The following information is from UMC.org. In addition to the member committees listed below, the Lovely Lane Administrative Council also includes many other committees of the church including, but not limited to, Education, Music, Children’s Council, Missions, Hospitality, Health and Wholeness and others.
Introduction / Background:
The purpose of the church council is to plan a program of nurture, outreach, and witness; implement the plan; provide an administrative infrastructure; align the plan with the mission of the church; evaluate the effectiveness of the plan; act as the administrative agency of the charge conference.
The church council exists to create and supervise the strategic plan for your local congregation so that the congregation fulfills its mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ. This twofold function includes both leadership and management. Leadership is the visionary, “big picture” work that assesses critically where your congregation is at the present moment, where God is calling it to be in the future, and what resources will be required to move from your current reality into the desired future. Management is the essential “detail work” that must be accomplished on a daily basis to make the congregation effective.
The church council model reflects and continues a historic tradition within the Church. Jesus called twelve disciples to be together in the leadership of the early Christian movement (Luke 5:1-11, 27-32; 6:12-16). Following the resurrection and ascension of Jesus, leaders of “the Way” often convened in groups to make decisions and to support each other in the work of mission and disciple- making. Acts 15 describes the Council formed at Jerusalem. Throughout the letters of Paul, especially in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12, leadership in the congregation is described as the shared work of spiritually graced men and women-the body of Christ. A church council is greater than the sum of its parts. Gifted individuals-knit together in faith, love, and commitment and empowered and guided by the Holy Spirit-can accomplish much more than any individual. We honor and glorify God best when we become the body of Christ together.
-Adapted from Guidelines for Leading Your Congregation: Church Council, 2009-2012, p.6-9. Copyright © 2008 by Cokesbury. Used by permission.
Main tasks of the council
- Serves as the primary administrative body of the charge conference and oversees the management and programming of the local church.
- Plans and carries out programs that fulfill the congregation’s nurturing, outreaching, and witnessing ministries.
- Leads the visioning and strategic planning process within the church.
- Fills vacancies in lay leadership positions that occur between meetings of the charge conference.
- Approves the church budget and ensures that the financial needs of the church are met.
- Makes recommendations for the compensation, benefits, and housing for the pastor(s) and other church staff.
-Adapted from The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church–2008, ¶ 252. Copyright © 2008 by The United Methodist Publishing House. Used by permission.
Read more from the Book of Discipline
Organization and relationships
Council Membership
The charge conference determines how many members will be on the church council. The committee is made of representatives from the program ministries of the church. Certain positions are required by the Discipline, but the charge conference can add additional members to make sure that the council membership is inclusive.
Members of the committee should include the following persons:
- the chairperson of the church council;
- the lay leader;
- the chairperson and/or a representative of the pastor-parish relations committee;
- the chairperson and/or a representative of the committee on finance;
- chairperson and/or a representative of the board of trustees;
- the church treasurer;
- a lay member to annual conference;
- the president and/or a representative of the United Methodist Men;
- the president and/or a representative of the United Methodist Women;
- a representative of the United Methodist Youth;
- the pastor(s).
Relationship to other committees
The church council works cooperatively with the other committees of the church. The council works particularly closely with the four main church committees that are required by the Book of Discipline –Staff/Pastor-Parish Relations, Trustees, Finance, and Lay Leadership.
