Church Decision Allocation
Who decides what, and why. Every typical decision a church makes, assigned to the body best placed to discern it: the Saints, the Eldership, the Five-Fold Ministry, and the Committee.
Orientation
The four decision-makers
Decisions of the Saints
Covenant, leadership, and identity — the decisions of greatest weight, reserved to the whole body.
Decisions of the Eldership
Doctrine, discipline, direction, and the recognition of elders, deacons, and five-fold ministers.
Contributions of the Five-Fold Ministry
How apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers contribute, without standalone authority.
Decisions of the Committee
Operational, legal, financial and administrative stewardship — accountable to the body.
Putting it together
Hybrid Decisions (Multiple Bodies in Sequence)
The decisions that move through all four bodies in sequence — each playing its part in turn.
Eldership at Scale: The Flat Multiplication Model
Flat multiplication — growing the eldership without ever concentrating authority.
Participation and Membership: How the Body Welcomes You In
How a believer is welcomed into the body that decides — membership as shared responsibility.
Gifts, Calling, and the Rhythms of Fellowship
How gifts and calling are identified, where Saints serve and who oversees, the rhythms of fellowship, and the annual reassessment.
The underlying principles
Why this allocation, in five short principles — and what clarity looks like in practice.
Operating within the law
Operating within the law — United Kingdom
Charity and company law in England & Wales, with a note on Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Operating within the law — United States
State nonprofit incorporation, the membership choice, the church tax exemption, and church autonomy.
Operating within the law — Canada
Federal or provincial incorporation, the two-thirds special resolution, and CRA charity registration.
The Ministry Planning Portal
This document sets out who decides what; the Ministry Planning Portal is where the annual-plan decisions are actually run — the body affirms the plan, the eldership orders and funds it down the priority ladder, and every step links back to the framework.
The planning portal and the whole annual-plan cycle come with an Engaged Church membership; each elder subscribes personally to the Elder tier for their own workspace.
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