I don’t like meetings. Planning meetings, board meetings, staff meetings, committee meetings…
If I could jettison one aspect of pastoring, that’s what I would get rid of.
So why do I have them? Because, when done well, ministry team meetings are an essential tool for communication, team-building, problem-solving, vision-casting and more.
So I make sure the staff and volunteer meetings are as few and as effective as possible by requiring that they meet these 12 criteria:
Author
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Karl produces resources for Helping Small Churches Thrive at KarlVaters.com.
He's the author of four books on church leadership. His fifth book, De-Sizing the Church: How Church Growth Became a Science, Then an Obsession, and What's Next, releases on April 2, 2024.
He also hosts a bi-weekly podcast,The Church Lobby: Conversations on Faith & Ministry. Episodes feature in-depth interviews about the topics that concern pastors, especially those who minister in a small church context.
Karl has served in small-church ministry for over 40 years, so he speaks and writes from decades of hands-on pastoral experience. He and his wife, Shelley have three children and two grandkids.