Our Governance
Our New ByLaws
The Community Church ByLaws: click here to access the bylaws approved by the Congregation on June 7, 2015.
Board Policies
The Bylaws call for the Board to maintain a Policy Book that articulates the church’s policies on discernment practices, management, personnel, and financial matters. You may review these policies here.
History of Changing Our Governance System
Several years ago church leaders realized that our governance system wasn't working well and a better way to organize the church was needed. In January 2008, Annette Marquis, TJD District Executive, held a Governance workshop for the board and church leaders. Inspired by this, Barb Chapman, Susan McDaniel, Maggie Scarborough, Susan Spalt, and Cecilia Warshaw volunteered to form a Governance Task Force to study governance models, select one or create a combination, recommend it to the board, and implement it. The Task Force after studying available references, looking at what other churches were doing, and reading books such as "Shared Ministry" and "Simple Church", was trying to cobble something together when Frankie Price-Stern told it about Dan Hotchkiss' new book, "Governance and Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership". This book gave the Task Force what it needed and, along with helpful conversations with the author, it completed the task.
Our Philosophy of Governance
Our congregation elects a board of directors to serve as its governing body and calls a minister to serve as its spiritual and administrative leader. The board focuses on serving the church's mission and on ensuring the well-being of the congregation. The board governs by:
Communicating with the Governance Committee
The Governance Committee is a standing committee of the Board. It is charged with maintaining the Board Policy Book (making recommendations to the full Board for changes and additions) and the periodic review of the Bylaws so that the Board may recommend additions or changes to the congregation. Members of the church are encouraged to make suggestions with respect to governance to the Governance Committee at Governance@c3huu.com.
The Community Church ByLaws: click here to access the bylaws approved by the Congregation on June 7, 2015.
Board Policies
The Bylaws call for the Board to maintain a Policy Book that articulates the church’s policies on discernment practices, management, personnel, and financial matters. You may review these policies here.
History of Changing Our Governance System
Several years ago church leaders realized that our governance system wasn't working well and a better way to organize the church was needed. In January 2008, Annette Marquis, TJD District Executive, held a Governance workshop for the board and church leaders. Inspired by this, Barb Chapman, Susan McDaniel, Maggie Scarborough, Susan Spalt, and Cecilia Warshaw volunteered to form a Governance Task Force to study governance models, select one or create a combination, recommend it to the board, and implement it. The Task Force after studying available references, looking at what other churches were doing, and reading books such as "Shared Ministry" and "Simple Church", was trying to cobble something together when Frankie Price-Stern told it about Dan Hotchkiss' new book, "Governance and Ministry: Rethinking Board Leadership". This book gave the Task Force what it needed and, along with helpful conversations with the author, it completed the task.
Our Philosophy of Governance
Our congregation elects a board of directors to serve as its governing body and calls a minister to serve as its spiritual and administrative leader. The board focuses on serving the church's mission and on ensuring the well-being of the congregation. The board governs by:
- Discerning and articulating the congregations mission and vision of ministry
- Setting goals and making strategy choices
- Creating written policies to guide the congregation's ministry
- Monitoring and evaluating the congregation's leadership, including itself
- Promoting transparency, collaboration, and inclusiveness in all areas of church leadership
- Delegating Board authority to knowledgeable persons or committees where it promotes organizational efficiency
Communicating with the Governance Committee
The Governance Committee is a standing committee of the Board. It is charged with maintaining the Board Policy Book (making recommendations to the full Board for changes and additions) and the periodic review of the Bylaws so that the Board may recommend additions or changes to the congregation. Members of the church are encouraged to make suggestions with respect to governance to the Governance Committee at Governance@c3huu.com.