A church staff meeting agenda template
A copy-and-use agenda for a weekly church staff meeting, from prayer and wins to Bible study, housekeeping and a wrap-up.
When I served as Executive Minister, I ran our weekly staff meeting from the same agenda every week. Copy it, change what doesn't fit your church, and use it this week.
The template
Plan on 1 to 1.5 hours.
| Order | Section | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Prayer concerns | Concerns for the church at large, including the sick list |
| 2 | Wins | People or groups clearly living out the church's mission and vision |
| 3 | Prayer | Pray over the concerns and the wins |
| 4 | Bible study | Work through a book of the Bible in sections. Everyone reads ahead |
| 5 | Housekeeping | Calendar, time off, upcoming events, building issues, brainstorming |
| 6 | Wrap-up | Read every action item aloud with an owner and a date. Close in prayer |
What each section does
1. Prayer concerns. I tried to make this about the whole church. Sickness belongs here, and it gets the most airtime for good reason. Add the questions your church is carrying too.
One caution. Share only what the person is comfortable having shared. Name the need and who's following up. Keep sensitive details with the care team, and out of the meeting notes.
2. Wins. We defined a win as a person or group living out the church's mission and vision in a clear way. That definition keeps this from turning into a status report. If you can't name the mission in the win, it's an update, and it belongs in Housekeeping.
3. Prayer. Pray for what you just named. Concerns and wins go up together.
4. Bible study. We picked a book of the Bible and worked through it in sections. Everyone read the passage beforehand and came ready to discuss it. I listed the book, chapter and verses on the agenda so nobody had to ask.
Once in a while we took a break for a leadership book, a video or an article. Those were occasional exceptions. I wanted all of us studying Scripture together.
5. Housekeeping. This is the wide one: calendaring, time off, upcoming events, building issues, and brainstorming a new ministry or improving an existing one when everyone's input helps. It's also where the irregular stuff lives, like trips, emails to parents, communion supplies and Christmas Eve candles.
6. Wrap-up. Before you pray, read every action item aloud with one owner and one date.
"Sarah emails the trip parents by Thursday. Mark orders the candles by the 10th."
People correct it right there. Then close in prayer. I didn't use a readback. Personal notes held up while everyone came prepared. When that changed, items started slipping, and a readback would have caught them.
Send it ahead
I sent the agenda a day or so in advance. That's what let people prepare, especially for Housekeeping and the Bible study.
Set a cutoff for adding items, a day or two before the agenda goes out. Otherwise the agenda never settles.
What I learned
A clear, repeatable agenda kept everyone focused and let them prepare. Without one, a staff meeting turns into a marathon of randomness nobody can control.
The weekly meeting also can't be the only time your staff talks. It shouldn't be. Ongoing conversations that don't need everyone's input belong one-on-one or in a small group. Once we handled those separately, getting things done got much smoother.
For how to run the meeting once you have the agenda, read How to run a church staff meeting that ends in owned tasks.
