Organisation

STAMP was conceived by the Gosford church of Christ and the elders of the congregation have decided that the best way to run STAMP is in the form of a legal entity separate from the congregation. STAMP is run through a legal entity by the name of STAMP Ministries Pty Ltd. This is a charitable non-profit organisation registered in Australia for the sole purpose of implementing the vision and mission of STAMP.

 

Rationale

When structural models were considered they were tested against the Biblical models of church organisation in the Book of Acts. Through a study of this book, several observations can be made:

  • Local congregations were under the oversight of elders (although congregations did exist without elders until such time as suitable men could be appointed).

  • Even though elders exercised leadership, apostles, evangelists and others exercised considerable initiative in carrying out their duties.

  • Those chosen to carry out various tasks were those who were suitable.

  • There was extensive interaction between congregations over wide areas and lengthy periods of time, sometimes involving considerable amounts of money. This extended not only locally but also internationally.

  • The early church recognized the need for transparency and safeguards.

  • Workers such as Paul, and congregations such as Antioch, whilst remaining independent, were willing to accept the involvement and advice of other congregations.

  • There was a network of contact and communication between congregations in the early Church.

Although the above observations may not be definitive, based on this study a conclusion was made to keep STAMP as a ministry of the Gosford church of Christ and therefore under the oversight of the elders at Gosford. Structural models were reviewed in light of this conclusion and in keeping with the biblical observations made.

Benefits of Design

The design of the STAMP organisational structure promotes:

Transparency. The ability to have the STAMP ministry transparently reported upon is very important. Transparent reporting would be needed in the areas of finances, risk management, accountability, strategy formulation and governance.

Clarity. Understanding STAMP is important both from within the Gosford congregation and from outside the Gosford congregation. STAMP is not a congregation but rather a training ministry for young Australians. The growing needs of the congregation do not want to be compromised by the STAMP ministry.

Operational Simplicity. STAMP in its own right is a significant, defined, Australia wide ministry. Its structure should reflect these points. Blending the operation with the Gosford congregation could complicate the running of this ministry. A separate legal structure allows students, suppliers, sponsors and other interested parties to define the organisation with whom they are dealing.

Focus. In a separate structure, the board of the STAMP organisation can focus purely on STAMP. This will help deliver a focused strategy, implementation and operationally efficient running of this ministry.

Ownership and Involvement. The involvement of significant others (eg. supporters, sponsors, graduates etc) is easily achieved under an independent structure. Interested people outside of the Gosford congregation can easily get involved in STAMP if this ministry is established as a separate legal entity.

Flexibility. STAMP as a separate legal entity has more options to develop differing strategies over time.