Governance and trustees: Stewardship guide

We have recently reviewed and added to our group of papers on ‘charity governance’ (see links below). 

At Stewardship, we have always believed that great churches and ministries need ‘great trustees’. We know talented and anointed spiritual leadership is critical to the dynamic of ministry life, but so is, we think, this vague thing called ‘governance’. It isn’t just a charity law hassle, imposed on churches and ministries so we can ‘tick the charity box’ and get the tax benefits. It is crucial to the health of the church or ministry and the way it works.

There are 5 elements to our group of papers. These are:

1. What to look for in a trustee (which is not just an issue of technical knowledge)
2. The technical issues of trustee appointments, powers, duties and responsibilities
3. What makes ‘effective trustee boards’
4. The interaction between trustees and spiritual leaders
5. Trustees' financial responsibilities and reporting

The papers have technical content, but being a good trustee and operating well as a trustee team is not just technicalities, nor just about ‘finance and legal stuff’, divorced from the real work of the church, nor about creating policies which sit on the shelves, nor about ‘ticking Charity Commission boxes’.

In its simplest form, good governance is about issues of authority, decision making and accountability.

We see good governance taught in the New Testament. In 2 Corinthians 8:21, Paul says, in connection with handling finance, that: “we are taking great care to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also the eyes of man”. ‘In the eyes of the Lord’ is about the heart and integrity. ‘In the eyes of man’ is about relationship and reputation. Again, in Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2, we are urged to be subject to the governing authorities.

Every week, we see something in the media that reflects poor leadership in the church. This is very sad. It goes against the heart of Christ, it works against the gospel and, in those churches, it ruins the ability to fulfil the vision.

Good governance is about helping a church or charity promote an attitude and culture where everything works towards fulfilling the charity’s vision. The goal is to intentionally create a culture that maintains the health of the organisation in the way it is run, ensuring compliance with general rules and regulation, but also operates in line with what is ‘best practice’, treating people well whoever they are.

Good governance sets the tone for an organisation. AND by protecting its reputation for doing things well, it prioritises the reputation of the gospel. This is NOT to replace the spiritual leadership or executive with committee management involving trustees. Instead, the aim is to:

• create a culture where executive decisions are made well in the context of accountability and team
  • allow for diversity of thought and ideas that are open to internal and external input and challenge
  • enable healthy decision-making, which is maintained and refreshed over time

Seen in this light, governance is more than a legal or regulatory exercise. It should be dynamic and visionary, actively helping the church in the background, but in a genuinely significant way.

Great churches and ministries need great trustees!

We hope these papers will help give an understanding of what is needed to do that.

Charity structure and governance: an overview (stewardship.org.uk)

What to look for in a trustee (stewardship.org.uk)

Trustees: Appointment, powers, duties and responsibilities (stewardship.org.uk)

How to create an effective 'faith based' trustee board (stewardship.org.uk)

What is the best leadership structure for my church? (stewardship.org.uk)

Trustees: Financial responsibilities and financial reporting (stewardship.org.uk)