spiritually for our
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discernment of callings. This is not an exhaustive list, but much work remains
to be done.
Many of the changes that we have suggested, however, can be
undertaken without waiting for a new structure to be finalized. As examples,
we can begin to assess our needs to establish the ministry to the older adults and
we can examine the layout of the narthex to establish a welcome center. We
can always find better ways to communicate to the congregation the actions
taken by the session and the opportunities to get involved. There are many
ways to develop and implement the team concept and have the teams begin to
work together in planning and operation. Our hope is that a team approach will
ignite an ever more creative servanthood.
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List of Appendices:
1. Noah Report
2. Excerpts from the Book of Order
3. Chart Showing Organizational Structure of Other Local Presbyterian
Churches
4. Articles of Incorporation
5. Bylaws
6. Existing Policies of CPC and Ministry or Team Responsible for
Implementation and Update
a. Building Use Guidelines – Facility Usage Team
b. Kitchen Guidelines – Facility Usage Team (Kitchen Guild)
c. Safeguarding Our Children Policy – Christian Education Ministry
d. Columbarium Documents – Columbarium Committee/Facility Usage
Team
e. Bus Guidelines – Facility Usage Team
f. Weddings Brochure – Worship Ministry
g. Funerals and Receptions – Worship and Pastoral Care Ministries
h. Hosting a Reception – Facility Usage Team (Kitchen Guild)
i. Youth Advisors Handbook 2005-2006 (updated annually) – Christian
Fellowship Ministry
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