Annual Reviews can be a stressful. They don’t have to be. Since the whole is always greater than the sum of its parts, a performance review of a Pastor or Leader should include a whole Board review.
“God is building a home. He’s using us all—irrespective of how we got here—in what he is building. He used the apostles and prophets for the foundation. Now he’s using you, fitting you in brick by brick, stone by stone, with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone that holds all the parts together.” (Ephesians 2:21 MSG)
- There should never be surprises at a performance review.
- The data, progress or lack of, should be obvious by all the individuals involved.
- An annual review is a cooperative review of the leader, the Board members and the health of the church
- Is the church ahead or behind on the annual plan? Is the church growing or shrinking? Neutral means stagnant.
- What is the Leader and the Board doing to alleviate challenges in the church?
- Is the Pastor and each Board member committed to the Church Vision and Values and involved in the ministry?
- Is each Board member and staff committed to a daily time of personal prayer, Bible reading and devotion?
- Do the Pastor and all Board members tithe, help raise resources, develop disciples and spread the gospel to your community?
For a positive Annual Review, the Board Chair initiates a self-evaluation of the Pastor, each Board member and himself. Ask each Board member to privately rate the key leader, themselves and each Board member on scale of ministry leadership effectiveness. Then, the private ratings and comments are given anonymously to the Board Chair who meets with the key leader and each Board member individually. If the ratings for the key leader and each Board member are not consistently positive, then the Board has some significant decisions to make. These decisions could mean training opportunities, new goals or removal.
Leadership is, God being glorified in Performance Reviews.
Yours in Service,
Laurie D. Kennedy
Leadership Coach
Jethro Group
ldkjethrogroup@gmail.com