Board meeting assistant — GPT Project

Setup guide.

Step-by-step from “fresh install” to “first run.” Skim it once, then keep this page open while you go.

Before you start

Custom GPTs are built inside ChatGPT (Plus, Team, or Enterprise). They're separate from the regular chat — once you set one up, you select it from the GPT picker each time you want to use it for board work. The setup is 5 paste-in fields and takes about 5 minutes.

Step 1 — Create the GPT

In ChatGPT, click your profile (bottom-left) → My GPTs → Create a GPT. Skip the 'Create' chat-style flow and click 'Configure' at the top. You'll see fields for Name, Description, Instructions, Conversation starters, and Capabilities.

Step 2 — Paste the 5 fields from the download

Open the .txt file from the Quick Install button. It's structured as 5 labelled blocks separated by '=== Label ==='. Copy each block into its corresponding ChatGPT field: Name, Description, Instructions, Conversation Starters (one per line), Capabilities (set Web Browsing / Code Interpreter / DALL·E to OFF as the file recommends).

Step 3 — Save and pin it

Click 'Save' (top-right) and choose 'Only me' if it's just for you, or 'Anyone with a link' if you want to share with your leadership team. Pin the GPT to your sidebar — for board work you'll use it most weeks. The first time you open it, tell it which polity model your church follows; that anchors every later conversation.

Troubleshooting.

Hit one of these? Here's the fix.

GPT drifts into theological commentary on a motion

The Instructions field explicitly says 'You do not advise on theological, pastoral, or doctrinal questions'. If the GPT slips, the Instructions field probably wasn't fully pasted — check the 'What you don't do' section is present. Re-save the GPT with the full Instructions text.

Motion language reads too formal for your tradition

Tell the GPT your tradition's preferred motion style: 'We don't use formal motions — we work by consensus among the elders.' The GPT will switch to consensus-style language ('the elders agreed that...') for the rest of the conversation. Each new conversation starts fresh, so re-state the preference each session, or pin a starter that includes it.