Four Reasons Why You Should Want to Serve on Your Church Board
As we previously discussed, serving on the church board can be one of the most frustrating experiences in your spiritual walk.
It can also be one of the most rewarding.
While much of the experience – positive or negative – depends on the local church to which you belong, much of it also depends upon your attitude and expectations. Here are some of the reasons why you should wish to serve on your church board, and some of the unexpected benefits that we discovered when we served.
Serving on your church board gives you a better understanding of being a good steward.
Many – or more likely, most – churches struggle financially. The average church size of mainstream protestant church in America is somewhere close to 70 people and the average age is 50 something, so it is not surprising that many churches have little money to work with. Serving on the church board may demonstrate to you how to prioritize church spending, how to balance the mission of the church with the needs of its members, and how to generously reach out to others in love.
Serving gives you a front row seat to miraculous deeds.
Our pastor recently commented that he remembers a time not many years ago when he had no idea where the church would get the monies to pay its bills. Yet, somehow, it always did. Looking back, he considered it a miracle that the church survived with its reputation in tack. It never did, however, shirk any of its responsibilities.
Serving on the church board is often akin to watching five loaves and two fishes feed the multitude. It is particularly joyful to be a part of the church board when it reaches out and helps outsiders, or those on the periphery of the church, and see their lives transformed.
Serving on the board gives you accountability partners.
Many of us need to be held accountable. I am at my best when someone keeps me pointed in the right direction or gives me alternate perspectives. Serving on the church board often puts you in close contact with others in the church. It often pairs you with committee members you never dreamed you could or would work with.
Nothing draws one closer to others and to God than spending many hours praying together over a church project or outreach.
Be prepared to find accountability partners and prayer partners among those with whom you closely work on the church board.
Serving on the church board lends insight into the struggles of the pastor.
Your pastor is human. He or she is not a God, nor should he or she be put on a pedestal. Yes, while our pastors should be held to a higher standard (and he or she should expect that), he or she should also be treated like a fallible human, frail in the same ways that you and I are frail.
When one serves on the church board, one will likely get to know the pastor better, blemishes and all. While one may or may not draw closer the pastor when serving on the church board, one will definitely see the pastor in a different light. That, in itself, is awesome, because it allows you to know how to better pray for the pastor.
One really unexpected benefit to serving on the church board is this: many people may come to you with their problems, and that allows you to take a more active part in God’s kingdom.
One struggling disabled woman discovered that I had some sort of influence over who received help from our church, financial, food, or otherwise, and began to contact me at my place of business. At first, I found this irritating and an inconvenience, but when I learned her story and grew to know her heart, I found her to be a delight, and I relished praying with her and helping her when I could.
I have since grown to know several people who have reached out to me for help, an opportunity I wouldn’t have had if I had not served on the church board.