Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship

Governance - Overview

The Boise Unitarian Universalist Fellowship has been a well-functioning and dynamic organization for decades – due to the commitment, skills, and strengths of lay leadership. As BUUF has grown from a pastoral to a program church, we have been revising leadership and organization structure in an effort to better meet the needs of our church and community.

Our most recent reorganization effort was a two-year process led by an expert in organization. The process helped us develop an organizational chart that clarifies the roles, missions, relationships and connections of committees to other committees and to the minister, the Board and the congregation. (See our Organization Chart.) We are governed by Bylaws that are periodically reviewed. The most recent Bylaws changes were adopted in May 2009. You can read more about our organizational structure and successes in the detailed Annual Report from May, 2013.

This reorganization work was an intentional effort by the Board and congregation to move from a hands-on to a policy governance model. As part of this shift, reorganization included the creation of the Program Ministry Council (PMC), under which most committees are grouped into strands covering various areas of church life. The Board has made good progress toward policy governance, and the PMC has taken up much of the decision making that once was undertaken by the Board. As a relatively new approach to our organization, we have encountered bumps in the road, many of which have been handled successfully as of now, and we continue to develop our processes and understanding.

Over the past few years, Governance and Ministry by Dan Hotchkiss has been used by the Board and other leaders to help navigate the shift from pastoral to program church. The Board is currently reading a chapter each month and discussing the ideas in Board meetings.

We continue to find ways to develop and expand leadership. This past year, BUUF sent three members to the Russell Lockwood Leadership School. The organization of BUUF’s leadership and management is evolving, and our new minister will play an important role in its refinement.

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