BGC Canada - Calling a Pastor

Calling a Pastor

"CALLING A PASTOR" - Helps for the Church and the Search Committee

The congregation sits in stunned silence as the pastor announces his resignation. While it had been rumoured for a while, the reality of it was still a heavy blow.

When a pastor resigns, the emotions that a congregation experiences are not very different than those in the death of a family member. How this delicate situation is handled therefore is very crucial.

Great care should obviously be given to concluding this chapter in the life of the church. You should plan the farewell and departure of the pastor and his family with sensitivity and thoroughness. His exit can greatly impact the success of your next pastor. Therefore, DO IT WELL! A brochure on this subject is available from your Conference office.

Important Attitudes

While individuals will express varying opinions regarding the pastor's resignation, the leaders of the church should encourage a constructive, forward-looking philosophy that, in essence, accepts the decision of the pastor as his best interpretation of God's will for his life, and looks to Christ the Head of the Church, to supply the undershepherd of His choice for the future. Such a wholesome outlook will be the result of much prayer but also of accepting by faith the following assumptions:

1. That God will direct the decisions of the church if His will is genuinely desired,
2. That the Holy Spirit has been provided to give the guidance the church needs,
3. That a new full-time pastor should be secured as soon as possible. The notion that the church will save some money by delaying to call a pastor is a false economy. At the same time the church should not feel rushed. You need to follow this process through to the end. Many unhappy relationships can be cited when churches have short circuited this important process.
4. That the church can actually experience spiritual growth as it faces the challenge of seeking a new pastor,
5. That prayer will be a part of the search process from the beginning to the end. The entire church should be continually engaged in prayer support.

Having assumed these important attitudes, let's take some steps together toward the calling of a new pastor.

The Adventure Begins

Your District Executive Minister is prepared and skilled to help your church through this very important transition. He has valuable materials to share with you that will make the job easier and more effective. As soon as possible after your pastor has resigned, give your Executive Minister a call and invite him to help you. Calling him to come in early may keep you from making some basic errors that could impact the whole process. For many church leaders this may be the first time that they are involved in the pastoral search process. Ask him to help you. He will.

An Interim Pastor?

With your Executive Minister's counsel you will also be able to determine if there may be wisdom in securing a part-time or full-time interim pastor. This is highly recommended in cases where your former pastor was much loved and had been at the church for more than ten years, or if there were serious problems surrounding the departure of the pastor. An interim pastorate, from six months to a year, will have a tremendous effect on your church.

Organizing For Action

The church will need to elect or appoint a Pastoral Search Committee. Usually the Constitution outlines the procedure. If it does not do so, then one of two procedures is followed.

1. The church Board is asked to serve as the Pastoral Search Committee, or,

2. The church elects a Representative Committee. Usually five to seven members are chosen. The church elects that number by nomination from the floor and a closed ballot. One or two board members should serve. One or two significant lay people should serve. Other staff pastors may advise but should not sit as a search committee member.

The business meeting must be properly called with proper notification and requirements for a quorum. The Pastoral Search Committee will elect its own chairman and secretary.

Your First Meeting

Now set a date for your first meeting. Make sure that your Executive Minister has been invited to attend.

There will be a temptation to begin the meeting by immediately throwing some names of potential pastors into the hopper. You should resist doing that in the first meeting.

Before you talk about names you need to reflect on where the church is currently at, what your needs are and what your goals are, so that pastoral candidates can be matched with these distinctives. This is very important. Think through the following questions. You may need to take time and involve much of the congregation in the discussion.

Where Are We At Right Now? Where Have We Come From As A Church? What Kind of People Are We?

Take some time to evaluate where you are as a church. Does your church have some special needs at this time? Not who, but what kind of a pastor is needed at this time.

You should write up a profile of the church. Include a brief history, the present membership, average attendance at all regular services, monthly total of all offerings, capacity and condition of your building, indebtedness, and a running list of all your previous pastors who have served the church with the years of service for each. A Church Profile form is available to help you with this.

Where Are We Heading As A Church?

Begin to think about the future of your church. What is your dream or your vision for the church? Lay out some goals for the next three to five years. What would you like to see happen in this church?

Then list some qualifications that you would like to see in a pastor. What kind of pastoral qualities will be needed to help you achieve your goals?

Now, we are ready to start talking about names of prospective pastors. The biggest job is to get the right pastor into the right church, at the right time.

Make A Long List

Begin by making a long list of prospective pastors. Names can be secured from your Executive Minister and from members of the congregation. It is perfectly ethical for you to consider pastors from other churches. Normally though, you would not want to consider a pastor who has only been in a church for a short time. Perhaps you could use your network to receive names. You could even consider an advertisement in a Christian publication. You might contact a seminary or Bible school for placement.

Your Short List

Number your long list in order of preference and begin to process the first three to six names. Assess a prospective pastor by considering such matters as his experience, training and suitability for your situation.

Gather Your Data

First get a good profile document on each candidate. DO NOT SHORT-CIRCUIT THIS PROCESS. You may be able to get copies of a MINISTERIAL PROFILE of at least some of the people on your list from the Baptist General Conference of Canada Ministries Centre or your district office. You can obtain free photocopies by writing and asking for them.

In addition to a profile on each candidate, begin immediately to send out reference forms on each one. You should get three, or preferably more, references on each candidate. These forms are also available upon request from the Conference office.

Confidentiality and Communications

It will be important for you as a Search Committee to be sure that certain plans, and especially names of prospective candidates, are kept confidential. Yet communicating regularly with your church is vitally important. Inform the church of your game plan so that they too know what the rules are.

There will be a period of time when you evaluate the church, build your lists and get your references, that the process will appear to be going too slowly. Reporting to the church regularly and engaging their prayer support will help to build trust and unity.

Now Prioritize

From the Profiles the Search Committee selects several names that look the most promising for the church. Someone from the Committee should telephone these or write to them to see if they would be willing to be considered as a possible candidate. If their profile is incomplete, it can be updated at that time also.

Begin immediately to send reference forms to as many people as possible. DO NOT send reference forms to individuals who are currently members of his church. References are your BEST source of information. You should also follow up references from the reference forms. To save time you may want to follow these up by telephone.

After you review all your material and choose the most suitable candidate, you should consider sending a delegation of your Committee to visit his church if he is currently a pastor, and also interview him in person or by telephone. If indications are positive, the Search Committee will invite the candidate to visit your church and have him introduced to the congregation.

Bring Them In

Mail order brides are generally a risky venture for a meaningful, lifelong relationship. Calling a pastor is too serious a matter to just leave to Canada Post. Bringing the candidate in for a full week would be great but not always possible. A weekend through a Monday is a common practice. Make sure to also bring in the pastor's wife. Don't let travel expense be your chief deterrent. Many churches visit a pastor in his own church to see him in action. Sometimes it is valuable to invite the pastor for a preliminary get together even before candidating.

One At A Time Please!

Never, never vote on more than one candidate at a time. This is a hard and fast rule. Considering two candidates at a time could seriously divide your church. Nor is it fair to the candidate. This is not a popularity contest. Prayer and the guidance of the Holy Spirit are the key factors in calling a pastor.

The Big Visit

While a weekend is a very short time for such an important event, it is often not possible to make it much longer. Have the candidate preach in both services as well as share with key groups in the church. The pastor and his wife should visit in homes of some of the key leaders in the church. The Search Committee should meet with the candidate and his wife at the beginning of the visit as well as at the end. An informal meeting, where the members and the candidate meet in an open forum to discuss the church and its future could be very helpful.

The Search Committee should have an extended period of discussion where matters of theology, leadership styles, priorities, preaching style, current issues, involvement in the Conference, salary, pension, and a host of other issues are openly discussed. You want to look not only for information but attitudes and the ability to interact with you.

After The Visit

The Search Committee should meet during the week to pray, to evaluate and to make the important decision about the candidate.

If the decision is to extend a call then you must prepare that as a recommendation to the church. Ideally you should be of one mind. You need to be almost unanimous on the recommendation at this point. If the decision is no, then report that to the church but do not bring a negative recommendation to the church.

A second recommendation should include the terms of the call including salary, holiday time, participation in denominational conferences, camps, etc. The Search Committee will want to communicate with the financial officers to complete this.

The church needs a strong vote to call a pastor. While the constitution will normally state what percentage is required, my view is that it should not be less than 75% of the congregation voting to extend a call. I would personally be reluctant to accept a call knowing that a quarter of the congregation was not in favor of my coming. A unanimous vote is probably not realistic but a divided congregation will not successfully call a new pastor.

If the church votes to call the candidate, the work of the Search Committee has immediately concluded. The Church Clerk will prepare a letter of call on behalf of the church.

It's an excellent idea to telephone the candidate immediately after the vote, as he will be anxiously waiting to hear what the response has been. But make sure you follow it up by letter as well, with all the details included. If the church fails to call him or if he declines the call, the Search Committee continues its work in the same way as they began the process. Only do not be discouraged. This is not failure, only an indication of the Lord's leading so far. You are not going on to the second choice but continuing to seek God's first choice.

Be thorough in your letter of call. Now is the time to clarify issues. Give the candidate a reasonable time, like about two weeks for a reply. Tell him to feel free to call if he needs points clarified. Pray a lot and leave the results with the Lord.

As a courtesy to all candidates, a note should be sent to each informing them that you now have a pastor and thank them for their willingness to be considered.

Once the process has been completed you should burn all committee records. This includes committee minutes, candidate profiles and references. The new pastor should not see the references on himself or the other candidates. These are confidential.

Above all, make prayer your first and most important work. Calling a new pastor is one of the most important things you will do. Surround yourselves with the prayers of the congregation throughout the process.

NOW, GO ON -- HAVE A GREAT MINISTRY TOGETHER!
Updated August 2006

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