A topic that was broached during the October session meeting had to do with church size. Given that most churches in the U.S. – 80 to 85 percent – are small churches (churches with less than 250 members), I suggested that the challenge facing us at FPCC might not be how to become a big church, but how to do small church community well. After all, something must be keeping all these people coming back to their small churches!

So next time it meets, session will be discussing the following:

What are the potential strengths of small churches – and what does session need to do as leaders to ensure that these strengths are in play at FPCC?

And what are the potential weaknesses – and how does session guard against these derailing FPCC’s ministries?

Another topic from that meeting had to do with meetings, and the reality that different generations – and people – have different attitudes toward and capacities for these.

I shared my experience as a typical Gen-Xer whose career has been in fields (education and the church), in which Baby Boomers have held the majority of leadership positions – and been the ones to set agendas and meeting times/durations. I remarked that this has shaped my meeting persona! (I can be impatient when meetings run long – even those I am running.) I also discussed the difficulty younger generations may face as they attempt to balance the demands of work, raising children and civic engagement. Out of this discussion arose the decision to try to find ways to give everyone who wants to have a voice in church decision-making the opportunity to do so.

For more information about session’s new initiative, “15-Minute Meetings,” be sure to check out FPCC’s weekly Friday email.