District SPRC Workshop:Pastor/Staff/Parish Relations Committee

Rev. Timothy J. Russell, Assistant to the BishopPresenter

Who is a member of the Staff / Pastor Parish Relations Committee?

5-9 professing members of a local charge

At least one member shall be a young adult and one member may be a youth

In addition, the lay leader and a lay member of AC shall be members

Organized into three classes

The Chair and members are nominated by the Committeeon Lay Leadership and elected by the Charge Conference.

No staff member or immediate family member of a pastor or staff member may serve on the committee.

Only one person from the same household may serve.

Each church on a charge must have representation

• The committee will meet at least quarterly.

• The committee shall meet only with the knowledge of the pastor and/or the district superintendent.

• The pastor shall be present at each meeting of the S/PPRC except when he or she voluntarily excuses himself or herself.

• The committee may meet with the ds without the pastor or appointed staff under consideration being present. However, the pastor or appointed staff under consideration shall be notified prior to such a meeting with the ds and be brought into consultation immediately thereafter.

• The committee shall meet in closed session, and information shared in the committee shall be confidential.

The “Duties” of the Committee on Staff/Pastor/Parish

Relationsare numerous. They are outlined in the Book of

Discipline Paragraph 258.2(g).

1. To encourage, strengthen, nurture, support, and respect the pastor(s) and staff and their family

2. To promote unity in the church(es)

3. To confer with, and counsel the pastor(s) and staff on matters pertaining to the

effectiveness of ministry; relationships withthe congregation; conditions that may impedethe effectiveness of ministry; and to interpretthe nature and function of the ministry.

4. to confer with, consult, and counsel thepastor(s) and staff on matters pertaining topriorities in the use of gifts, skills, and timeand priorities for the demands andeffectiveness of the mission and ministryof the congregation.

Prioritizing The Work Of Ministry

Helping your church reach its fullest potential

Ministry does not look the same in every churchand every generation.

The role of the pastor includes preaching, teaching,administration, pastoral care, overseeing staff,and much more.

No pastor will excel in every area of ministry and itwould be unrealistic to expect otherwise. Also, the needs of the local church will vary from place to place and over time the results of what the churchneeds in a pastor will vary.

It is helpful then, to establish some goals for prioritizing the work of ministry.

The goals for prioritizing the work of ministry aresimple:

1. Improve communication between the pastorand the S/PPRC.

2. Clarify the expectations of the S/PPRC withregard to the ministry of the pastor based onthe mission of the church.

3. Come to a basic agreement on the areas of ministry which will be priorities for thepastoral leadership

Rules for setting these priorities:

1. No more than three ministry areas may receivea ranking of 1, or Top priority.

2. No more than three of these areas may receivea ranking of 2, or important priority.

Ministry areas:

Spiritual Preparation: Personal prayer, Bible Study,spiritual retreats, reading for spiritual growth,receiving spiritual direction, self-care.

Worship Leadership: Preaching, conducting worship,organizing and planning worship service, creatinginspiring worship, attention to issues such as thepace and energy of the worship service, assistingpersons to participate in worship, administrationof the sacraments, etc.

Administration: Working with committees, completingrequired paperwork, reviewing and revising policiesand procedures, organizing the church, intentionalday-to-day involvement in the financial and facilitiesoperation of the church, etc.

Discipleship: Teaching, leading Bible studies, servingas a spiritual director, encouraging those in the churchto grow in their faith, challenging people to tithe,expanding the number of small groups and/orSunday School classes, etc.

Outreach: Involvement in missions, leading the church to help those in need, participating in local and /or foreign mission trips, challengingthe church to take seriously the needs of thehomeless, hungry, lower income persons, and those in poverty or prison.

Evangelism: Spends time with people who are not yet participating in the life of the church,challenges the church to reach those not activein a church, clearly presents the salvation messageof Jesus to others, trains and equips people in thechurch to share their faith with others, etc.

Pastoral Care: Hospital and home visitation,counseling, caring ministry, funerals, contactingshut-ins, etc.

Leadership: Leading the church into God’s visionfor it, identifying, equipping, and developingemerging laity leaders, providing a strong senseof direction for the ministries of the church, hands on management of staff, casting vision, etc.

Denominational Involvement: Serving on committeesand task groups for the denomination, mentoringcandidates for ministry, attending denominationalmeetings, expressing leadership beyond the localchurch, etc.

Other: Some churches have special or uniqueexpressions of ministry that may create a priorityfor the pastor. This could be a preschool in whichthe pastor is expected to participate in supervisionof staff and providing weekly chapel experience,a large ministry to homeless persons in which thepastor is expected to serve etc.

“Okay, We’ve got that part covered. We have helped the pastor prioritize ministry.”

What’s next??”

5. To provide evaluation at least annually for the use of the pastor(s) and staff in an ongoing effective ministry and for identifying continuing educationalneeds and plans.

The 2013 SPRC Evaluation form for pastors seeks to focus on the strengths of the pastor and the congregation.

“They go from strength to strength; the God of gods will be seen in Zion.”Psalm 84:7

There are four simple questions:

1. What are the three greatest strengths of your congregation?

2. What are the three greatest strengths of the pastor?

3. Where are our growing edges, as a congregation and pastor?

4. As we continue to watch over one another in love, how can we help one another grow as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ?

The focus of this process is assessment.The process is not about personality, buteffectiveness and developing a plan to behelpful to the pastoral leadership and the church.

The Goal is to agree upon a focused and shared ministry with a mutual covenant to glorify God in every way.

Back to the duties of the S/PPRC

6. To communicate and interpret to the congregationthe nature and function of ministry in TheUnited Methodist Church regarding openitinerancy, the preparation for ordained ministry,and the Ministerial Education Fund.

7. To develop and approve written job descriptionsand titles for associate pastors and other staffmembers in cooperation with the senior pastor.The term associate pastor is used as a generalterm to indicate any pastoral appointment inthe local church other than the pastor in charge(see par. 339). Committees shall be encouragedto develop specific titles for associate pastorsthat reflect the job descriptions and expectations.

8. To consult with the pastor and staff concerningcontinuing education and spiritual renewal, toarrange with the church council for the necessarytime and financial assistance for the attendanceof the pastor and/or staff at such continuing education and spiritual renewal events as mayserve their professional and spiritual growth, andto encourage staff members to seek professionalcertification in their fields of specialization.

9. To enlist, interview, evaluate, review, andrecommend annually to the charge conferencelay preachers and persons for candidacy for ordained ministry (see BOD 247.8 and 310),and to enlist and refer to the General Boardof Global Ministries persons for candidacy formissionary service.

Neither the pastor nor any member of the committeeon S/PPR shall be present during the considerationof a candidacy application or renewal for a memberof their immediate family. The committee shall provideto the charge conference a list of students from the charge who are preparing for ordained ministry, diaconal ministry, and/or missionary, and shall maintaincontact with these students, supplying the chargeconference with a progress report on each student.

10. To interpret preparation for ordained ministry and the Ministerial Education Fund to the congregation.

11. To confer with the pastor and/or other appointedmembers of the staff if it should become evident that the best interests of the charge and thepastor(s) will be served by a change of pastor(s).The committee shall cooperate with the pastor(s),the district superintendent, and the bishop insecuring clergy leadership. Its relationship to thedistrict superintendent and the bishop shall beadvisory only.

The PPRC Role in Appointment Making

• Annual Evaluation (due )• Charge and Pastor Profiles (due February 4) • Consultation (January – March)• Introductory Visit (April – May)

12. To recommend to the church council, afterconsultation with the pastor, the professionaland other staff positions (whether employee

or contract) needed to carry out the work ofthe church or charge. The committee and thepastor shall recommend to the church councila written statement of policy and proceduresregarding the process for hiring, contracting, evaluating, promoting, retiring, and dismissingstaff personnel who are not subject toepiscopal appointment as ordained clergy.

Until such a policy has been adopted, the committeeand the pastor shall have the authority to hire, contract,evaluate, promote, retire and dismiss non-appointed personnel.

When persons are hired or contracted, considerationshall be given to the training qualifications and certification standards set forth by the general Churchagency to which such positions are related. The committee shall further recommend to the churchcouncil a provision for adequate health and life insurance and severance pay for all lay employees.

In addition, the committee shall recommend thatthe church council provide; effective on and afterJanuary 1, 2006, 100% vested pension benefitsof at least 3% of compensation for lay employeesof the local church who work at least 20 hours/week, are at least 21 years of age, and haveat least one year of permanent service. The church council shall have authority to providesuch pension benefits through either a nondenominational pension program administeredby the General Board of Pension and HealthBenefits or another pension program administered by another pension provider.

13. To recommend to the charge conference, whenthe size of the employed staff of the charge makesit desirable, the establishment of a personnel committee. This committee shall be composed ofsuch members S/PPRC as it may designate and suchadditional members as the charge conference maydetermine.

14. To educate the church community on the value

of diversity of selection in clergy and lay staffand develop a commitment to same.

15. Members of the S/PPRC shall keep themselvesinformed of personnel matters in relationshipto the Church’s policy, professional standards,liability issues, and civil law. They are responsiblefor communicating and interpreting such mattersto staff. Committee members should make themselves available for educational, and training opportunities provided by the conference,the district, and/or other arenas that will enablethem to be effective in their work.

16. To consult on matters pertaining to pulpit supply,proposals for compensation, travel expense,vacation, health and life insurance, pension, housing(which may be a church-owned parsonage or housing allowance in lieu of a parsonage if in compliance with the policy of the annual conference)and other practical matters affecting the work andfamilies of the pastor and staff, and to make annualrecommendations regarding such matters to the church council, and reporting budget items to thefinance committee.

The parsonage is to be mutually respected by thepastor’s family as the property of the church andby the church as a place of privacy for the pastor’sfamily. The chairperson of the S/PPRC , the chairperson of the board of trustees, and the pastorshall make an annual review of the church ownedparsonage to assure proper maintenance.

Now that you know your responsibilities,

you might ask yourself…

Why serve on the S/PPRC ?

Those whom we support hold us up in life.

Marie Ebner von

Eschenbach

THE END