Inter-America Continues with Online Training of Board Members During SeLD Conference

Leaders are featured during a Q&A session at Inter-America’s Segment Leadership Conference program for committee and board members across the territory, on Jan. 24, 2018, in Miami, Florida. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

January 30, 2018 | Miami, Florida United States | Libna Stevens/IAD

Changing the leadership culture throughout the Seventh-day Adventist Church in the Inter-American Division (IAD) territory is what top church administrators have been aggressively seeking to do with on-going training geared toward its regional and local church administrators and department heads at every level of the church organization.

IAD President Pastor Israel Leito reminded board members that the work in the organization is about God and His church. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

Last week, hundreds of committee and board members across unions, conferences, missions, educational and health institutions in Inter-America were summoned to an online training program themed “Transformed to Lead a Healthy Organization,” from the IAD Headquarters in Miami, Florida, Jan. 24, 2018.

“The church is not led by one person but it is led by a committee,” said Pastor Israel Leito, president of the church in Inter-America as the online event began reflecting on Daniel 4. “We need to be servants of the Lord as we lead His church, because it is not about me, about us, but God and His Church.”

Pastor Leito urged board leaders and members to remain loyal to God, to His church and His people. “Let every committee meeting be an experience of worship, let us make our meetings a way to glorify God and not a moment to control and take advantage of others,” he added.

The six-hour session sought to equip members of governing boards and committees to fulfill their responsibilities respectively, said Pastor Balvin Braham, assistant to the IAD president in charge of leadership development for the church in Inter-America.

IAD leaders answer questions during the online SeLd training program. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

A committee is all about decision-making and it is so important for its members to understand that process, said Pastor Braham.

“There are many people who are members of boards who do not fully understand their role and many at times are silent members and may not understand what they vote,” explained Braham. “Board members are really the significant ones making the decisions so they must know their function not just be left to the administrators and some department leaders who have mostly received the training in the past.”

Board members are the ones in charge of the organization and administrators are only acting on their behalf, added Braham.

“We want board members to be able to support the administration in fulfilling the mission and understand their roles in the process of decision-making in order to assist them in understanding the principles of the governing policies of the organization,” said Braham.

Pastor Balvin Braham says board members are the ones in charge of the church organization and administratores are only acting on their behalf. Image by Libna Stevens/IAD

“I get so much feedback from individuals, enlightened by what their functions ought to be during committee meetings,” Braham said. “We recognize the greater effect leaders and members can have as they fill their functions and responsibilities they are called to do.”

The training is part of the IAD’s ongoing Segment Leadership Development (SeLD) conference series which featured presentations on appeal processes and ad hoc committees, membership, agenda and communicating actions, accountability of members, understanding financial audited statements, and more.

Several Q&A segments were included in the online training where participants submitted their questions by email during the program.

According to Braham, local church board members will be trained by regional leaders with a training curriculum scheduled to take placed during the month of April across the more than 20,000 churches and congregations in Inter-America.

To watch the online SeLD training session of Jan. 24, 2018, click HERE

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