How a COVO Board is Different

In general, the board of directors of any organization or community is responsible for the overall vision, continuity, health, and sense of purpose. Any healthy board carries a deep sense of fiduciary responsibility, which means it acts in the best interests of the entire congregation.

In a COVO church, this duty becomes even more important because the board cannot rely on paid staff to ensure its execution. The work of carrying the congregation's vision and identity then rests fully where it is supposed to be.

In all too many organizations where there are paid full-time key leaders, boards can be tempted to be negligent and abdicate their responsibilities to the key leaders instead. Sometimes, this is even more tempting to do in a COVO situation, where time is tight, and most people feel ill-equipped for significant responsibilities.

So, if you find yourself on the board of a congregation where the minister is not paid full-time, be prepared for a different experience than you might have in a more conventional church setting.

A Couple of Thoughts

When everyone’s essentially a volunteer, there is less power and more accountability.

When there’s no full-time leader, vision and continuity are more clearly the board’s responsibility.

Even though this is actually the case for all governing boards, with a COVO church, it is even more essential that the board understand that they are stewards of the whole and that they must keep in mind the needs and future of the entire congregation.

It’s tempting to go with the flow and let people follow whatever interests and passions strike their fancy. Without a key leader who stays awake at night thinking about how everyone is doing, the board needs to spend a lot of its agenda time doing just that.

When there’s no full-time leader, the board needs to manage expectations—most importantly, their own.

A COVO church is going to look very different and exist for a very different purpose than a conventional church that hires a pastor to serve the needs of the congregation.

1. A COVO church must continually confront the tendency for people to approach the spiritual community as consumers and customers.
2. A COVO church can only survive if ministry and community life are shared amongst everyone.

Therefore, COVO boards also need to manage their expectations for what they can handle and encourage everyone to slow down.

When there’s no full-time leader, the future feels more fragile but is actually more resilient.

As often happens in a small church context, it feels like there’s no money, no people, and no future. But in a COVO church, there is actually more freedom to build and do things that don’t cost any money! This allows the family to exist, be together, be creative, and explore possibilities without fear of losing any big donors.

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To learn more about the COVO Project at Briercrest, go to Co-Vocational Canada: Rethinking Sacred Work.

Reach out for free counselling for covocational leaders at CTMMCounselling@briercrest.ca.

To book a free consultation for your congregational leaders, contact Ellen Duffield, Coordinator for the Paul E. Magnus Centre for Leadership Studies at Briercrest Seminary.

Keep Reading:

Part 1: What is a COVO Congregation? 

Part 2: What are the Benefits of a COVO Congregation?

Part 3: What are the Challenges of a COVO Congregation?