PEEK INTO A FUNCTIONAL CHURCH. Basic authorship by Dale W. Medearis, B.A., B.D., edited by Leslie Kilby Green, B.A., B.D., and reprinted by permission of the Department of Church Development and Evangelism, United Christian Missionary Society, 222 South Downey Avenue, Indianapolis 7, Indiana, U.S.A.

SHALL WE TAKE A LOOK?

      The driver of a "Hot Rod" may not always find himself socially acceptable on the highway, but he holds one advantage over owners of later and flashier models; he generally understands the mechanism, under the hood of his souped-up jalopy.

      This may be equally true of the average member of a traditionally organised church. Indeed, he may have a fair understanding of its rudimentary functions and structure.

      If he does we'll have to admit that such understanding is distinctly advantageous. But, we would certainly argue with any assumption that this justifies continuation of antiquated programme or organisational pattern.

      If the reader doesn't mind doing a little poking around into something of more modern vintage, we would like to introduce him to a programme and organisational pattern tailored to modern conditions.

FROM TRADITIONAL TO FUNCTIONAL--

      Hillville Church of Christ is a functional church. This can be said in spite of the fact that it is small, doesn't have many leaders, and is not blessed with a preacher who is an organisational genius. Hillville is just an average church which has discovered how to plan and carry out a programme that meets the needs of its people in the midst of a rapidly changing and sometimes perplexing situation.

      Hillville hasn't always been a functional church. For many years it limped along with only a fraction of a programme and with inadequate organisation. But, one day Hillville's leaders got a glimpse of what should be done and became convinced that if they went about it in the proper way, they could have a full programme.

      The first step they took was to say, "We have responsibility laid upon us to plan, develop, and maintain a programme that is sufficiently comprehensive to embrace the world vision of the Christ and to produce a balanced Christian personality in the largest number of people." As a result of thorough consideration of the implications of such responsibility, several broad areas of programme began to emerge as being essential--worship, fellowship, Christian education, evangelistic witness, stewardship, social concern, world-mindedness, and Christian family life.

      To make certain that these broad areas of programme received adequate attention, Hillville Church of Christ immediately set up functional departments under the Board of officers and began to work through them toward a fully developed and enriched programme.

      What Hillville did other small churches can do!

      It is rather obvious, I suppose, that Churches of Christ haven't always had Hillville's broad approach. And, I suppose, it is also rather obvious that this is still very new to most of us.

      Historically the programme in many of our churches has been quite limited. In the era of American history when our brotherhood began, church programme consisted mainly of observance of the Lord's Supper, preaching services (sometimes infrequent), an occasional evangelistic meeting, a mid-week prayer service, and a few pastoral and service ministries. As time passed, however, the interests and concerns of church people broadened and a more comprehensive programme began to take shape.

      A greater concern for the Christian education of children and youth brought about the organisation of the Bible School and other educational activities. A greater concern for missionary outreach resulted in mission study and action groups (mainly women). A concern for the wise use of leisure time brought about church-sponsored recreation programmes, including drama and athletics.

      Some of these new programme elements have more than proved their worth and have remained a part of the continuing programme of the church.

      Since churches were slow to accord new programme developments full status, they nearly always became adjuncts to the regular programme rather than integral parts. This is the reason why some churches today have so many auxiliary organisations. They're a carryover from a day when new programme ideas had to fight for their existence and to protect their interests by forming separate organisations with their own officers, treasuries, and codes of regulations, Naturally, under such circumstances their main concern was their own programme. They didn't always see the whole picture or try to fit into a total programme.

      Many American churches have come to see that the continuation of such a programme fragmentation is undesirable and are trying to do something about it. Almost without exception they have moved toward the functional pattern. Such churches have come to realise that the work of the kingdom is too important to assign to organisations or groups only incidentally related

      the church The kingdom's work must be done by the church itself and the church must make sure that the planning and administrative facilities are adequate for this.

      Some say that the functional pattern may be all right for the large church with all kinds of resources and leadership. But, what about the small church?

      In response, all we can say is that small churches have the same basic programme requirements laid upon them as larger ones. This is a stubborn fact that cannot be dodged. There is comfort, however, in the fact that experience has proven the limitations associated with small size can be overcome by ingenuity and resourcefulness.

      In the following paragraphs we have attempted to give in outline form the elements of a basic programme which most churches under 150 members can and should attempt to undertake.

Evangelism:

      (1) A planned evangelistic programme each year, including elements such as:
            (a) An evangelistic preaching mission.
            (b) Personal visitation.
      (2) An up-to-date prospect list.
      (3) A class in church membership for children.
      (4) Planned decision days, such as on Church and Bible School Anniversaries, etc.
      (5) Special Guest Services.

Membership Development:

      (1) Regular fellowship activities for the whole church.
      (2) Recognition services or "At Homes" for new members.
      (3) Integration of new members to the activities of the church.
      (4) Keeping the church roll revised and up-to-date.

Christian Education:

      (1) An All Age Bible School meeting every Sunday.
            (a) Graded as closely as number of pupils will permit.
            (b) Adequate literature for classes.
      (2) Selection and training of leaders.
            (a) Leadership training class or school.
            (b) Attendance at conferences and institutes.
            (c) Regular conferences for teachers and workers.
      (3) Youth activities such as Christian Endeavour and Christian Youth Fellowship, Youth Clubs, etc.
      (4) Activities such as:
            (a) Vacation church school.
            (b) House parties and camps.

Worship:

      (1) Every Sunday worship including observance of the Lord's Supper.
            (a) Good music.
            (b) A clean worshipful room.
            (c) A planned order of service.
      (2) Promotion of family worship and individual devotional life in the home.

Brotherhood Activities:

      (1) Groups studying missions such as Christian Women's Fellowship, Church Men's Society, youth groups, etc.
      (2) Mission lessons in the midweek study programme.
      (3) A Missionary Convention (perhaps in co-operation with neighbouring churches).
      (4) Promotion of missionary giving and the planning of a missionary benevolence budget for the church.
      (5) Promotion of reading of brotherhood magazines such as Goodly Pearls, The Australian Christian, and the State paper.

Christian Action and Community Service:

      (1) Helping members of the church become conscious of community

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problems and community resources.
      (2) Co-operation with community agencies in developing stronger community life.
      (3) Working closely with worthwhile community activities such as Boy Scouts, Girl Guides, State Temperance Alliances, Women's Christian Temperance Union, Youth Councils, etc.
      (4) Taking an active interest in community-wide recreational, musical, and dramatic programmes.

Stewardship and Finance:

      (1) Stewardship education in the Bible School, mid-week study groups, constituency groups of the church such as Christian Women's Fellowship, Church Men's Society, Christian Youth Fellowship, Christian Endeavour, etc.
      (2) Distribution of stewardship literature.
      (3) Sponsoring stewardship education projects such as "The Lord's Acre" and "God's Portion."
      (4) A planned finance programme including a budget, an every-member canvass, and regular financial reports to the church membership.

Property Maintenance and Improvement:

      (1) Planned property care, including adequate custodial service, regular painting, redecorating, and maintenance.
      (2) Adequate insurance.
      (3) Long-range planning for replacement, improvement, and expansion.
      (4) Clean, well-landscaped grounds of sufficient size to meet the needs of the church.
      (5) Clear identification of the church by notice board, etc.

      Yes! These are basic things that churches need to be doing. The programme of a church is lacking if the areas outlined in the paragraphs above are not fully covered.

      Actually, the programme can be, much fuller than we have indicated. We have merely presented the bones on which churches should put some meat. We have merely listed those things we consider essential. We have certainly not indicated the maximum programme a small church may undertake.

      Churches interested in getting a thoroughly functional programme, going should look immediately into the set of Program Planning Manuals from our American brotherhood.

      These manuals go into considerable detail regarding the programme necessities and possibilities and will prove invaluable.

      Organisation is not new. It is as old as the church. Early in Christian history, congregations began selecting elders, deacons, deaconesses, and other officers as they had need. After several centuries of experience they found it advisable to form some sort of general board to act for the congregation in most business matters. Thereafter only a few things were kept strictly under congregational control.

      Congregations have found this highly beneficial for several reasons. For one thing it has cut down on the number of congregational business meetings. For another, it has provided for more thorough and comprehensive planning. For still another, it has greatly speeded the processes of programme planning and administration.

      Many congregations are now finding that still another step needs be taken--the formation of functional departments. Such a move strengthens the Board inasmuch as more detailed attention can be given to programme.

      We presume everyone understands a committee. For that reason we will use the committee as a point departure to explain departments.

      Departments are something like committees, yet far more. Committees quite often are temporary in nature and even when permanent are usually limited in scope. Departments, however, are both a permanent part of the organisation and are quite broad in scope. In fact, their concern may be broad enough to require several specific committees within the department to take care of the necessary details of programme development and administration.

      Perhaps a good way to come to an understanding of what we mean is to read a description of a typical case. Let us imagine a department of Christian Education and Worship in church "A". We will presume that it has been duly appointed by the Board of Officers and given its assignment. What will it do?

      It will first of all try to get a complete picture of what the programme should be. Its assignment from the Board will give it some idea, but, it will not want to stop there. It will get all the information it can from every available source. The materials produced by the programme planning agencies of the American brotherhood will be helpful at this point.

      It will then try to get as accurate information as possible on who and where the people are that should receive the impact of its programme, and the best approach to them to insure the desired results. It will probably set up some definite projects involving blocks of time in the church calendar and specified groups of people. Some of these will be leadership training projects and others will be general membership development and enrichment.

      It will be realised from the outset that much of the work of the department will be accomplished through continuing activities such as the Bible School, regular church worship services, and programmes of constituency groups (Youth, C.W.F., C.M.S., Clubs, etc.). It will have seasonal activities such as vacation church school, Christian Literature Week, etc., to plan and administer.

      From time to time it will probably find itself working rather closely with other departments on certain

programmes or projects, depending on the nature of the case. There are some matters of church programme that are so broad as to require several departments to work co-operatively on them to insure adequate attention.

      The department will constantly keep in mind its limitations and stay within them. It is a creature of the Board of Officers, gets its assignments from that body, and makes its reports back to it. It cannot go off on its own and operate as though the Board didn't exist. It must always get Board approval of its plans before proceeding.

      What is true of the department of Christian Education and Worship is equally true of the other departments.

      In these days when society is getting more and more complex and the demands upon the church are getting heavier and heavier, the simple organisation which may have met the needs of another day is no longer able to do so. The meetings of the Board of Officers give evidence of this. There have been countless meetings in which the Officers of the church have worried their way through a whole evening of church business, only to discover to their chagrin that much of the important work of the church had only been slightly touched. Following such meetings, many sleepless nights have been spent by the conscientious elders, deacons, deaconesses, and ministers out of concern for areas of programme not dealt with adequately.

      The departmental concept provides for an organisational structure that is able to cope with the enlarged programme needs of today. It provides for groups of responsible people under the direction of the Board of Officers who are able to give adequate time to every phase of church life and programme. Such groups can give sufficient time to working out the details of specific phases of programme to insure that the church will do a good job in every area.

      No one need fear the functional departments on the grounds that they will bring about sweeping changes in the structure of the church and the relationship that should exist. They modify the organisational structure but slightly. Generally, they merely provide a means by which the Board of Officers may do a better job with its present assignment,

      Of course, if a congregation finds that its basic structure is unsound, it will not certainly want to bring about the changes that need to be made. But, in cases where relationship is adequate, it will be found that the introduction of functional departments under the Board of Officers will be a step in the direction of efficiency and harmony.

      Once it is established, the church will be wise to make this organisation relationship a matter of official record, so that reference may be made in case of misunderstandings or dispute. This can be taken care of by adoption of constitution and by-laws in which such relationship is defined.

      Departments can go as far as the Board of Officers is willing and able to let them. They can gather information, lay plans, assemble data on costs of materials and other means of implementation of programme to be submitted to the Board for consideration and action. They can generate interest and concern on the part of the members of the church in their field of activity. They can carry on a quiet educational programme in the whole church to prepare the membership for intelligent decisions when the time comes.

      They cannot formulate policy or make any decisions reserved in our churches for the Board of Officers or the congregation. It will be remembered that the really basic decisions, such as calling a minister, election of officers, approval of the budget, a change of location, and the borrowing of money are decisions that only the congregation can make in final analysis. Responsibility for multitudes of smaller decisions is generally delegated by the congregation to the Board of Officers. It is within this framework that the departments must operate.

      Meetings of the Board of Officers usually have items classified as minutes of the last meeting, old business, new business, etc. The reports of the departments can very well take a place in the agenda where the old and new business come in for consideration. There may, of course, be other items of old and new business not covered by any of the departmental assignments. In that case, provision for such items should be made in the agenda of the Board meeting. The agenda for a typical Board meeting might look like this:

1. Call to order.
2. Devotions
3. Roll call and recognition of guests.
4. Minutes of the last meeting and business arising.
5. Minister's report.
6. Correspondence.
7. Treasurer's report.
8. Reports of departments and action on their recommendations:
      a. Evangelism and Membership
      b. Christian Education and Worship
      c. Brotherhood Activities and Community Service
      d. Stewardship, Finance, and Property
9. Reports from constituency groups (C.W.F., C.M.S., etc.).
10. Other items of business.
11. Adjournment.

      Under such a plan of meeting, the departments bring to the Board of Officers the results of their long hours of consideration of the programme items that fall within their areas of work and definite recommendations on which the Board can take action without prolonged discussion or debate. In the actions taken, the Board may make certain assignments back to the departments and empower them to go ahead with programme development and expenditure of money.

      Sometimes the question is raised as to whether or not the department membership should be selected from the Board of Officers. In answer to that question, we would say that departmental membership should not be so limited. One of the basic principles of functional organisation is that the whole active membership of the church should be involved in a real and vital way.

Hence the church is usually wise to draw people from all segments of the church life for membership of the departments.

      Having said this, we must also say that it is usually a good idea for members of the Board of Officers to be assigned membership of the various departments.

      The departmental chairmanship is a critical post to fill and selection should be made with care. It should be remembered that such a person must not only be able to work with people but must also know the areas of church programme in his departmental field.

      If a qualified person can be found in the Board of Officers to fill this post, it will be wise to use him. But, at no time should a church sacrifice effective leadership for the sake of keeping the chairmanships in the Board. If adequate leadership for such positions cannot be found in the Board, the church should by all means go outside the Board for the leadership needed.

      No one should be a member of more than one department. Spread the membership out so that as many members of the church as possible may be involved in the programme processes.

      Naturally, since the departments are structurally under the Board of Officers, it has the power of appointment. The usual procedure is for the chairman of the Board and the minister to confer on the matter and draft a list of nominees for departmental chairmen. These are then considered and acted on by the Board. The next step is for the chairman of the Board to call the newly appointed departmental heads into conference with himself and the minister to compile a list of nominations for membership of the various departments. These nominations are then considered by the Board and acted on. Thus, the process of manning the departments is completed and the departments are ready to start functioning.

      Since in most small churches the minister is the only full-time employee and since in recent times he has taken on the role of general administrator of programme, he must of necessity have a vital and intimate relationship with the functional departments. There is probably no other person that knows the whole programme as does the minister.

      He not only should be consulted regarding the selection of departmental personnel, but should also be consulted regarding other matters vital to the functioning of the departments. The Board of Officers will be wise to counsel with him regarding the programme assignments, necessary budget and other matters pertinent to effective operation. Once the departments are set up, it will be an excellent idea for each chairman to have a monthly conference with the minister for the purpose of going over the work of his department. Until considerable experience is gained, some chairmen may have to lean pretty heavily on the minister for help and guidance.

      The hundred-yard dash is all right in track, but for churches with little background in functional programme it is wise to start more moderately. At the beginning many churches will be wise to attempt the introduction of only one or two new phases of programme and to

create only the necessary departments and committees to, carry them. After some experience has been gained with these additions and the procedures required, a church can proceed with confidence to the introduction of the rest of the programme and organisational structure.

      We cannot emphasise too strongly that exceptional care should be exercised in the selection of the chairmen of departments. They are the key to whether the departments function or not. They must know how to work with people and they must have a grasp of what their departments should be doing. It is better to Postpone the formation of a certain department of work until leadership is available than to man it with someone whose leadership is inadequate.

      In so far as it is possible to do so, the Board of Officers and the minister should work out specific assignments of programme responsibility for each of the departments created under the Board. This doesn't have to be detailed but it should be specific enough to, give the departments some idea of the boundaries of programme responsibility within which they are to work. Nothing is quite so frustrating as to be told to go to work without also being told where to begin and where to stop.

      This means sufficient budget since no department is likely to produce much in the way of programme without some money to spend. But, it means more than money. It means that meeting times should be set up in the calendar of church activities and protected so that the departments can get their work done. It means that provision should be made to insure the flow of fresh ideas into the departments. This will probably mean getting on the mailing list of the Brotherhood Committees which give assistance at this point. It will probably also mean insistence that members of each department get into conventions, workshops, conferences, etc., where they will come in contact with new ideas and materials.

      Departments should meet regularly whether they have pressing business or not. Slack season should be used for long-range planning and the exploration of new fields of programme. Some churches find it helpful to have all their departments meet

on the same night so that if consultation has to take place between departments it is relatively easy to do so. This simplifies the matter of transportation, too, since in many churches it becomes a problem when various members of the family have meetings on different nights.

      Few churches are blessed with too much leadership. Most of our churches have a lack of it. For this reason, leadership development is extremely important.

      Frequently such leadership development can be done best on in-service basis. By that we mean that people with leadership potential should be moved into spots where they will have opportunity to experience and develop abilities. It is the wise church that is constantly developing a "second string" to replace the "first team" when it becomes necessary.

      Mr. Medearis is the national director of the town and country church for the United Christian Missionary Society. He is a graduate of Texas Christian University, and Brite College of the Bible. Leslie Kilby Green, B.A., B.D., comes from Texas, U.S.A. He graduated from Texas Christian University and Brite College of the Bible. After pastoring several churches in Texas and lecturing at Texas Christian University, he came to Australia in October 1957 to minister at Chatswood, N.S.W.