Transcription
The vision and doctrine of a church is important. It's governance—how a church makes decisions, who makes them, and the parameters of accountability—is just as important. If you want to be a part of a church you can trust, you need to understand its governance.
There are three basic types of church governance: episcopal, congregational, and presbyterian.
One, episcopal governance is an elaborate hierarchical structure with one priest or bishop who answers to another, who answers to another, until at the top there is one potentate who has final authority. They have clear lines of authority, but the lack of accountability can be problematic.
Two, congregational governance is the opposite. Church members need to make all the decisions about budgets, ministries, policy, and even personnel. While everyone has a voice, these churches can be plagued with division, slow to change, and are usually small.
Three, presbyterian governance delegates authority and responsibility to elected representatives who act on behalf of the people. They are effective but can become disconnected from the rest of the congregation and create an "us versus them" environment.
Most Assemblies of God churches embrace a hybrid presbyterian/congregational form of church government. We recognize the membership as the final decision-making body of the church, but delegate authority and duties to others to act on their behalf. Power is delegated and at times even shared in overlapping areas. This enables us to have sufficient accountability structures while at the same time benefit from a board of directors and be led by visionary leadership. It helps us be accountable, decisive, and responsive all at the same time.
Find out more about the Rocky Mountain Ministry Network at www.rmdc.org.