Role
“The Board of Trustees supervises and maintains all property belonging to the congregation so that the ministries of the congregation can be effective” (Guidelines for the Board of Trustees).
Relationships
- Submits to the committee on finance the annual budget requests for insurance, property maintenance and improvement, and new property purchases
- Accountable to the Charge Conference and the Administrative Council, and report annually to the Charge Conference on the state of the church’s property, equipment, and resources
- Oversees the work of any property management contractors or employees
- Has surrendered to First UMC Endowment Foundation, Inc., the responsibility to receive and administer all bequests made to the church.
Responsibilities
1) Oversee, maintain, and supervise all local church property. We are asking the Trustees to entrust all day-to-day oversight of local church property to a property management company (or staff person) and the staff person supervising them. The Trustees will make decisions regarding capital expenditures, or any property issues that are safety hazards or likely to have long-term repercussions regarding the state of the building.
2) Be responsible, in conjunction with the appropriate campus pastor, for all use of the church property. We are asking the Trustees to consider use of property only as relates to building maintenance, liability, and policy. The pastors and campus leadership teams will otherwise make final decisions regarding the best use of property.
3) Maintain adequate insurance coverage on all church property and develop appropriate risk management policies.
This set of responsibilities empowers local worship communities for decisions regarding use of space and empowers staff and property management for day-to-day maintenance work and decisions. It allows the Board of Trustees to focus fully on issues of long-term property maintenance and liability.
