Does anyone really like meetings? Given a choice, some pastors would avoid them altogether. Nevertheless, many see weekly staff meetings as an obligation.

People give a number of reasons for disliking staff meetings:

• “They go too long.”
• “There’s nothing that pertains to me.”
• “We could accomplish the same thing in an email.”
• “It inconveniences my schedule.”

Although some objections may be valid, they don’t outweigh the benefits. Rather than an obligation, view your weekly staff meetings as opportunities. For what? Here are four examples:

Personal Check-In

Staff meetings are a way to check in with your people — not just from a ministry standpoint, but in a personal way as well. The best staff meetings will allow time to break the ice, learn about someone’s life, and even share testimonies. Use your weekly meeting as a way to stay connected with your staff, and make sure they stay connected with each other.

Use your weekly meeting as a way to stay connected with your staff.

Counting Wins and Losses

Ministry is not a game, but you can use the language of wins and losses to evaluate the health of your ministries. At the start of your meetings, have the leader of each department identify the top wins and losses from the weekend — preferably three of each, although there may not be time to share all of them. This gives you a quick way to evaluate how everything is running without exhaustive reports.

Building Culture

Meetings are an easy way to see whether your church is replicating its DNA in every area of ministry. In most churches, the senior pastor and key staff work hard to develop the church’s identity. But if you have long stretches of silence about your important values, you’ll begin to see drift. It takes a keen eye to figure out where you need to strengthen values and vision. A weekly staff meeting can provide you time to realign the church’s culture and keep it strong.

Growing in Unity

No matter the size of your staff, there is always a tendency to focus on your own area and pay no attention to others. That inevitably leads to silo building, distance between departments that perpetuate isolation. In such an environment, communication breaks down, and misinformation abounds. Infighting can occur, and team members may become jealous.

Your youth pastor may have no idea what the creative team is working on, and everyone is clueless about the children’s ministry. But a weekly staff meeting promotes unity within the whole team, while keeping lines of communication open.

These aren’t the only reasons to have a weekly staff meeting, but maybe they’re enough. Next time you feel your staff meeting is a drag, remember to look for the opportunities behind the obligation.