By ORVAL BARGER

The following is an article written by Orval Barger that first appeared in the August 30, 2006 issue of Baptist Progress. Barger is the pastor emeritus of the First Baptist Church of Livingston. He also serves as the State Missions District IV coordinator. For a number of years, he oversaw the intentional interim ministry efforts for the Baptist Missionary Association of Texas.

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When a church finds itself without a pastor, there are certain steps the congregation should take in order to move ahead. Please consider the following.

STEP ONE: Call an interim pastor.

A key advantage of having an interim pastor is he can provide positive leadership in a critical time for the church. In addition to leadership, he can offer the following:

• Continuity in preaching

• Help in transition

• Access strengths and weaknesses of the church

• Help the search team do a thorough job in the search process

• Prepare the church for new leadership

A church will do well to rely heavily upon a Holy Spirit led interim pastor.

STEP TWO: Select the Pastor Search Committee.

A carefully selected search committee is most important. The committee should be large enough to include men and women, deacons and non-deacons, various ages from young adults to senior adults, new members and members with longevity, and representatives from various ministry groups. Obviously, some can represent more than one of these categories. I recommend a larger search committee of 7-13 depending on the size of the church.

A clear set of guidelines for the search committee and a well chosen chairman will be the key to smooth work by the search committee.

STEP THREE: Approve a process for the pastor committee to work.

The process I have found to be very effective consists of six steps.

•  Information. There needs to be a constant influx of names, resumes and recommendations of potential pastors. Some good sources for getting this information are church members, denominational leaders, the Internet (www.bmatexas.org), fellow pastors and the search committee taking the initiative to contact pastors concerning their interest.
• Investigation. It is sad but true that such intense investigation must be done. The investigation should go beyond the references given by the candidate. Do not be afraid to investigate!
• Interview. A prospective pastor should be interviewed by the search committee as many times and in as many places as they deem necessary to determine the Holy Spirit’s leading.
• Evaluation. At this point, the search committee should decide who their number one prospect is and find out his level of interest. The committee can review all their guidelines and checklists to be sure that everyone is satisfied and willing to put their signature to a recommendation to the church.
• Introduction. The search committee should work out a mutually acceptable date for the prospective pastor to preach in view of a call by the congregation. I like to allow at least three weeks before he comes before the church. During that period of time a booklet can be prepared which contains all the material collected and given to the congregation. This allows the church to review the prospective pastor’s qualifications, answers to questions, vision, passion and all recommendations from the search committee.
• Decision. The vote of the congregation at the conclusion of the morning service preached by the prospective pastor is best. I like a secret ballot vote with an established minimum percentage of affirmative votes for a valid call as pastor.

Obviously, the process for calling a pastor should not be fast and rushed. In serving as interim pastor in several churches, I have found that all ministries can continue, attendance can remain constant or growing, problems can be worked resolved, preparations can be made for the new pastor and challenges can be offered for the future.

For more information on securing an intentional interim pastor, contact State Missions at 972-923-0756 or click the contact button at the top of this Web site.