Why Church Officers and Committees Are Needed
This article is from Church Officer and Committee Guidebook, Revised. You may view a sample of this helpful guidebook:
Chapter 3 - Role of Church Officers
(230 kb PDF - 7 pages)
A church will realize the following benefits if church officers and committees are used wisely.
1. Save time in church business meetings.
A committee that has done its homework and has prepared reports and recommendations will save time in a business meeting. A committee report and recommendations that are presented with full explanations and written and/or visual helps usually answer most questions before they are asked.
2. Utilize knowledge and special skills of church members.
By placing people who understand building needs, building structure, and building maintenance on the property and space committee, a church will benefit from the expertise of these people. But these committee members will also benefit from using their skills. They will grow in their commitment to the Lord. They will feel useful and will feel they are making a contribution.
3. Provide opportunity to develop members.
A church has the responsibility to help its members mature as Christians. Allowing people to serve as church officers or committee members helps them grow and mature as church members and Christians. However, be careful about placing inactive members on a committee with the hope that they will become active. This approach rarely works.
4. Discover effective ways for carrying on the work of the church.
A church needs to be constantly looking for more effective methods of carrying out its administrative responsibilities. Church officers and committee members who are committed to their tasks will often find more effective and efficient ways to administer the work of a church.
Churches may use a finance committee to develop a strong set of financial policies and procedures. Wise policies and procedures help them remain financially sound and eliminate many routine problems in administering their budgets. Committees can make a difference!
5. Provide opportunities for detailed study of specific problems.
The last church I served believed it was time for our church to enter the computer age. The finance committee conducted an in-depth study of computer programs available for churches. The committee interviewed several companies that provided computer programs and hardware. When the committee was ready to make its recommendations, the church accepted the proposals without much discussion and limited questions. Why? Because the committee had done its homework and answered most of the questions. Also, by having a committee do this kind of study, the staff members involved were not put on the spot. It was a committee recommendation, not a staff proposal.
6. Provide opportunities to reconcile divergent viewpoints.
Many times a church has to consider programs or decisions that will provoke discussion and, sometimes, dissension. In these cases, committees provide the opportunity to deal with the differing viewpoints in committee meetings and not on the floor of the church business meeting.
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