Staff and CouncilHow our church is organized and run.

Bellevue First Congregational Church has a long history of strong lay leadership working collaboratively with clergy, program staff, and administrative staff. Ours is an open congregation that expects and practices transparency. This is apparent in every planning exercise we undertake, from creating and reporting annual Council goals, to identifying and prioritizing capital improvement needs, to updating our mission statement, to hiring ministers, to creating a 5-year vision.

The Church Council includes the Moderator, Associate or Immediate Past Moderator, Church Treasurer, Church Clerk, chairs of the ten commissions, four at-large members, and up to two youth representatives. The pastors are exofficio members of the Church Council and all commissions.

The pastors and Council collaborate on setting goals, implementing programs, and evaluating achievements. Each year, the Council has a retreat to set goals for the year and reports those goals to the congregation. The commissions collaborate with the pastors and church staff to implement programs and achieve their goals. The Council reports results to the congregation at the end of the year.