At most classis meetings, CRC agencies and other local ministries and organizations that are affiliated with the classis report in. Exposure is important for these ministries. Classis meetings are often seen as a good way of getting their information out to the churches all at once since representatives from each church are at the meeting.
But is this type of reporting really the best way to get the information out to the churches? I often clean up after a classis meeting and end up picking up many pamphlets and reports that have been left behind by the delegates. The information does not make it back to the church.
Classis meetings can also be a day or two of information overload for the delegates. They are bombarded with all kinds of interesting and wonderful ministries as well as conversations, debates and votes about many different issues. It can be difficult to sort it all out at the end of the day and make sure the right people in each church gets the information that was presented throughout the day. Often information gets filed away and then re-discovered four months later at the next classis meeting.
So, is reporting at classis meetings an effective way of disseminating information about ministries and agencies to churches? I don’t think we should just cut out reporting at classis meetings altogether, but is there another way? What ways have been most effective in your classis to help with reporting? Have you found alternative ways of getting information and exposure for the ministries and agencies? Please share your stories so that we can learn from each other.
Comments
Before most organizations started to use the Internet, I found reports at Classis very useful, and was impressed with the organizations. I am now volunteering for our church to read all the mail and e-mails we get. The last Classis I was at, I found most reports to be very poorly done due to the information I had before Classis.
However, many elders or even ministers may not have time to read all the e-mails and mail every church gets. I think it is very difficult to check whether all the people who go to classis read all the mail and even the reports to read before the Classis starts.
A good type of survey at a classis may be beneficial to see whether the representatives already knew the information (and how?) and whether the report was useful for them or not.
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