The SPRC/PPRC trainers were busy sharing methods and ideas for enhancing your local church's ministry through caring SPRC/PPRC actions and leadership. (Not pictured: Rev. Bob Ruedebusch).

If someone asked you to serve on your church’s Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC), or the Pastor-Parish Relations Committee (PPRC), would you know where to begin? If you’re like most of us, you might see it as an opportunity to be more involved in the ministry of your church, and you’d be right about that, but there are hidden joys and pitfalls in serving on this crucial committee. The work of the SPRC/PPRC is unique in a number of ways, so the Dakotas Conference Appointive Cabinet held an online training session on Feb. 7, and repeated it on Feb. 8.

Rev. Rebecca Trefz asked a couple of introductory questions:
1. Who is your pastor’s boss and supervisor?
2. Who is the head of your lay professional staff and who supervises their work?
(Answers at the end of this article)

Here are five key takeaways from the training, which don’t cover all the material, but provide a reference for the strategic methods you can learn from watching the recorded online training and using it to guide your support of ministry for your local congregation.

1. Having a heart
Rev. Kris Mutzenberger, the Northeast District Superintendent, asked if participants know the role and function of the SPRC/PPRC. The most important guiding principle, she said, is having a heart for your pastor and staff, and having a heart for your congregation. This includes learning and knowing what’s helpful and what’s not helpful to share with your pastor. To build the level of trust needed between committee members and your pastor, Pastor Kris had many suggestions for committee members. Similar to a Human Resources meeting, SPRC/PPRC meetings are absolutely closed-door, confidential meetings. Uniquely, either the pastor or your DS must be in attendance at any SPRC/PPRC meeting. To support your church’s ministry, a warm, genuine bond, based in Christian love, is essential between the committee and your pastor.  There are many ways to show how you as individuals and as a committee love and care for your pastor (see training for specific suggestions on this).

2. Nominations
Know what the expectations of the SPRC/PPRC are and how you can fulfill these. The membership of your committee ideally should be 5-9 members, depending on the size of your congregation, and terms and limits are set. Lay leaders and young adults are encouraged to be part of the committee; however, the council chair, employees, staff, and family members of staff are not to serve here. A spiritual maturity is required and having a member with HR experience is very helpful.

3. Support for effective ministry
There are a number of tools available from your DS and the Conference to guide and assist you in doing the committee’s work. Rev. Rebecca Trefz, the Southeast District Superintendent, presented these tools, too numerous to list here (see training for specifics). Some of the tools are check-ins with your DS, setting priorities and goals, creating a plan, holding regular meetings, at least quarterly, encouraging professional growth, health and wholeness, and maintaining consistency with the United Methodist mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ, and the Dakotas Conference imperatives.* Team building is crucial to success, and micro-management or other negative behaviors are destructive to the committee’s success. Gathering, respecting, and utilizing feedback are important methods for supporting effective ministry.

4. Supporting Clergy Well-Being
Diane Owen, now serving the Minnesota and Dakotas Area as Clergy Well-Being Director, pointed out the unique challenges our clergy across the Conference are facing. She laid out the strategic approach the Conference is taking to combat stress, exhaustion, isolation, and other factors that can diminish a pastor’s effectiveness in ministry. She said these and other factors can cause burnout, but working with the SPR/PPR Committees from local congregations, there are many methods for caring for the well-being of local pastors. These include time-away tools, pulpit supply and pastoral care support, Various Conference programs to support clergy health and mental well-being, and financial education and resources to relieve stress. Local SPRC/PPRC members are encouraged to reach out to Diane to assess how her resources can be leveraged toward well-being for your pastor.

5. The Appointment Process
Rev. Joel Winckler, Northwest District Superintendent, closed out the instructional portion of the training by encouraging preparedness for unknowns, such as an unexpected clergy transition, or changes in church membership, finances, or mission that affect your pastor’s ministry. He also explained in brief, the structure and methods for changing appointments, overseen by the bishop, supported by the district superintendents. For more in-depth look into this process, please see this article written by Rev. Randy Cross.  And especially important for the SPRC/PPRC, what role and responsibilities do they serve when there is a change of clergy appointment. It’s critical to know how to support the departing and the incoming pastors (to celebrate what has been, and to look expectantly and joyfully to the future of ministry together).

Conclusion
No matter if you’ve been on your church’s SPRC/PPRC for weeks or for years, there will certainly be topics and details in this training that will support you in your committee duties, and your pastor and staff, as they navigate ministry together with you and your congregation.

See all the slides, recorded training video, links and worksheets from this training online here.

* The Dakotas Conference vision is “for every congregation to become a vital expression of the scriptural imperatives to live out Jesus' call to Grow in love of God and neighbor, Reach new people, and Heal a broken world.”

Answers: 1.) The bishop via your DS;  2.) Your pastor.