What Does A Pastor Accountability And Support Team Look Like?
In our last two posts we have examined the challenges with pastor accountability and evaluation and provided a process to consider. In this post we will look at how a Pastor Accountability and Support Team might be structured.
Ways A Church Might Provide Support To Their Pastor
Most churches honestly want to provide their Senior Pastor with the support, encouragement, resources and accountability that enables him to flourish and grow as a family, spiritual and organizational leader. Yet, they don’t know how. Here is what one church has chosen to provide their Senior Pastor and included in the church budget:
- A Spiritual Mentor to encourage spiritual growth and health.
- An Executive Leadership Coach to encourage development and growth as an organizational leader and provide third party perspective on church issues and decisions.
- A Counselor-Therapist to assist in addressing any family of origin and/or current family issues or relationships that might impact behavior.
- An Accountability and Support Team to serve as encouragers, to offer counsel, assist in establishing annual goals, conduct quarterly reviews and an annual performance appraisal, and to recommend compensation
The Senior Pastor will work with The Senior Pastor Accountability and Support Team to identify people for the above roles, determine frequency of engagement, and recommend an annual budget for their services.
Senior Pastor Accountability and Support Team Guidelines
There are a variety of ways this team might be effectively structured that is consistent with church polity. Here is one structure proven to be successful.
Membership: The Senior Pastor Accountability and Support Committee will consist of the current Deacon Chairman and the Deacon Chairmen from the previous four years. (Other options for membership might include involving leaders who chair other key ministry, team, and committees, or having people appointed to the team by a designated group of leaders, or electing people to the team by congregational nominations and voting).
Terms: To insure continuity, members of the committee will serve 5 year terms with one new member rolling off each year and one new member rolling on.
Officers: The Senior Pastor Accountability and Support Team will annually elect a Chairman who is responsible for working with the Pastor to determine meeting agendas and calling and facilitating meetings.
Meetings: The Senior Pastor Accountability and Support Team will meet as needed but no less than every other month at a time mutually beneficial to the Senior Pastor and team members.
Agendas: The Chairman will work with the Senior Pastor in advance of the meeting to determine an agenda. Items for discussion may include but are not limited to the following:
- Family
- Health
- Spiritual Growth
- Accomplishments
- Challenges; Issues; Frustrations
- Status against goals
- Reporting on visits with Mentor, Coach, Counselor
- Strengths/Weaknesses
- New initiative vetting
- Vision and strategic planning
- Sermon Series
- Staffing
- Relationships
- Processes/Systems
- Leadership Committee Meeting Agendas
- Counsel
- Member/Leader/Staff feedback
- Time Away
- Schedule; Time allocation
- Self-development/Areas for improvement
- Budget; Funding
- Evaluation
- Encouragement
- Prayer requests
Performance Management: The Senior Pastor Accountability and Support Team will work with the Senior Pastor to:
- Determine, document and approve annual time away and work schedule
- Establish and document annual focuses, goals and standards during the same time frame as the Ministerial Staff.
- Receive and review a documented status report against those focuses, goals and standards at least quarterly, discuss necessary adjustments and share a report with the Deacons and Personnel Committee.
- Consult with the Personnel Team in the development of an appropriate annual performance appraisal tool and implement and document a performance evaluation
- Use the Performance Rating Scale and Merit Raise Matrix developed by the Personnel Team to recommend an annual merit raise
- Use the quarterly reviews and annual performance appraisal to design and document a self-development and spiritual development plan and budget for the coming year; if necessary, design, document and implement a performance improvement plan.
Posted on November 23, 2021
