To: Members of Grace Community Church
Re: Eldership at Grace – Proposal for Bylaw Changes

In March 2011, the then-current Board of Elders appointed a task force to make recommendations to the board regarding a modification of the elder model at Grace. Currently, our church bylaws state that a group of 12 congregational members serve for two years, with a rotation of six coming onto the board and six exiting every December.

The primary goal of changing the current model is to enable the elders to assume a more biblical role as spiritual leaders of the church. The structure that has been in place since Grace began in 2000 has not lent itself to promoting or sustaining spiritual leadership over time. The Bible calls for elders to spend the majority of their time being spiritual leaders of the church, and historically our elder boards have spent the majority of their time on the business of the church, rather than in spiritual leadership. Moreover, the current two-year term of our elders forces the rotation of half of the board every 12 months. This constant change on the Board of Elders has, in the past, frustrated the ability of any one group of leaders to envision, execute, and be accountable for long-term plans.

After months of research and prayer, the task force—chairperson Tony Voiers and members Mary Greene, DJ Hill, Karin Sasser, and Barb Sibley—recommended the following bylaw changes, which were approved by the Board of Elders at the December 2011 meeting:

1. Change the make-up of the elder board by

• Reducing the number of serving elders from the current 12 to a range of five to eight congregational members.
• Naming the senior and executive pastors as permanent members of the board.
• Dissolving the current elder board at the end of 2012 to accomplish the change and starting with newly elected elders in January 2013.

2. Change the lay-elder terms by

• Initiating new term lengths—a minimum of three and a maximum of six years—with an annual renewal after years three, four, and five.
• Lengthening the time an elder is off the board before being eligible to serve again from the current one year to two years.

In arriving at these specific recommendations, the task force spent much of last year reviewing scriptural references to church leadership, reading books pertaining to church leadership models, and conducting interviews with other select churches around the country. The research that the task force conducted overwhelmingly supported the changes that the Board of Elders is now proposing. As the board seeks to embrace the biblical mandate to be shepherds and spiritual leaders, it will also be able to delegate more of the administrative aspects of church leadership while still retaining overall responsibility for it.

The task force regularly updated the board with its findings throughout the summer and fall and gathered the resting elders last October to review the changes and invite feedback.  The next step is now up to you!  Implementation of these bylaw changes will require a congregational vote, which will take place this April or May.

We want you to be comfortable with these proposed bylaw changes before the vote. As such, we will hold several town hall/Q&A sessions later this month:

                         Monday, March 12, at 8 p.m. in Grace Hall

                         Tuesday, March 13, at 7 p.m. in Room 119

                         Wednesday, March 14, at 9:30 a.m. in Grace Hall

                          Thursday, March 15, at 7 p.m. in Grace Hall

                          Sunday, March 18, at 6 p.m. in Room 119

Please make every effort to attend any one of these meetings for more information; talk to a current elder about these proposed changes should you have questions; and prayerfully consider an elder board structure which would enhance the spiritual leadership of our church. In addition to the town hall meetings, we will also have more information on our website at:

From the Grace Board of Elders

Jim Adams
Holly Cook
Kay Gamble
Cindy Hays
Pat McInnes
Barbara Osborne
Chris Radtke
Kathy Starkey
Joe Toomey
Drew Turner
Harris Winston

F.A.Q.

What is the congregation being asked to consider?

The congregation is being asked to consider and vote on specific changes to the church bylaws which were approved by the Board of Elders in December 2011 and are intended to improve and strengthen the governance structure (our elder model) at Grace.

What are the specific bylaw changes being recommended?

1. Change the make-up of the elder board by

• Reducing the number of serving elders from 12 to a range of five to eight congregational members.
• Naming the senior and executive pastors as permanent members of the board.
• Dissolving the current elder board at the end of 2012 to accomplish the change and starting with newly-elected elders in January 2013.

2. Change the lay-elder terms by

• Initiating new term lengths—a minimum of three and a maximum of six years—with an annual renewal after years three,  four, and five.
• Lengthening the time an elder is off the board before being eligible to serve again from the current one year to two years.

 

How were the recommendations developed?

In March 2011, the elders appointed a task force led by Tony Voiers to bring a set of recommendations to the elder board.  Other committee members included Mary Greene, Barb Sibley, Karin Sasser, and DJ Hill.

The committee conducted an intensive research approach prior to developing recommendations that included:

1) A systemic review of biblical references to church leadership

2) A thorough literature review of leadership models

3) Interviews with other select church leaders from around the country 

 

Why are these changes being considered now?

Five factors converge to make now an appropriate time to implement these changes.

Biblical call for Eldership: The Bible clearly calls for elders to be the spiritual leaders of the church, and our elder board, with its current structure, has never been able to devote much time to fulfilling this call.

Inefficiencies: Rotating half the board off each year means the board spends a tremendous amount of time training members and dealing with the same issues over and over.

Movement of the Spirit: Prayer, study, and community have all reinforced this initiative at each step.

Stability: The church is in a stable place right now with regard to senior leadership, thus making it more feasible to tackle these types of issues.

Support for our Senior Pastor: These changes are intended to minimize the negative side effects of our current structure on our new pastor.

 

What are the goals of the bylaw changes? 

Spiritual Leadership

The biblical mandate for elders is to provide the spiritual leadership of the church. Such leadership would include setting the spiritual direction and priorities of the church; praying for the church and church members; anointing, or praying over, the sick; guarding against false doctrine; facilitating reconciliation within the church body; building relationships between elders and the congregation; and mentoring, or building up, new church leaders. Our current structure has not lent itself to fulfilling this mandate consistently or well.

Support of our Senior Pastor and Staff

Our staff currently reports to a group of elders that rotates too quickly (and is too large), effectively preventing deep relationships at that critical level.

Longer-Term Vision

Currently, our structure forces the rotation of half of the board every 12 months.  This approach frustrates the ability of any one group to envision, execute, and be held accountable for long-term plans.

Did the research conducted by the task force support these changes?

The research overwhelmingly supported these changes.   The biblical mandate for spiritual leadership was clear and unmistakable.  Every church the task force members interviewed had recently moved to longer elder terms or planned to do so in the near future.  The literature supported the need for smaller elder groups so that deep, meaningful relationships could be established among the board members.

 

If we shrink the elder board and lengthen terms, won’t this lead to elder “burnout”? 

Interestingly, the actual findings were counter-intuitive.  Specifically:

• Spiritual Energy.  Every church interviewed indicated that as elders focused on spiritual issues, they became more energized.

• Governance vs. Management.  As the board allows the staff to handle more management issues, it is freed up to spend time on spiritual leadership and governance.

• Trust.   Every group and piece of literature affirmed that the more time elders spent together addressing issues as a cohesive team, the more they trusted one another’s decisions.

 

What is the estimated timeline for these changes?

A congregational vote on the bylaw changes will take place in April or May, with implementation by January 2013.

How can the congregation participate in this process?

Grace members can pray,  attend a town hall information session,  talk with current elders or members of the task force team, and be prepared to vote on the bylaw changes this spring.