Policy Governance

Over the past two years our Congregational Council has undergone a change in focus. It began with a study of the book “Boards That Make a Difference” by John Carver. Carver suggests that boards are ineffective when they spend their valuable time making decisions about short-term operational matters. Those activities are better done by staff. Boards that make a difference concentrate on long-term goals. They provide a vision for where the organization should be in ten years rather than ten weeks.

The primary way a Carver-influenced board operates is by writing & then reviewing Ends Policies that provide a picture of where an organization wants to end up. It is a vision without all the detail of how to get there. Our Council—after much discussion and prayer— has adopted the Carver model.

We began by writing a Global Ends Policy that would give direction to all the other policies to follow. This is our Global Ends Policy: Lord of Life Lutheran Church exists to proclaim the saving grace of Jesus Christ and for its faith community to witness and serve God gratefully in daily life.

Key words were purposefully included in our statement: Lutheran, proclamation, grace, faith, community, witness, service and grateful hearts all focused on Jesus Christ.

The Congregational Council has now adopted seven specific Ends Policies that will help direct our mission towards our Global Ends. These are the areas addressed in these Ends Policies:
Culture of Generosity
Campus
Caring Community
Faith Formation
Leadership
Outreach
Worship.

Each policy was written from a Biblical basis with the long-term mission in mind. Some of these policies address growth areas, others will build on our strengths. All of them provide a long-term vision for where Lord of Life wants to be in the future.