Appleton Christian School Board

  • Pastor Tim Godfrey, President
  • Jim Fithian, Vice-President/Treasurer
  • Denise McFarlin, Secretary
  • Jeff Middlestead
  • Helen Schleicher
  • Sarah Wright
  • Patricia Tofte, Administrator/Ex-Officio

Key Principles of Successful Boards

by Frank Cummings, Ph.D
past ACS Board Chairman
 
In our desire to become an exceptional Board,  we remain dependent upon God for guidance and wisdom. ACS’s Board has three main roles: Stewardship, Strategic, and Generative.

From a biblical definition of the Greek word, oikonomos, we derive the word ‘stewardship’ which refers primarily to management of a household or of household affairs. This is the chief role of the board of a Christian school, and the board of ACS.

Usually, good managers or stewards are credited for handling financial matters in an exceptional manner that pleases their owner or master.  At ACS, we realize that God owns it all, and it is our responsibility to handle things well.  In addition to finances, the Board is also responsible for being good stewards of ACS’s spiritual, creational (i.e., the environment), and human resources.

Strategic refers to the plan designed to aid the organization to fulfill it’s mission.  At ACS, our mission is fairly clear – to enable our school community to Learn, Know, and Live the Truth.  Each and every decision the Board makes is God-honoring and mission-focused.  The Board is charged with not only setting the vision, but also with making it a reality.

Finally, the term generative may be a new one for most people.  Traditionally, good governing boards have been exceptional stewards of the resources and the strategy, but they often overlook the generative question of “Why?”  Exceptional boards will devote a portion of their work or discussion asking the “why” questions like, “Why is this happening now?” or “Why is the school so vibrant at this time?”  In a sense, the generative role helps ACS’s board take a “big picture” approach to both mission, stewardship, and strategy.

ACS’s Board is truly grateful for your prayers and support!