Galilee will hold a Town Hall on Sunday, September 27. Discussion will include a proposed change to church governance. To help us prepare for that conversation, we asked Mario Brathwaite, chair of Galilee’s Ministry Council, what the changes are and what they could mean for our church.  

What is Galilee considering changing about the way our church is led, and what would be different if we make this change?

Mario: We’re considering moving Galilee to what’s called the Simplified Accountable Structure, or SAS. You may also hear it called the “one-board” model. The idea is pretty simple. Instead of having separate groups like Ministry Council, Trustees, Finance, and SPRC handling different parts of church governance, those responsibilities would come together under one Leadership Board.

But I want to be clear about something: SAS isn’t about handing all work to one committee. It’s about clarifying the difference between governance and ministry.

A Leadership Board would focus on the big-picture—our mission, vision, priorities, resources, accountability, and making sure we’re being good stewards of what God has entrusted to us. Our pastors and ministry teams would continue doing what they do—leading ministries and helping Galilee accomplish its mission—while dealing with less bureaucracy.

What isn’t working as well as it could under Galilee’s current leadership structure?

There are a few things that could be improved.

First, our leadership responsibilities are spread across too many groups. Ministry Council, Finance, Trustees, SPRC, and other groups each have their own responsibilities and meetings. That has been necessary to some degree, but it can make it difficult to see the whole picture and make effective decisions.

Second, decisions take longer than they need to. Sometimes an issue has to move from one group to another before anything can happen. That can be frustrating, especially when the people closest to the ministry may already know what needs to be done.

Third, we can spend too much energy managing the church rather than leading the church. Reports, agendas, policies, and individual issues take up a lot of meeting time. Those things matter, but they shouldn’t be the primary focus of our leadership.

Finally, I think we have unclear lines of responsibility and accountability. When several groups are involved, it isn’t always obvious who has the authority to make a decision, who is responsible for carrying it out, or who should follow up when something doesn’t happen.

We have good people who are willing to serve. The question is whether we’re giving those people a structure that allows them to lead effectively. That’s what we’re trying to address with SAS: fewer organizational barriers, clearer responsibility, faster decision-making, and more time and energy focused on Galilee’s mission.

Where did this idea come from? Is Simplified Accountable Structure something Galilee’s leaders developed?

No, this isn’t something we came up with at Galilee. SAS is part of a broader movement within the United Methodist Church to simplify church governance and make leadership more accountable.

We’ve been studying the work of Methodist leadership coaches Kay Kotan and Blake Bradford, and looking at other United Methodist churches that have made the transition to SAS. We’ve been talking directly with our district leadership and local churches that have done this.

Why do you and the other leaders involved believe SAS might be a particularly good fit for Galilee?

I like the idea of having a Leadership Board that can step back and ask the bigger questions: What is our mission? Where are we going? What are our priorities? What resources do we need? Who is responsible for making things happen? And are we actually accomplishing what we said we were going to do?

I think SAS gives us an opportunity to empower people to lead while also making sure they’re accountable for what they’ve been asked to do. And I think that could be very healthy for Galilee.

How long has the conversation been going on, and what work has already been done behind the scenes?

This has not been something that just appeared overnight. Leadership volunteers have gone through a discernment and alignment process that was completed on July 12. We’re now in the Design phase. A small team of five has been working through the SAS materials, looking at what other churches have done, and trying to understand what we can learn from their experiences.

We’ve also reached out to the district to see what resources, templates, and training are available. Our Nominations & Leadership Development Committee has started looking at potential candidates for the Leadership Board and the 2027, 2028, and 2029 classes. And we’re continuing to work through the details of how this would actually operate at Galilee.

One thing I want to emphasize is that we haven’t already made the decisions. We’re doing the design work now. The goal is to have everything ready so that, if this change is approved by voting members of the Ministry Council at this fall’s Charge Conference in October, we can begin operating under the new structure on January 1, 2027.

For someone at Galilee who has never served on a committee, what would this change look like? Would most members notice any difference in the everyday life and ministry of the church?

Honestly, if you’re sitting in church on Sunday morning, you may not notice much difference. And I think that’s a good thing!

We’re not changing how we worship or what we believe. We’re not changing any of our ministries. We’re not telling people they can’t volunteer or participate, or that they must. What we’re changing is how we organize the leadership behind the scenes. Ideally, what members might notice is that things happen more efficiently.

Instead of something having to move through three or four different committees, there should be a clearer understanding of who has the authority to make the decision and a streamlined process for making that decision. We want to push decisions closer to the people actually doing the ministry.

The goal is not more governance, or less governance. The goal is better governance that gets out of the way of ministry.

The word “accountable” is right there in the name. What does accountability mean under this system, and who would be accountable to whom?

This is one of the most important parts of SAS. To me, accountability means if you have responsibility for something, you also need to have the authority to do it—and you need to be accountable for the results. 

This is true at all levels. The Leadership Board is accountable for the overall governance and stewardship of the church. The pastor is accountable for leading the church and carrying out the mission within the responsibilities and authority established by the governance structure. Ministry leaders are accountable for the things they’ve been asked to lead. And the Leadership Board itself is accountable to the congregation and to the requirements of the United Methodist Church.

Would this change give our pastors or a smaller group of lay leaders more authority than they have now? If so, what checks and safeguards would remain?

There will be some changes in how authority is distributed, but I don’t see SAS as taking power away from committees and giving it to the pastor or a small group of people. That’s not the goal.

The goal is to make sure that the right people have the authority to make the decisions they’re responsible for making. There will be checks and balances. We’ll still have financial controls. We’ll still have Trustee responsibilities. We’ll still have personnel responsibilities. We’ll still have congregational responsibilities, and the  Book of Discipline. And we’ll still have accountability to the district and the United Methodist Church.

What happens next? What will members hear and be able to ask at the Town Hall, and what decision will the congregation ultimately be asked to make at the called church conference?

The next step, as we continue the design phase, is to make sure our members understand what we’re proposing. The Town Hall is an important part of that. It gives us an opportunity to explain SAS, walk through what the proposed Leadership Board would look like, explain what would change and what would not change, and answer questions.

When complete, the proposed structure will be brought to a church conference in October, which allows everyone who is a church member to vote on this transition. Watch this space (or our Sunday bulletin) for news on when that is happening.

The goal is for the new governance structure to become operational on January 1, 2027.

If a Galilee member asked you simply, “Why is this change necessary?”, what would you tell them? 

I’d say, Galilee needs a simpler and clearer way to lead so that we can put more of our energy into ministry.

For me, SAS has some real advantages. It can simplify governance. It can clarify responsibility. It can give people more authority to actually lead. And it can create stronger accountability.

But I also understand why somebody might be hesitant. Change is uncomfortable. And if you’ve served Galilee through one of these committees for years, you may wonder what this means for you, your ministry, or your voice in the church.

My answer would be: don’t support it simply because someone tells you it’s the latest or best thing. Ask questions. Look at the proposed structure. At the Town Hall, tell us what concerns you. Help us make it better. Because SAS isn’t a magic formula.

Changing the organizational structure by itself isn’t going to transform Galilee.
What can make a difference is changing the way we lead—moving toward greater clarity, trust, empowerment, collaboration, and accountability. That’s really what I hope we get out of this.