Lay Leadership

Administrative Council brings together our largest group drawn from all of the communities for the purpose of looking at our larger vision and mission and especially how we are living into that vision and mission. Administrative Council oversees and approves the work of Community Leadership Teams, Board of Trustees, SPRC, Finance Committee, Lay Leadership, Vision Team, and the Endowment Foundation Board of Stewards. Administrative Council endorses the budget developed by Community Leadership Teams and Finance Committee, fills vacancies of lay leadership, and, as the Charge Conference, approves clergy salaries and candidates for ministry.

Our structure empowers local worship communities for decisions regarding use of space and empowers staff for day-to-day maintenance work and decisions. This allows the Board of Trustees to focus fully on issues of long-term property maintenance and liability. The Board of Trustees oversees, maintains, and supervises all local church property. The Trustees make decisions regarding capital expenditures, or any property issues that are safety hazards or likely to have long-term repercussions regarding the state of the building(s). The Trustees consider use of property only as relates to building maintenance, liability, and policy. They maintain adequate insurance coverage on all church property and develop appropriate risk management policies.

Our structure empowers the appropriate staff supervisors to provide direct oversight for most of the church’s staff. SPRC establishes and reviews employment policies; provides encouragement, support, and annual evaluations to all appointed clergy and all persons serving in top-level positions (those reporting directly to the Senior Pastor); approves ministerial candidates for certified candidacy to become United Methodist clergy; and recommends salaries and other remuneration for all clergy appointed to First UMC.

Our structure empowers local worship communities for decisions about how program ministry and staff money are spent. The Finance Committee establishes written financial policies to document the internal controls, makes provision for an annual independent evaluation of the financial statements by external accountants, approves an annual budget (in conjunction with the community leadership teams), approves any requests for special offerings collected during worship services, and provides financial communication to the whole church. This financial communication includes quarterly contribution statements and reports on the state of the church’s finances and budget.

Formerly the Nominations Committee, Lay Leadership now works more broadly in managing the openings on our teams while empowering the communities to identify leadership to be a part of these shared teams. Lay Leadership has begun an evolution towards helping acknowledge and thank our leaders for their faithful service. This is no small task with over 75 people serving just in our formal leadership roles while recognizing the masses more that serve in roles beyond these official ones. Lay Leadership recommends to the Charge Conference the names of people to serve on Administrative Council, Finance Committee, SPRC, Board of Trustees, Lay Delegates to Annual Conference, and Endowment Foundation Board of Stewards, in consultation with current chairpersons and the appropriate staff members.

The First United Methodist Church Endowment Foundation exists to take a long-range approach to financial planning for the church. The Foundation’s Board of Stewards receives non-designated memorials, develops future givers through estate planning, and manages these funds to provide for the long-term financial health of the church. The Board of Stewards is subject to Charge Conference oversight and receives annual distribution requests from the Administrative Council.

High Street Neighborhood Center is a joint ministry of First UMC and Calvary Baptist Church. The High Street Neighborhood Center Board is made up of members of both churches who oversee operations of the Center.

This team is made up of the appointed clergy, the Executive Director, the lay leaders, and the chairs of all our committees. The Vision Team is the one small room where all the teams and committees intersect. The Vision Team has no authority and no budget—instead, it is a place where groups that do not meet together can find ways to support each other in our common mission and to look towards what next steps are most appropriate. Vision Team develops and recommends goals to the Administrative Council, evaluates and reports on these goals to the Administrative Council, and ensures communication and support amongst the various teams and committees.

Our structure gives Community Leadership Teams several decision-making functions that are usually held by the Administrative Council, Finance Committee, Board of Trustees, or SPRC. We believe the nature of our church’s structure and identity makes this the best option. This empowers local communities to quickly make and act on decisions. It allows each of our worship communities to function in a way that best fits their context, rather than expecting each community to handle staffing, programming, properties, or stewardship identically.