21Jun 2010 by Nigel Ring

Giving notices – Part 1 – Why? and What?

Administration in the Church, Conference Administration, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings
The sober truth! How many of your people would say the notices are the most interesting part of your church service?! I venture to guess – not many. Why? Because the church service is about meeting – first with God and then with other believers. Vital components of such meetings are, of course, Worship, Prayer, Preaching etc. But notices also have an important part to play. For instance they can be a great way of promoting a family feel in the church. Yet, in many churches, they are the ‘turn off’ time when people often hear but don’t listen. Why? There may be many reasons: too wordy, delivered by an administrator who is not confident in public, content not been carefully prepared, to name a few. So let’s take a…
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14Jun 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective meetings pt 8 – Formatting Minutes and Handling Actions

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings
A literary masterpiece? Minutes are recorded to serve those present and to ensure that the decisions taken are followed through. Failing to take minutes, or making them ‘inaccessible’ through poor presentation, may represent a loss of benefit from the original meeting. Minutes should not seek to have the accolade of a literary masterpiece! They are functional. Familiar and well-understood abbreviations or shortened sentences are perfectly acceptable if that makes them easier to use. Formatting Some simple formatting can also help (see below – numbers correspond to those in the illustration). 1. Bullet points often promote clarity as they highlight the key points being made. 2. Text should not look ‘heavy’. Blocks of text are daunting to read so it is better to have short sentences and paragraphs separated appropriately with lines to…
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28May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 7 – Taking minutes

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings, Planning
The Importance of Minutes The lack of adequate minutes can lead to frustration and inefficiency. ‘Minutes’ may seem a bit formal but notes of some sort are not negotiable - a ‘must’ from every meeting if the full benefit of the meeting is to be realised. The detail included in these notes can vary – there is no right or wrong. Some people like to keep the notes simple and record only decisions and actions. Others (including myself) prefer to have some of the discussion that led to the conclusion. It is rarely necessary to give a version which includes ‘he said this…’ ‘she said that…’, although the Houses of Parliament in the UK require this and the result is famously embodied in the Hansard proceedings! What I am sharing…
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25May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 6 – The importance of good Chairing

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings, Planning
Skill Chairing meetings is a skill; effective chairing is measured both by the outcomes of a meeting and the fulfilment of those attending. What I shall share here is for the more formal type of meeting and will need to be interpreted appropriately into different settings. Who should chair a meeting? Often the ‘senior’ person assumes he or she should chair the meeting. But there may be several reasons for this not being good. Particularly, a) They may not be skilled in chairing. b) They may be the major contributor (e.g. the Lead Elder or visionary) and can dominate because they also chair. Many meetings I attend are chaired by someone whose primary role is to handle the dynamics of the meeting, leaving those who are the major players opportunity…
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17May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 5 – Agendas. A practical example

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings, Planning, Zimbabwe
International eNews Before continuing this series on Effective Meetings, and looking at Agendas, I want to commend the International eNews of Newfrontiers. Through this you can receive a monthly update of news around the world (see extract from the current one below) and have food for prayer for yourself or the church. To subscribe Click here>> Agendas To many people an agenda is just a list of topics you plan to discuss in a meeting. But it can provide so much more if you give it a little fore-thought. This can really serve you and save you a great deal of time. A well constructed agenda can also make a meeting much more fulfilling as it ensures everyone knows where you are going and it guides you to the essence…
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10May 2010 by Nigel Ring

Effective Meetings pt 4 – making an Agenda work for you

Administration in the Church, Administrative Skills, Equipping, Good Practice, Meetings, Planning
Meeting with purpose Meetings should be purposeful and all attending must be clear about the purposes. To assist with this an agenda is essential. This may sound a bit formal for some meetings but even if it is constructed on arrival due to the meeting’s spontaneity it helps focus the minds of those attending on what it is intended to accomplish. In a Newfrontiers context we would see relationship as a high priority. This can lead to an informality which, although enjoyable, may lead to an inefficient use of time. Agendas help to give direction to the meeting. Constructing an agenda An agenda is a list of items to be covered during the meeting. If provided only as a list of topics it gives only basic information. However, it can…
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