Board of Teaching Elders & Governance Board
|
Board of Teaching Elders
Elder Doug Cutler 
Elder Andy Vogeli |
Elder Jake Ergang 
Elder Eric Fischvogt |
Governance Board
|
The history of church governance at St. Paul: One of the unique aspects of the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod is that the local congregation owns their property and administers their local ministry without the interference of the synod (the purpose of the synod is walking together in our common confession, i.e. The Book of Concord). Historically that has meant a democratic governance through a church council with officers and representatives from various Boards and committees. As a congregation grows the church council can be overwhelmed by the number of individuals on the council and by the increasing tasks of ministry. St. Paul’s governance experienced this stress and strain, and during the interim ministry of Pastor Gary Seifert it became evident that a transition was necessary. This need became one of the priorities in the calling of St. Paul’s next Pastor, and when Pastor Brand began his ministry in 2015 the transition process started. In the past fifty years, other systems of congregation governance have emerged. One of these new models was discovered in the pages of John Carver’s well known book, Boards that Make a Difference: A New Design for Leadership in Nonprofit and Public Organizations. The Carver Model focuses on the establishment of a board of directors, which sets and enforces the policies for the administrative functions of the congregation. The system creates a high level of accountability between the board of directors and the staff of the congregation, with the Senior Pastor as liaison between the two. There is an intrinsic beauty in the Carver Model, but for a Christian congregation it is necessary for a Board of Elders to operate along side of the Board of Directors, with their function being the oversight of the Worship and Spiritual life of the congregation and the support of the called staff. Our governance transition occurred in September of 2016, eight months of policy development ensued and we have been operating under the system for almost three years. Our new governance system has made it possible for ministry teams to flourish, ministry decisions and opportunities are not bogged down by administrative meetings, and we have seen more individual involvement through our ministry team focus.
|
Amber Seifert 
Paula Kunst 
Tony Dykhouse |
Eric Tuori 
Bill Born 
David Kroll |
|
St. Paul Lutheran Church and Preschool
8436 Kraft Ave. Caledonia, MI 49316 Phone: 616-891-8688 officestaff@stpaulcaledonia.org Sunday Worship 8:30am Worship 9:30am Fellowship, coffee & donuts 9:45am Education Hour 11:00am Worship Communion Service 1st, 3rd & 5th Sunday of month |
