Ten Commandments for Congregation Councils: A Guide for Healthy Church Leadership
Congregation councils exist to guide the mission and ministry of a church, but anyone who has served on one knows how easily a council can lose focus. Meetings happen because they are scheduled, not because they are productive. Anxiety from daily life follows people into the boardroom. Communication gets less direct instead of more.
In this video, Paul Walters of GSB Fundraising offers ten practical commitments, framed as "Ten Commandments," that help congregation councils function in healthier, more mission focused ways. These are not rules handed down from a mountaintop. They are conversation starters meant to help councils understand who they are called to be and how they are called to act together as God's people.
Here is a breakdown of each commandment and what it means for your council.
1. Be actively engaged in the worship life and ministry of the congregation
Council membership should never be used as a strategy to get a disengaged member more involved. Councils need people who are already active in the life of the congregation, not people they hope will become active because of the position.
2. Share your opinions and perspectives freely and respectfully during meetings
Silence during a meeting followed by complaints in the parking lot afterward is counterproductive. It keeps a council stuck in the same patterns instead of moving forward together. Leaders may need to build in structure so that everyone actually speaks up when it matters.
3. Listen carefully to others
If sharing opinions freely is expected, so is genuinely listening to others. It is easy to spend someone else's turn to speak thinking about what you want to say next instead of actually hearing them. Respectful listening has to go both ways.
4. Manage your anxiety and remain calm
Anxiety is part of being human, and it shows up in leadership settings too. Naming that reality openly, before a difficult topic comes up, makes it easier for a council to manage anxiety together rather than letting it turn into yelling or distraction that pulls focus away from the mission.
5. Commit to pray for the pastor, staff, and members of the council
Praying for people changes how you relate to them. It is hard to pray for someone regularly and still hold onto an adversarial posture toward them. This commitment helps prevent division between pastor, staff, and council members.
6. Publicly support decisions of the council
Few things damage a council's credibility like members undermining a decision after it has been made. When people who helped approve something later work to unravel it, ministry suffers and the congregation's mission gets sidelined.
7. Invite members with concerns to bring those concerns directly to the council
Concerns should be voiced directly to the body that can actually address them, not passed around informally outside the proper channels.
8. Invite people to speak or write directly to the council, not through anonymous complaints
Anonymous concerns cannot be resolved and tend to become manipulative. Without a name attached, there is no way to have a real conversation or build the kind of trust that leads to resolution. Councils need to create a culture where people are expected to bring concerns forward with their name attached.
9. Be open to the bold and creative work of the Holy Spirit
Many councils, if they are honest, are more cautious than curious about the Spirit's leading. Being a church leader means being willing to ask what God is doing in the congregation's midst and how God wants to shape and stretch the community.
10. Strive to be generous according to your means
Council members are called to lead by example financially, giving generously relative to their own life circumstances. If someone is not willing to make even a basic commitment of intent to give, it raises real questions about their readiness to lead.
Conversation starters for your own council
Paul suggests three questions that work well for council discussion or a board retreat.
Which commandment comes most naturally to your council right now?
Which commandment is hardest for your council to practice?
Which commandment would most strengthen trust in your leadership?
These questions can open up honest reflection on who your council is and how you want to grow together.
Have thoughts or questions about any of these commandments? Paul welcomes the conversation. Learn more about Paul and connect with him on his GSB Fundraising page: https://gsbfundraising.com/consultants/paul-walters/