Leading a ministry meeting can seem daunting when you’re new. That’s why I’ve put together this list of the 10 best ideas you can implement in order to lead a successful meeting.
When I first became president of my local United Methodist Women’s (now United Women in Faith) group many years ago, I was so nervous about leading our ministry team on a regular basis.
A couple weeks before our monthly meeting, I’d begin scouring the internet for resources.
I wanted to make sure that in addition to covering all of the ministry team business, I would also provide a meaningful lesson to encourage and inspire the team.
In my day job as a teacher in charge of various committees, I had experience creating outlines and leading meetings. I used that experience to begin putting together a consistent outline of how I wanted our ministry meetings to run.
Once I put together the steps I wanted to follow, I began creating resources to help make the meetings more meaningful. My monthly ministry meeting packs have now been used by many women’s ministry teams around the world!
If you’re leading a ministry meeting for the first time or if you just need to fine-tune your planning, be sure to keep reading for some powerful ideas.
Best Ideas for Leading a Ministry Team
1. Decide on the purpose for your meeting and the desired outcomes
It’s important to never meet ‘just’ to meet. Even if it’s a scheduled regular monthly meeting, ensure you have a specific purpose for meeting and what your team needs to accomplish during your time together.
2. Create an agenda
In order to keep track of the meeting purpose and to make sure everything gets covered, create an agenda to follow.
Meeting agendas should include:
- Basic info
- Purpose
- Program
- Determine next meeting time
Try out our sample retreat agendas for ideas on how to create your meeting agenda.
You might also like to try this simple but effective Order of Business worksheet for your meeting. Click the link or image below to open and download a PDF version.
3. Share agenda several days prior to the meeting
Send out via email or hard copy the agenda to all team members 3-7 days before the meeting. This will reinforce the idea that there will be purpose and direction for the meeting and let everyone know what to expect.
4. Set up the meeting space
Ahead of time, determine where the meeting will be held. No matter where you choose, make sure there is plenty of room to seat everyone around a table, that everyone can be together, and that they can be comfortable.
If you need any visual aids such as a computer or projector screen, make sure to set it up and test it to make sure it’s ready and working.
5. Start on time
Respecting your ministry team’s time is one of the most important things you can do for them. Starting meetings on time every single time will set the standard that the meeting is important, should be taken seriously, and will stay true to the agenda.
If you have latecomers interrupting, they’ll soon (usually) realize that the meeting won’t wait for them and they need to be on time.
6. Beginning activities
There are several activities that should be covered in the beginning of every meaning to set the tone beyond the on-time start:
- Always start with prayer
- Make announcements
- Encourage positive meeting behaviors (staying off phone, staying on track with the agenda, etc.)
- Bring people together with an icebreaker
- Share testimony
For opening prayers, icebreaker activities (both fun and serious), and other help, be sure to use one of our Monthly Ministry Meeting Packs.
7. Include a Program
Having a program to nurture your team’s faith, inspires and motivates them to be and do the best for the ministry.
Be sure to share a devotional and teach a concept based on a monthly theme.
Our Monthly Ministry Meeting Packs all include unique theme-based devotionals along with discussion questions
8. Stay on Topic
Along with starting on time, staying on topic is another way to demonstrate that you respect your team’s time.
While it’s understandable to want to catch-up with your friends, it’s better to plan this before or after the meeting’s official start and stop time.
9. End with action terms and prayer
Before dismissing, ensure action terms are clear and that every team member knows what they need to do in the coming days.
And always be sure to end with prayer.
The ministry packs we provide all come with a closing prayer based on the month’s theme. They can be used on their own or as a starter point for you to add to and customize.
10. Send meeting minutes (notes) within 1-2 days
In order to bring meeting content and action items back into focus for team members, be sure to send out meeting notes within 1-2 days.
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