There are many seasons in the life of a church. One season that can be particularly challenging is when the church is looking for a new pastor. So many factors make up a great leader for your church. There are those who align in personality and style, but there are also leaders who align well in experience and theology. Oftentimes, the pastoral search can start to feel impossible. Will we ever find the right person? Does the right person even exist? A pastoral search committee can help in the process. It is critical to have a group of people dedicated to the search process until it is complete. Here are several steps to show you how to hire a pastor by committee:
1. Create a Committee
When you create your committee, you’ll want to consider who to include. The best pastoral search committees are committed to the church and unbiased in their approach. Your committee is strongest when it includes people from various roles and life stages. Remember, you want a well-balanced, clear view of each candidate. If your entire committee is made up of people from the same life stage and overall demographic, you will not get a well-rounded view. To get a well-rounded view, you’ll want to have a well-rounded committee. Keep that in mind as you decide who to include.
2. Define the Criteria for Your Search
What are you looking for in your next pastor? Are certain characteristics especially important in this season of the church? Are there things you’d want to avoid? Determine the criteria for the search, but make sure that it is clear and measurable. Do you need the new pastor to have education requirements met? Is there a specific experience you’re hoping to find? Whatever it may be, make the list. Consider your list of ideal criteria for the pastor you want to hire and write it down.
3. Write the Job Description
A good job description includes the criteria needed for the role. Additionally, you want your job description to include any specific expectations that need to be defined. You can check out this article for tips to help you write the best job description.
4. Post the Job Application on ChurchStaffing
Once you’ve identified the criteria you’re looking for and written the job description, you’re ready to post the application! You can use sites like ChurchStaffing.com to post the job listing. This will help you gather a pool of candidates to consider.
5. Review Applications
With your committee, review applications. Narrow down the number of applicants to about three great prospects. You want to know that they meet the criteria you’re looking for, so keep that in mind as you review them. The committee is going to be extremely helpful during this step, because you will gather many perspectives. Give everyone a chance to bring their honest feedback to the table. If there are certain candidates that you disagree over, keep that in mind when you decide who to interview.
Quick disclaimer: You may not have full agreement from your committee on which candidates will be the best fit, but you’ll want to consider those who receive a majority vote.
6. Conduct Interviews
Once you’ve narrowed down your candidates, it’s time to conduct interviews. You can do this in many ways, but I would suggest a virtual interview (if they’re out of town) and then an in-person panel interview.
- Virtual interview: This can be conducted with 1-2 members of the committee. Record the interview and take great notes. You’ll want to make note of any concerns or red flags around the candidate and what things you think are excellent about them. Virtual interviews are helpful when you have candidates not in your local area, but you want to get to know them and consider them for the role. If the candidate does well in the virtual interview, you can invite them to your local church for an in-person panel-style interview.
- In-person panel-style interview: Choose 3-5 members of your committee or your entire committee if no more than 5 people. Spend about 2 hours with the candidate. Allow all of your committee members to ask them questions and gain a full view of the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses. The group interview will help you gain a broad perspective on the candidate.
7. Review Candidates
Once you’ve completed the interviews, sit down with your committee and review your hiring rubrics together. You want to hear everyone’s honest opinion on each candidate. This will help your committee navigate blind spots and biases in the hiring process. For example, if you rate a candidate extremely high in theological understanding, but your committee notices they weren’t vulnerable in the interview process, that would be important to note. Look at all possibilities and all angles to get the most well-rounded approach. Additionally, you can ask these questions during this meeting:
- What do I love about this candidate?
- What concerns me about this candidate?
- What don’t I know about this candidate?
Take a moment to answer all of the questions for each candidate, so you have a great, big-picture view throughout the process.
8. Meet the Spouse and Family
Once you’ve identified your top choice, it’s time to meet their spouse and family. When you hire a pastor, you aren’t just hiring a person for a role. You’re hiring the family in a way. The church will be their church too, and they will be spending a lot of time in the church. You’ll want to know if the spouse is in alignment with their pursuit of this role. Is the family engaged and onboard, or are there red flags to make note of?
Disclaimer: This is not a time to be picky about how much screen time they allow for their children or whether they eat organic or not. It’s not about those things, but it’s important to meet them and engage the family because they will also be a part of this.
The candidate’s spouse and children may have questions as well. Give them time and space to ask those. You’re using a committee to help with the search process, and their family members are a critical part of their “committee.”
9. Make an Offer
If you feel that you’re ready to hire the pastor candidate, make the offer! Work together with your hiring committee to determine the conditions of the offer. Let the pastoral candidate know what you’d be offering and when you expect a response.
10. Create a Transition Plan
The final step is to create the transition plan. When do you expect the Pastor to start? What steps do you want to take to get them onboarded? Do you need them right away? Is there a transition process or time period? Consider all the steps to ensure a smooth transition for your church.
If you find yourself in a season as a church where you’re in need of a new pastor, consider these steps on how to hire a pastor by committee. While this is not an exhaustive list, it will give you a good starting point to assemble your committee and begin the process. No matter what practical steps you take, do not forget the significance of prayer in every major decision. Make room in your process for lots of prayer so you can make a God-led decision each step of the way.
