| First Baptist Church, Easley, South Carolina, had thirty committees staffed by 189 laypersons. The committee structure, developed over a period of many years, was judged to be too massive and too extended to be managed effectively. It was suggested that a consolidation of the structure would lead the church to a better structure and a more strategic, effective organization of human resourses in the doing of ministry.;It was determined that First Baptist Church, due to the composition of the congregation, and due to the employment of a Minister with Administrative responsibilities, would benefit from the implementation of a committee structure more compact than the current structure.;The project group developed a new structure for the committee ministry at First Baptist Church of Easley that reduced the number of committees from thirty to five and reduced the number of laypersons involved in the committee structure from 189 to twenty-three.;The project group determined that a better response could be made to the needs of the church and community under a new committee structure that allowed for a greater amount of input on committee decisions. The structure designed by the project group is not only more compact but multiplies the discussion held on committee decisions.;The project group determined from research and discussion that a new, more compact committee structure would help the church by the establishment of a more manageable structure and would reduce the number of laypersons needed in the committee ministry of the church.;The sense of congregational authority at First Baptist Church led the project group to maintain a close connection between the proposed restructuring of the committees and the authority of the Church-in-Conference. The project group was able to design a committee structure that was more compact than the current structure yet was supported by the same congregational policies. The church directives that affected the prior committee structure were preserved in the proposed restructured plan for committees. |
