Pastor Search Committee Training

1. Pastor Search Committee Training Mobile Baptist Association C. Thomas Wright, PhD www.mobilebaptists.org

2. 12 Steps To Find and Call A Pastor The Ultimate Goal of this Committee is to Find God’s Man Through Prayer and Hard Work !

3. Elect and assign the Search Committee • Determine what the congregation expects the search committee to do or not do. • Process often takes 2 years • Remember, Human will can subvert God’s Will. • Develop a job description that defines your role and functions for you and the church

4. The church elects a Pastor Search Committee for the following purposes: • To survey the congregation to determine a profile of the man and his wife to be sought. • To receive and review resumes • To search out God’s man by all means possible: Resumes, References, Audio/Videos, Personal Interviews of candidate and spouse, Personal Observation • To recommend a candidate and family to be voted on by the church.

5. Job Description continued • To make all arrangements for visits and the invitation to preach in view of a call. • To work with the Finance Committee to jointly recommend salary and benefits for church vote before a candidate and wife is presented. • To work with the new pastor and wife to make all arrangements regarding his move to the field and transition for a period including three months after arrival.

6. Step 1: Planning • Discuss the kind of Pastor this church needs and create a profile • Age range, background, education (SBC seminary Highly recommended) • Have church vote on the income range (should be same as majority of members). Moving costs around 10k • Update and vote on pastor’s job description

7. Step 1: Planning • Set a timeline, Maybe: 3-6 months to collect resumes. 1-2 months to pick the top 5 1-2 months to pick the top candidate 2 months to contact references 1 month to schedule confidential visit 1 month to present to church 1 month notice to his current church

8. Step 1: Planning • Develop a congregational survey to involve the people. • What do they see as primary responsibilities of a pastor • Include a question about how much time he should spend in each responsibility. • Which is most important here? Administrator, Pastor, Preacher, Outreach

9. Step 1: Planning • Agree what this church needs to look like in five years, • do you want to grow by evangelistically reaching the entire community or maintain current size/membership? • Building projects? Additional Staff? • Before surveying the people, do the survey as a committee. Be sure the committee represents the church in age and ethnicity. Shouldn’t have more than one member of the same family on the committee.

10. Step 2: Gather Resumes • Gather resumes from the MBA, ALSBOM, SEBTS, NOBTS, SWBTS, and from your people • Let the people know to provide any resume they want you to have • Advertise in state Baptist papers • Number the resumes as you receive them for easy reference

11. Step 2: Gather Resumes • Maintain STRICT confidentiality. A pastor rarely recovers when a congregation learns he is looking. • Pray that God will raise up His man to your committee • Set a deadline (3-6 months) to wait for enough resumes before you seriously consider them

12. Step 3: Narrow The Field to 5 • Set aside a special prayer time to review the resumes • Separately grade each of the resumes as compared to your profile (this is in fact your first interview). • Meet and record the grades you each gave each resume • You will be amazed at how the Holy Spirit works through you to agree

13. Step 3: Narrow The Field to 5 • You must eliminate some (or all) candidates from consideration • If no one fits the profile send out a new request for resumes. • Pick five resumes for further consideration, create a binder for each one (you will not be able to remember details about each one).

14. Step 4: Communicate With All Applicants • Call the top 5 candidates to see if they are still available and want to be considered. • Be prepared to describe your church and its situation, provide the URL, written info. • Request 3 audio/video/CD messages • Let them know your process, timeline, and that you are praying for God’s leadership • Contact all others to let them know they will not be considered at this time

15. Step 5: Narrow Down To One Man • Develop interview questions that are important to you and the church • Determine strengths and weaknesses, leadership style, preaching style, pastoral style, visitation style, evangelistic style • Interview the candidates by phone and record the answers • Include questions about the wife’s call and her understanding/preference for her role.

16. Step 5: Narrow Down To One Man • Then send the top 2 or 3 candidates a set of additional “Deal breaker” questions for a written response • Evaluate the answers as a committee and pick the candidate that fits the profile • Let him know he is your primary candidate and see if he wants to continue the process • Provide the timeline and let him ask the questions he needs answered

17. Step 5: Narrow Down To One Man • Provide him a copy of budget, constitution and by-laws, history, minutes, and his job description • Contact all references • Ask references for a second tier of references • Investigate the background of the applicant for any financial, legal, or personal problems

18. Step 6: Visit The Candidate • Pursue ONE candidate until you determine he is, or is not, the man • Strict confidentiality is required so he can stay there if you do not call him • Don’t go in the church van • Don’t go in together nor sit together • Don’t complete visitor’s cards

19. Step 6: Visit the candidate • Don’t let the candidate know that you are coming • Do confirm with the church office that the pastor will be preaching • Take notes and evaluate as you travel back home, include the evaluation in their binder • Vote to determine if he is still your candidate

20. Step 7: Invite for Field Visit • Invite the ONE candidate, his wife and children to visit the church and meet with the committee. Confirm the wife’s role • This should be “private” and confidential • Give them a tour of the church and the area around the church including housing and school options • This is a time for them to ask you questions as well. The questions they ask are very important too • Vote to determine if he is still your man

21. Step 8: Involve The Church • This needs to be done throughout the process • The survey involves the people • Give a report monthly in the morning worship service • The financial package needs to be voted on in step one, now they need to approve the cost of a move

22. Step 8: Involve The Church • Be sure to work in cooperation with the Finance Committee • Discuss the pastor’s job description • Discuss his philosophy of ministry and how he will be involved as pastor/leader • Discuss the wife’s role • Prepare them for church growth

23. Step 8: Involve The Church • Vote on the financial package before he comes to preach • Determine the per cent vote needed to call • Get ALL agreements in writing to protect him and you

24. Step 9: Invitation To Preach • Let the candidate know that you believe that he is God’s man and issue an invitation to come preach in view of a call • Discuss any details on the job description, finances, and his pastor/leader role

25. Step 9: Invitation To Preach • Tell him that you need to know if he will accept the call of the church on the day they vote to call him • He needs to sense God’s call!

26. Step 10: Vote To Call • Be sure that the church and the candidate understand the per cent needed to have a call • The vote should be by secret ballot • You should plan a weekend of activities to give people time to meet and get to know the candidate, his family, and his heart

27. Step 10: Vote To Call • Plan a Friday night time with the main leadership of the church • Plan a Saturday morning coffee time where he can share some of his heart with the church and answer some of their questions • Plan a Saturday evening covered dish supper so that everyone can have a chance to meet him & wife

28. Step 10: Vote To Call • After the sermon, have the candidate leave during the vote • Only church members present vote • Count the vote and have congregation sing while counting • Go share the vote with the Pastor • Bring him back into the service to announce his decision

29. Step 10: Vote To Call • Celebrate God’s leadership with a brief time of worship and praise • Let the people come by and welcome the new pastor and his family • Finalize the timeline of when he will be on the field before he leaves

30. Step 11: Transition & Move • The committee should be instrumental in helping the pastor move and get settled in • Help with moving arrangements • Provide a house-hunting visit • Greet his family and the moving van when they arrive • Arrange for some meals to be brought in for a few days

31. Step 11: Transition & Move • Schedule some people to go by and assist with the unpacking if the wife wants or needs help • Follow-through with everything you have said you would do! • Provide written copies of agreements

32. Step 12: Continued Support • You should be the greatest supporters of the new pastor • You should be some of his best friends in the church • You need to lend your influence to helping all the church members to accept him and give him a chance to prove himself

33. Step 12: Continued Support • You should continue to serve for a period of at least three months after he arrives to be sure that he has a group that he can trust and come to with needs • Stand by him unashamedly unless he proves not to be a man of God! • Help him with church growth end