The Annual Meeting: What Message Do We Send?

By Lance Ousley Congregational Leadership

This time of the year many churches are preparing for their annual meetings if they haven’t already held them.  Annual Meetings are an integral part of Year-Round Stewardship formation, whether we realize it or not! 

Recently, I talked with a leadership team from one such church that wanted to report on new ministry plans for the upcoming year that was told that wasn’t appropriate for the parish annual meeting.  The stated reason was that the meeting was only for the election of officers and review of the financials. The problem with this is that this type of annual meeting distorts what our corporate body’s mission is.  For the church our “bottom line” is measured in very different terms than a for-profit business, so why would we run our annual meetings as if it were?  When we do this we send a mixed, if not inauthentic, message to our members, especially those who contribute financially to the mission of the church.  No one contributes to the church mission, expecting a financial return on that “investment”.  What people are excited about funding is the mission and ministries that are making a difference in the world.   

So as we prepare for our annual meetings or if we have already held one this year, we need to ask the question, “ What message about our identity as the Body of Christ are we sending our members with the way we conduct our annual meetings?”   This question also should lead us into thinking about how we communicate the financials the rest of the year, as well.  

Annual Meetings should report the financials, but these should not be the focus.  The focus should be the church’s mission, celebrating what God has done through the church in the past year and what God has called us to do in the upcoming year.  

That said, the financials should be put in the context of the mission bottom-line, not a business bottom-line perspective.  Including a written statement at the top of the financial report making this connection and saying it out loud make a difference.   For example, “Because of your generous financial stewardship this year shown by these numbers, we were able to empower the ministries and mission we have celebrated today!  God continues to call us into a deeper presence in the world as Christ’s Body and this is fueled by the Holy Spirit and your faithful stewardship of your God-given abilities and your financial and material resources.” 

Year-Round Stewardship happens year-round, and it focuses on the mission Christ has given us.   When we understand this and make it a spiritual rule in our common lives we see how the annual meeting is such an important stewardship formation event. And we see how it can be a positive or negative formation event!   By celebrating the wonderful ministries our churches are doing and thanking members for their faithful stewardship as the focus of the meetings, you continue to invite them to join in making a difference though these ministries with their time, God-given abilities and their financial & material resources. 

This year, whether you have already had your annual meeting or not, take time to assess whether your annual meeting sends a missional or business message to your members.  It will make a difference the rest of the year in your mission bottom-line, as well as your financial bottom-line.  Which difference do you want it to make, positive or negative?

The Rev. Canon Lance Ousley is Canon for Stewardship and Development in The Episcopal Diocese of Olympia.