MyWardFamilyThe template
1. Opening
- Prayer
- Spiritual thought or a few minutes of handbook training
2. Follow-up from last time
- Open action items, by owner
- Clerk: move-ins, records and anything waiting on the bishopric
- Executive secretary: interviews and appointments this week and next
3. Sacrament meetings
- This Sunday: agenda, speakers, music, business
- Next four to six weeks: topics and speakers to ask
4. Callings and releases
- Openings and names to consider
- Calls to extend, sustain and set apart, and who will do each
5. Youth
- Youth who need a bishopric member’s attention
- Youth interviews and advancements coming due
6. Members in need
- Individuals and families to minister to, and who will follow up
7. Calendar and budget
- Ward and stake calendar for the coming weeks
- Budget items to review
8. Assignments and closing
- Read back every assignment with an owner and a date
- Closing prayer
Tips that keep it to an hour
- Share the agenda a day early so counselors come ready and add their own items.
- Put people before logistics. If time runs short, callings, youth and members in need should already be covered.
- One note-taker. The executive secretary or clerk usually keeps notes and assignments.
- End with owners. Every decision leaves with a name and a date on it.
- Keep sensitive things out of shared notes. Worthiness and confidential matters stay with the bishop.
Make assignments carry forward
The most common problem isn’t the agenda, it’s the follow-up. Start each meeting by reading the open assignments from last time. Close them out or move them forward, but don’t let them vanish.
MyWardFamily runs bishopric meetings from a shared agenda, and action items stay open until someone marks them done. Bishopric meetings are free. See meetings.
This guide is written by MyWardFamily, an independent tool. It isn’t official Church guidance and isn’t affiliated with or endorsed by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Always follow the General Handbook and your stake leaders.