Running Digital Meetings

Below are some guidelines relating to how Knox Church, Dunedin set up its ZOOM Congregational Meeting.  This meeting was for a resolution to support a recommendation from a Nomination Board.

We held a debrief following the meeting to ascertain how we could refrain the process if we chose to a repeat.

Here are some thoughts from an Organizer’s point of view:

• Make sure as much information is circulated to Members and Associate Members well ahead of the meeting.  
• Providing contact people who have the technical knowledge on ZOOM meetings and technology are really key.  We had the range of congregation members who didn’t have computers, never used ZOOM to those who used ZOOM and similar regularly.  People can get themselves organized ahead of time.    Although we had to wait 15 minutes to start the meeting as people were unable to log in. 
• Identify those in the congregation who will need assistance if you choose to take a poll vote.  Buddy people up where possible.
• It helps if the key people organizing the meeting are assembled in the same place ie Moderator, technical people and those looking for people wanting to speak.
• It is really good if people can email their questions to the Moderator ahead of time, then they can be answered first before seeking other questions.   Quite often this means questions which may be the same for a number can be answered.    That helps with preventing repetition of the same question.
• It is important to keep the person speaking on the first screen.   You could just have that person showing particularly if they are presenting a proposal.   We didn’t as the paperwork circulated previously had all the information.  Speakers were only just outlining some key points.
• If there are plans for a poll it is good to do a test run with Session/Council
• A pre meeting session with those who will be key to the meeting ie Moderator, scruitneers, those providing technical assistance, minute taking is really important.    

Our guidelines can be found HERE

What we learned can be found HERE

Council Clerk, Knox Church Council