TN58 Beware committees

First published on this website in April 2011 and last updated in January 2023

Synopsis

Committees can seriously damage your church's health. But you will probably need some set of groups if you are concerned with collaborative planning, clear decisions and definite action. Here are 12 pieces of advice to ensure your groups are effective, each one with some explanation.

• Avoid the word! ('committee')
• Define the overall purpose
• Treasure simplicity
• Keep numbers small
• Structure by church purpose
• Give each group clear powers
• Build teams
• Keep decisions close to action
• Work outside meetings
• Trust the groups
• Set self-destruct dates
• Review regularly

Test your 'committee structure' against the list - but don't then set up a committee to decide what to do....

These notes have been updated in January 2023 with minor layout amendments.