{"id":447,"date":"2026-06-30T13:41:27","date_gmt":"2026-06-30T20:41:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ccncn.org\/jt\/?page_id=447"},"modified":"2026-06-30T13:41:27","modified_gmt":"2026-06-30T20:41:27","slug":"some-observations-about-church-boards-church-sizes-church-styles","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/ccncn.org\/jt\/some-observations-about-church-boards-church-sizes-church-styles\/","title":{"rendered":"Some Observations about Church Boards, Church Sizes, Church Styles"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

“On Board”<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some Observations about Church Boards, Church Sizes, Church Styles<\/em>
Based on my work with congregations and the work and research of others, I would offer the following as food for thought<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among congregations of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), congregational Boards tend to have in practice three functions: information<\/strong>, administration<\/strong>, and policy-making<\/strong>. These functions also often correlate with church size and “style” as well

The “Informational” <\/strong>function….

Assumption<\/strong>: The purpose of the church board is to disseminate information quickly<\/strong> and efficiently<\/strong> to all members<\/strong> of the congregation<\/em>

This presupposes<\/strong> that it is in fact possible<\/strong> to get information to everyone in this manner in consistently satisfactory way. Practically<\/strong> speaking, this means that either the church is relatively small<\/strong> — under about 75 in worship — and composed primarily of several “family cell groups,” or<\/strong> the church board is relatively large (theoretically composed of 20-40% of the average worship attendance)

Some implications: 1) this sort of church board tends to reinforce the current size of the church; 2) this sort of board makes it more difficult to assimilate newcomers fully into the texture of church life and activities; 3) some functional committees work, some don\u2019t; most of the real decision-making happens through certain “family cells” and “opinion-makers” in the church\u2019s life — which can discourage serious effort by committees; 4) often in this situation, the pastor functions more as a chaplain to the current members, is not expected to have as a priority adding new members, and much of the leadership of the church is vested in the “informal decision-makers” and the board itself.

The “Administrative<\/strong>” function….

Assumption<\/strong>: The purpose of the church board is to implement particular ways of managing and deploying church programs and resources.<\/strong><\/em>

This presupposes<\/strong> that the church is of such a size that a church board can in fact do<\/strong> this kind of “hands-on administration<\/strong>,” always or often functioning as a “committee of the whole.”<\/strong> This kind of board works best<\/strong> when the church is at about 75 to 125 or so average worship attendance<\/strong>.

Some implications: 1) If or as the church does in fact grow by adding new members, there is more<\/strong> “administration” to do and board leaders can get easily burnt-out;<\/strong> 2) The minister may find him- or herself spending more and more time being a liaison between board members, spending more and more time un-snagging communications or preventing misunderstandings; 3) Committees can often get to feeling “dis-empowered” when the board re-visits many details of the work they\u2019ve already done.

The “Policy Making”<\/strong> function….

Assumption<\/strong>: The purpose of the church board is to give broad oversight<\/strong> to overall church policy, direction and mission<\/strong>, and to work closely with ministerial staff<\/strong> as they implement<\/strong> that direction and mission.<\/em>

This presupposes<\/strong> that there is a high level of trust<\/strong> among members and of ministerial staff. It acknowledges that the nitty-gritty<\/strong> work of administering church life and program is in the hands of the committees<\/strong> as they work with staff. This sort of board — and church! — expects<\/strong>, hopes<\/strong> for, and is committed<\/strong> to numerical growth<\/strong>. This sort of board works best and most appropriately in congregations of 150+ in worship and which are both growing and committed to growth.

Some implications: 1) Committees and committee members are and feel more freed and empowered<\/strong> to do the work and ministry that they are committed to and which has been assigned to them; 2) Pastor and Board can spend “quality time” reflecting on the overall mission and direction<\/strong> of the church; 3) the pastor can be an informational and motivational resource for committees — rather than simply a communications liaison — because committees are truly empowered<\/strong> to do what they have been called to do; 3) There is a recognition<\/strong> in a growing congregation that there must be a variety of venues of communication<\/strong> among all members — therefore new members are more easily assimilated in the church life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“On Board” Some Observations about Church Boards, Church Sizes, Church StylesBased on my work with congregations and the work and research of others, I would offer the following as food […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_price":"","_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_header":"","_tribe_default_ticket_provider":"","_tribe_ticket_capacity":"0","_ticket_start_date":"","_ticket_end_date":"","_tribe_ticket_show_description":"","_tribe_ticket_show_not_going":false,"_tribe_ticket_use_global_stock":"","_tribe_ticket_global_stock_level":"","_global_stock_mode":"","_global_stock_cap":"","_tribe_rsvp_for_event":"","_tribe_ticket_going_count":"","_tribe_ticket_not_going_count":"","_tribe_tickets_list":"[]","_tribe_ticket_has_attendee_info_fields":false,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"footnotes":"","_tec_slr_enabled":"","_tec_slr_layout":""},"class_list":["post-447","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"mb":[],"mfb_rest_fields":["title"],"ticketed":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccncn.org\/jt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/447","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccncn.org\/jt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccncn.org\/jt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccncn.org\/jt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ccncn.org\/jt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/ccncn.org\/jt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/447\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":449,"href":"https:\/\/ccncn.org\/jt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/447\/revisions\/449"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ccncn.org\/jt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}