Last week when I wrote on Guiding Councils, I briefly mentioned charter teams. Church charter teams are there to help improve their systems and process and work on improvement efforts. Successful teams are driven by directives of the organization and are steered by a Team Charter. According to highperformanceteams.org, a team charter statement is “a written document that defines the team’s mission, scope of operation, objectives, time frame and consequences.”
Spending the time to develop a team charter and purpose statement can help ensure team support and resource availability. A charter helps clarify support and resource allocation from management. This formal document legitimizes the team’s efforts and supports the team so they can accomplish what they are charged to do.
A Team Charter document should include:
Purpose Statement
The purpose statement explains why a team exists and how its charge lines up with the global goals of the organization. For example, “The purpose of the customer experience council is to improve customer satisfaction scores for Regional Community Church”
Mission Statement
A mission statement clarifies the team’s responsibility. For example, “The mission of the Budget Review Council is to ensure proper management and control of church financial resources.”
Scope of Operation
The scope of operation details the boundaries and parameters that the team operates within. For example, “The Human Resource Council will research and make recommendations on hiring, firing, compensation and benefits for church employees according to best practice benchmarks and within legal and tax compliance.”
Team Objectives
The objectives of a team should be tied to measurable results. These objectives should be able to demonstrate the effectiveness of the team. For example, “The Budget Review Council will control church expenditures and maintain a 5% profit margin.”
Time-frame
The time-frame for any team project should be clearly defined so the team understands the deadlines and urgency for completing their commission. For example, “The Facility Review Council will ensure all church facilities are maintained with appropriate updates on an annual basis.”
Consequences
Chartered teams use organization resources and the team should be held accountable for producing the results outlined in the team charter. There should be very specific accountability outlined in the document so members understand the importance of their commitment to the Council.
It is important for newly chartered Councils to understand why the group exists, what they are charged to do, the time-frame by which they need to accomplish the tasks as well as accountability for meeting team objectives. This very clear communication and process on the front end of a team launch can help prevent miscommunication issues.
Committed members have an interest in helping the church achieve its mission. Church councils are an avenue that the church can draw on the experience and expertise of its members to help strategize, implement and maintain church systems, processes and resources. This collective effort by church members helps to facilitate a process that keeps the church focused on those things that are critical to achieving its mission.
Patricia Lotich is the founder of Smart Church Management, a site devoted to providing free articles, tools and resources for those managing a church operation. Patricia has ten years of Business Administration and Church Operations experience and has a driving passion to help churches fulfill their call by managing the resources God has given them – people, time and money. Follow Patricia onTwitter and Facebook