Pastor Search Committee Training

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Pastor Search Committee Training

• Mobile Baptist Association
• C. Thomas Wright, PhD
• www.mobilebaptists.org

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12 Steps To Find and Call A Pastor

• The Ultimate Goal of this Committee is to Find
  Gods Man Through Prayer and Hard Work !

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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 Gods Will.
• Develop a job description that defines your role
  and functions for you and the church

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• 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 Gods 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.

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• 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.

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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 pastors job description

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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

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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

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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. Shouldnt have more
  than one member of the same family on the
  committee.

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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

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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

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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

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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).

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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 Gods leadership
• Contact all others to let them know they will not
  be considered at this time

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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 wifes call and her
  understanding/preference for her role.

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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

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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

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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
• Dont go in the church van
• Dont go in together nor sit together
• Dont complete visitors cards

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Step 6 Visit the candidate

• Dont 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

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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 wifes 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

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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

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Step 8 Involve The Church

• Be sure to work in cooperation with the Finance
  Committee
• Discuss the pastors job description
• Discuss his philosophy of ministry and how he
  will be involved as pastor/leader
• Discuss the wifes role
• Prepare them for church growth

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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

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Step 9 Invitation To Preach

• Let the candidate know that you believe that he
  is Gods 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

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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 Gods call!

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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

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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

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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

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Step 10 Vote To Call

• Celebrate Gods 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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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