Finding the Perfect Pastor

We “hire” employees, but we “call” pastors. The process of calling a pastor remains one of the most complex and sensitive experiences in the life of a congregation. Pastors provide spiritual guidance, biblical teaching, and practical leadership to a congregation. They pray, dedicate children, baptize believers, and bury loved ones.

A congregation will either thrive or struggle depending upon the pastoral search outcome. I offer seven important steps to guide a church in the search process. You might even add a few, but these ones provide the primary milestones. Here are some essential steps in searching for a pastor.

Plan to pray and wait. Soak the entire process in prayer, then brace yourself: It might take up to a year from beginning to end. That time frame sounds strange in comparison to the public workplace, where turnover takes only a matter of weeks from posting to filling the position. However, even in the business world, the time frame to find a good employee now takes much longer. Frankly, fewer people stand ready to serve as pastors in the current Canadian culture. Therefore, because this pastoral search process will take time, appoint a transitional pastor to help navigate the journey. Be prayerful and patient, but confident.

Know your bylaws for calling and voting on pastoral positions. Most church bylaws provide guidance on search committee appointments, as well as the percentage needed for pastoral approval, and the overall process for calling. Keep the denomination informed because they provide a great resource. Many evangelical churches appoint a search team, drawn from the congregation. This group oversees the process and reports regularly to the church board. Choose carefully who will serve on this search team. Appoint no more than seven. Leave the “church curmudgeon” off of this committee. Rather than giving him/her a voice to keep them in check, it will only bring a negative mood to your process.

Engage in a church-wide assessment. All churches go through stages of expansion and decline, outward focus and inward focus. Assessing the church's current health is essential and can be achieved using well-established quantified instruments or more open-ended tools like S.L.O.T. (strengths, limits, opportunities, and threats). Some churches go through a teaching series on the seven churches of Revelation to help the congregation engage with a self-assessment. The Board plays a vital role in this congregational self-assessment. Prepare a 3-5 page report that summarizes the congregational self-assessment on church health. Make it available to the church and select pastoral candidates with whom you engage. In addition, begin the process of discerning the vision for the church: where are we headed and how will we plan accordingly

With the church assessment completed, build a preferred profile of the pastor. Ensure that the search committee collaborates with the Church Board. There exists no “one pastoral candidate fits all”. Each congregation needs a unique person. Be wary of the question, “What pastor do we want?” and focus on, “What pastor do we need.” A congregation on a growth curve needs a different pastor than a church in decline. A large church needs a different pastor than a smaller congregation. Inform the congregation of the developed profile. It will include clear doctrinal conviction, relevant ministry experience, core values, discipleship processes, preaching style, and theological education. In most cases, the preferred candidate will have a master's level education. However, remember, the profile is not just a list of checkboxes, but a guide to recruit candidates to your church staff.

Market your church well. Any good candidate will visit your social media sites, especially the website. Make it attractive. Prepare the church building for the coming of the new pastor. Also, prepare a candid 2-3 page profile of your church including attendance, strengths, limitations, and especially vision for the future. Make it available to selected, reasonable candidates.

Pray and Post the position widely and network with others. The worldwide web provides many places to post. Use them freely. However, you will receive many inquiries from around the world- be wise with these! Partner with your denomination and any other networks you trust. You can invite the congregation to suggest names; however: avoid having church attendees “interview” those that they recommend. Forward the name directly to the search committee. As the resumes arrive, look for compatibility with the preferred profile and then “rank” the applicants using a simple format

Prayerfully screen the list down to one preferred candidate. Through search committee-led ranking and discreet interviews, reference checks, and conversations, narrow the process to ONE candidate who best aligns with the preferred profile. Have that person spend time with the search committee and the Board. Later, bring the one candidate to the church for as long as possible for a candidating weekend. Spend time together. Vote, noting the requirements of the bylaws. With church approval, proceed with the welcome to the church. Then celebrate the new pastor who “fits” the church well.