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How the Elders Structure Their Time

The elders are always "on duty." They make and answer calls and email each day, and often meet with people while in their elder role, or simply as a brother to someone in the congregation. They pray with people individually after church services and at times as a group; and often serve in other roles on Sunday mornings, such as praying or serving communion, or teaching in a Sunday School class.

Regular elder meetings are another component of the elders' schedule. The elders meet as a full board every other week. For 2001 this has been the first and third Wednesdays of each month. The meeting starts at 4:30pm and usually lasts until 6:30. The priority team meets on the alternate Wednesdays (2nd and 4th of each month) at the same times. When there is a month with five Wednesdays or Thursdays (four times a year), the elders and deacons meet together. The function of these meetings is for fellowship among the church leaders and keeping each other informed of church issues they are dealing with.

The priority team attempts to take care of business in a way that allows the full elder board to spend time praying and discussing topics proactively. If the priority team is successful, then the elders spend at least 15 minutes of their meeting in prayer for the church. This is followed by: (1) any discussion of actions recommended by the priority team (the elders always have an opportunity to scrutinize these if they see a need); (2) discussion of topics for immediate decisions and action; and (3) discussion of topics that are not urgent but of long-term importance to the church.

The meeting times are very full. Not covering an agenda item often means that the agenda or progress of someone or some group in the church is held up. Therefore, one of the jobs of the elder chair is to keep the meeting moving and to finish as much of the agenda as possible by 6:30pm. Because of the business nature of these meetings, the elders do not have as much time as they would like in these meetings to care for each other or study the Bible together , two activities that we feel are critical to the building up and sustaining of the elders. Therefore, in 2001, the elders began meeting for an extended breakfast and discussion on a weekday morning once a month.

Twice a year the elders retreat for a couple of days. The church leadership retreat is held each February at the beach. The elders leave for the retreat on Friday morning and meet at the beach Friday afternoon before other church leaders arrive. There is another retreat in the fall (typically not at the beach) that is just for the elders.

The elder chair has two additional monthly meetings. He meets with the Church Administrator, chair of the deacons, and Pastor of Leadership the first Friday morning of each month to share agendas and generally coordinate with each other. The elder chair also serves as the supervisor of the Pastor of Leadership and meets with him monthly to encourage him and give him direction.

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Page last modified Monday 8 September, 2003 6:13 .