Ministry Management System

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Kevin Stone

Church Discipline Policy

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Purpose

This policy establishes and communicates the guidelines for correcting inappropriate church member behavior at YOUR CHURCH.

Scope

This document contains YOUR CHURCH’s policy for corrective action and restoration of a church member(s) who has behaved inappropriately, and the church leadership deems it necessary to take action. The policy outlines the reasons for, purpose, and process for church discipline.

Responsibility

As with all policies, procedures, and other documentation contained in the Management System, all ministry area leaders must ensure the details of this policy are known and followed by all YOUR CHURCH paid staff and ministry area volunteers. The primary responsibility for this policy rests with the Executive Staff.

Church Discipline Description

Church Discipline is the process by which the Executive Staff of YOUR CHURCH takes action to correct a church member’s behavior that adversely affects both him/her and the church as a whole.

YOUR CHURCH’s By-Laws state, “Discipline: The church staff shall discipline members who become unwilling to submit to the authority of the Word of God. In all cases, the model found in the New Testament shall be followed (Matthew 18:15-18, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, 2 Corinthians 2:5-8, 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15, James 5:19-20).”

Reasons for Church Discipline

The Bible teaches that there are three instances in which church discipline is to be initiated.

Divisive Behavior – Scripture repeatedly warns Christians about the corrosive influence divisive people have on the church. Church members who seek to stir up agitation against fellow church members and/or the church leadership must be stopped. Titus 3:10-11 states, “Warn divisive people once, and then warn them a second time. After that, have nothing to do with them. You may be sure that such people are warped and sinful; they are self-condemned.” Before Jesus died on the cross, he prayed, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you” (John 17:20-21). Church leaders must be vigilant about correcting those who would seek to cause any division within the church for which Jesus died. This is so serious that the Apostle Paul warned in Romans 16:17-18, “I urge you, brothers and sisters, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them. For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.”

Immoral Behavior – The Bible compares unchecked immoral behavior to yeast that works itself through “the whole batch of dough” (1 Co. 5:6). Persistent immoral behavior on the part of a church member must be corrected because it hurts the church member involved in the sin, but also because it creates a lax moral environment within the church. When addressing the church in Corinth, the Apostle Paul wrote, “It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do not tolerate: A man has his father’s wife. And you are proud! Shouldn’t you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? …When you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the sinful nature so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord” (1 Co. 5:1-2, 4).

Teaching Against Church Doctrine – The Bible tells us that Christians must “…teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine” (Titus 2:1) and that pastors must “hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it” (Titus 1:9). When someone persistently teaches doctrine that is in direct opposition to YOUR CHURCH’s position and seeks to rally people to adopt such a position, that behavior must be confronted and corrected. The Apostle Paul talked specifically about this when he commanded, “Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have departed from the truth. They say that the resurrection has already taken place, and they destroy the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:17-18).

The Purpose of Church Discipline

The Bible teaches there are four reasons to correct a church member. The first three were implied in what was stated above (1) to protect the church from division, (2) to protect the church from the spread of false teaching, and (3) to protect the church from the spread of lax moral behavior. The fourth reason for church discipline is directly related to the church member: (4) to restore the erring church member to a right relationship with God.

Suppose a Christian is being divisive, teaching unsound doctrine, and/or is living in persistent unrepentant sin; they are sinning against God. 2 Thessalonians 3:14-15 says, “Take special note of those who do not obey our instruction in this letter. Do not associate with them, in order that they may feel ashamed. Yet do not regard them as enemies, but warn them as fellow believers.” Elsewhere Galatians 6:1-2 instructs, “Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted. Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.”

It must be noted that while the goal is to restore a Christian’s relationship with God, this does not necessarily mean their relationship with YOUR CHURCH must be restored. In rare cases, for various reasons, it would be better for a Christian facing church discipline to have their relationship with God restored but seek to worship and serve in another church fellowship.

The Process of Church Discipline

The church discipline process at YOUR CHURCH is based on Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 18:15-17: “If a brother or sister sins, go and point out the fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.”

  1. One on One Confrontation – This happens when one church member confronts another church member regarding their persistent unrepentant sin, divisive behavior, and/or aberrant doctrinal teaching. If the church member confronted acknowledges and repents of their behavior, the goal of the confrontation has been achieved – the erring Christian has changed their ways and the matter is considered resolved. In a church the size of YOUR CHURCH, this almost always happens at the volunteer level with no staff involvement.
  2. Multiple Confrontations – Oftentimes, the behavior goes unchecked even after one Christian is confronted by another. When this happens, scripture encourages Christians to escalate the process and involve one or two other Christians. In many cases, when a Christian in error is confronted multiple times by multiple people, they will grasp that what others are perceiving of their behavior is not one isolated perspective. If, after multiple confrontations, the church member acknowledges and repents of their behavior, the goal of the confrontation has been achieved – the erring Christian has changed their ways, and the matter is considered resolved. In a church the size of YOUR CHURCH, this happens quite frequently at the volunteer level with limited staff involvement.
  3. Church Staff Confrontation – Unfortunately, sometimes Christians will not change their persistent unrepentant sin, divisive behavior, and/or aberrant doctrinal teaching, even after multiple confrontations. When this occurs, the Executive Staff steps in to lead the unrepentant church member through a detailed restoration process. Before the Executive Staff meets with the church member in question, a member of the staff will contact and interview those church members who have been involved in confrontations with or otherwise have been impacted by the church member in question. These interviews are documented for the record. At this meeting, the church member is asked to acknowledge and repent of their behavior as well as submit to a detailed restoration process. If the church member in error submits to and completes the restoration process the goal of the confrontation has been achieved. The erring Christian has changed their behavior and the matter is considered to be resolved. If a church member refuses to participate in the restoration process, the Executive Staff will proceed to step four. A refusal to meet with the Executive Staff on the part of the church member in question will be interpreted as a “refusal to participate in the restoration process.”
  4. Removal From Membership and All Church Participation – When a church member refuses to acknowledge and repent of their behavior and complete the restoration process presented by the Executive Staff, their name will be removed from the church’s membership roll, and they will be asked to leave the church. Under no circumstances will they be allowed to participate again in any YOUR CHURCH worship services or other church-related activities until they have met again with the Executive Staff and submitted to the restoration process. If a church member refuses to complete the restoration process, a notification will be placed in the church program stating the church member has been removed from the membership roll of the church and all parties affected by the church member’s behavior will be personally contacted by the Executive Staff. If, at some point, the church member seeks to return to the church, even years afterward, the church member must complete the restoration process before being restored to church membership.

Restoration Process

While each restoration will vary according to the circumstances, it will include at least the following:

Initial Meeting – The Executive Staff will meet with the church member in question and present the details of the case against them. If the church member acknowledges and repents of their behavior, they will be asked to sign a document outlining their commitment to the following:

  1. Repentance to All Parties Effected – The church member will personally ask for forgiveness from everyone they have affected with their behavior. A list of such people to contact will be generated at the initial meeting. The Executive Staff will follow up with the parties the church member agreed to contact to ensure this has happened.
  2. One-Year Probationary Period – For a period of one year the church member will not be allowed to serve in any capacity. The church member will be allowed to attend church services and participate in a small group, but that is all. The goal for this entire year to is rebuild their relationship with God and also rebuild trust within the church. Various books and resources will be recommended to the church member as well as avenues for support and counseling. There will be a face-to-face meeting with the Executive Staff after six months and then again at twelve months. After the twelve month meeting the church member will be allowed to serve again under the advisement of the Executive Staff.
  3. Five-Year Volunteer Leadership Probation – After the one year probationary period is over, the church member may seek to serve but in no way will be allowed to assume a volunteer leadership role in any area of ministry. After this five year period is over there will be another meeting with the Executive Staff, after which the church member will be free to pursue a volunteer leadership role in certain ministry areas (with the exception of below).
  4. Staff and Leadership Team Ineligibility – After the five-year volunteer leadership probation is over, the church member in question will be free to explore any leadership position in the church, with the exception of the Leadership Team or a paid church staff position.

Related Documents

Church By-Laws
Church By-Laws – Membership Section

Volunteer Growth Strategy

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Background

Since the beginning, YOUR CHURCH has relied on ministry leaders to individually recruit, train, deploy, and recognize volunteers serving in their ministry areas. Much of this recruiting has been done face-to-face through the Leadership Evangelism process and the relationships that have developed as a result.

Corporately, volunteer recruiting has been accomplished via the “big event need” (VBS, Student Camp, Easter Egg Hunt, Easter, Christmas Eve, etc.). Stage “pushes” have been sporadic and mostly done in preparation for a big event. And YOUR CHURCH has delivered a couple of messages about serving over the years.

To this point, YOUR CHURCH’s “methods” of recruiting volunteers have worked well, resulting in most of the church’s needs being met and the number of volunteers growing to the current 500+ level. Consequently, the plan going forward does not include changing anything the church is currently doing.

Purpose

An important part of the church’s overall growth strategy is increasing the “rate of connection” to the church. This is primarily done by getting involved in serving or joining and becoming part of a group.

This strategy focuses on serving and leveraging a point leader who functions as the “Volunteer Coordinator” (Operations Pastor). The plan is to formalize what the church has done well in the past and add some key infrastructure and activity to increase the volunteer growth rate.

Objectives

The following volunteer growth objectives have been identified. Each objective is listed in order of overall impact and importance, including the proposed timing for completion. These objectives will be regularly evaluated and updated as part of this Volunteer Growth Strategy.

  1. Serving Series – Work with the Teaching Team to establish an annual “serving the church” teaching series (or at least a stand-alone message) that includes volunteer signup, similar to the “90-day tithing challenge” that’s part of the annual stewardship teaching series. Produce testimonial videos, present specific volunteer needs, and promote Volunteer Central (outlined next). Finish the day with a “Ministry Fair,” highlighting all serving opportunities.
  1. Volunteer Central – Create a place in the main lobby on Sunday mornings that will be the central point for promoting serving opportunities and supporting existing volunteers. Volunteer Central will have volunteer promotional videos looping, volunteer brochures, sign-up cards, special/specific needs, “First Serve” opportunities, iPad check-in stations, lanyards, t-shirts, training manuals, and other documentation, and anything else needed to promote serving at YOUR CHURCH and to serve existing volunteers better. Volunteer Central will be staffed with other volunteers and will be the place for volunteers to get questions answered and to communicate issues and concerns needing staff attention.
  1. Ministry Fairs – Plan periodic (2 per year … spring and fall?) events to encourage staff and other ministry areas to connect with prospective volunteers. These “Ministry Fairs” will be set up much like a “tradeshow” with banners, tables, equipment examples (soundboard, walkie-talkies, kids’ curriculum materials, parking vests, etc.), staff, and other key volunteers vision casting and answering questions, etc.
  1. Volunteer Recognition Events – Plan annual volunteer recognition events, focusing on corporate and individual recognition. Each event will include entertainment, food, music, a brief “message,” funny awards, games (like “Volunteer Feud”), and more fun!
  1. Stage Pushes – Continue to utilize the current “BIG event-based volunteer recruitment” method to drive volunteer growth. Easter Egg Hunt, Easter, VBS, Student Ministries Camp, Christmas Eve, etc., should continue to include pushes to “help out” from the stage. In addition, four stage pushes should be added, highlighting specific areas of need in the church/formation of new volunteer teams (parking, etc.). Use response cards and ask people to “stop by Volunteer Central” in the lobby.
  1. New Volunteer Orientation – Create a monthly event to “welcome” new volunteers. The event would include training on anything and everything needed to help a volunteer get a good start. Examples include using church management software, building access (keys/codes), scheduling, checking in on Sunday mornings, answering questions, etc. Provide a “New Volunteer Booklet” as part of the event. Produce a fun video for new volunteers and show it as part of the event. Promote the event everywhere!

Staff Policy Manual

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