Where two or three Presbyterians gather, there is a meeting. And where there is a Presbyterian meeting, there may be a less-than-spiritual experience. The dreaded meeting can be a tedious, seemingly unending, and uninspired endeavor that repeats itself monthly. It can leave its participants resentful, angry, absent, and unwilling to serve again. Here’s a list of 21 things that those who lead meetings can do to make meetings more efficient and life-giving.

1. Announce starting and ending times in advance and stick to them—Do away with open-ended meetings that have no predetermined end time. Establish clear times for meetings and stick to them. People will thank you for honoring time as a gift from God to use well. And you’ll be surprised at how much you can get done by moving a meeting along in a set amount of time.
2. Invite participatory agenda building—At the beginning of the meeting, allow group members to suggest additional agenda items to be included in “other items.” As an alternative, at the end of the meeting invite input on items for the next meeting’s agenda.
3. Provide spiritual enrichment—Commit significant meeting time to spiritual nurture and growth. Consider a variety of forms of prayer and devotion at your meetings. Resources abound! Use the time well to expose members to various spiritual practices. This will enrich their lives and your meetings.
4. Use the Mission Yearbook for Prayer and Study—Read regularly from this important Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) resource. It is one of the best ways to introduce and teach mission, to familiarize church leaders with the awareness of mission, and to learn about and pray for the WHOLE ministry of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.).
5. Share stories of faith and life—Especially at meetings, find ways to ground your work in the faith journeys of the group members. Take time to catch up with each other. Include joys and concerns in prayer.
6. Encourage involvement of all—In all meetings, some people will dominate when given the opportunity and others will remain relatively uninvolved. Use strategies that encourage participation without allowing domination. In the large group, your eye contact as leader can redirect the focus or provide the entry for a quiet participant to speak. Dividing into small groups for discussion makes it more likely that participants will have a chance to share. Response cards can provide a safe and suitable forum for sharing thoughts, questions, and comments.
7. Share leadership with members—Invite participants to share in leadership at the meetings. There are lots of ways to spread out the responsibility and, therefore, the ownership of the meeting. Consider rotating leadership for parts of the meeting like the opening prayer, devotion, study time, closing prayer, or even bringing the refreshments.
8. Learn something new at each church meeting—Make continuing education a part of the ritual of your meetings. Consider studying a section from the Book of Order or the Book of Confessions. Especially helpful for elders and deacons is Companion to the Constitution: Polity for the Local Church, published by Geneva Press. You could also choose to read together one chapter each month of a book on church leadership.
9. Breathe new life into what is lifeless—Consider what has become lifeless, dull, and uninspired. What might God be doing to encourage either renewed commitment or a change of emphasis? Talk about the things that may need to change.
10. Unrealized hopes—Consider a hope of the last year that was not accomplished. What interfered with or limited the realization of that hope? In prayer, reflection, and conversation together consider if God’s call is still to that hope. If so, create a covenant and an action plan to achieve it.
11. Show gratitude—Be thankful! Speak and show gratitude to God and to those with whom you serve. Consider writing a card at each meeting to a person for whom your group is grateful, such as a particular church member, an elder, or a deacon. And don’t forget to find ways to show appreciation to your church’s staff.
12. Find meaning in the meeting—Help each person at the meeting find meaning in the work of the group. Frederick Buechner calls that place of meaning the place where a person’s deep gladness or joy meets the world’s deep hunger or need. Consider how the work of your group can bring profound joy to meeting members and respond to the very real needs of our world.
    
13. Create a worshipful environment—Use a candle as a way to focus the group on the presence of God in their midst. Other symbols can be used as appropriate.
    
14. Provide helps for new members—Consider what will create a welcome and hospitable environment for new members. Partner new members with continuing members as mentors. Provide notebooks, orientation materials, and other necessary resources.
    
15. Balance tasks and relationship—Remember that a group needs not only to accomplish tasks but also to build partnerships, teamwork, and collegiality. Ensure that meetings include both task functions and the equally important relational pieces.
    
16. Be aware of the stages of group development—Groups, including committees and boards, go through developmental stages such as inclusion, elation, disillusionment, and commitment. Consider these stages as you observe the group process.
    
17. Be attentive to nonverbal cues—Watch group dynamics and cues that remain unspoken from participants. As the group facilitator, guide the group process based upon both the spoken and unspoken information you gather from the group.
    
18. Allow time for decisions to be made—Studies have shown that most people are more confident about their decisions when given time to reflect on them before acting. Be comfortable with allowing time—in meetings and between meetings. Consider presenting and acting on action items at separate meetings to allow time for members to be familiar with and fully support their decisions.
    
19. Pay attention to what is “important” as well as to what is “urgent”—Avoid functioning in the “urgent” mode. Manage crises but don’t let them take over. Allow time for the “important” and less urgent matters.
    
20. Invite evaluation—One way to increase commitment of members is to invite their evaluation. At the conclusion of the meeting, invite members into a group to evaluate and offer feedback on the meeting, its process and its outcomes. This will provide you with valuable information for improving the meeting and honing your leadership skills.
    
21. Follow up and follow through—Nothing is more destructive to a meeting and its participants than actions that are not carried out. When this happens too often, people begin to believe that the meetings are a waste of time. Between meetings, follow up with those who have agreed to take responsibility for actions. Encourage them and provide them with the resources they need so that the actions decided on in the meeting can be accomplished.
    

    

    Carl E. Horton, author, is Coordinator for Church Leader Support, Congregational Ministries Division. Contact him at (888) 728-7228, ext. 5453, or by e-mail at chorton@ctr.pcusa.org.