How VitalChurch Ministry Fills a Need in Churches in Transition or Crisis as Interim Pastors |
Posted: October 11, 2018 |
If you’ve ever attended a church for any length of time, you know that sooner or later, every church will face a time of transition or crisis. Often, that time comes when the church’s head pastor either abruptly decides to leave, is asked to leave, or passes away unexpectedly. While some churches have a plan in place for the absence of a head pastor, and others have support from their denomination in these circumstances, churches without either of these can find themselves in a tough spot. It can be tempting to try to find someone to fill the gap quickly—whether with someone already on staff, or with someone from outside the church—but finding a new permanent senior pastor is something that should be taken very seriously and given a lot of thought and prayer. Why Use an Interim Pastor in Your Church? Fortunately, for Christian churches, there are organizations that offer interim pastor services to churches that find themselves without a head pastor. One such organization is VitalChurch Ministry, headquartered in Southern California, but with interim pastors serving all over the world. An interim pastor is a pastor who can come to your church temporarily during a time of transition. They often take on the duties of preaching, as well as leading the church staff and some of the other duties typically performed by a head pastor. They will typically stay until the church has identified their next senior pastor and then turn over the reins to that individual. What Makes the Interim Pastors at VitalChurch Different? The interim pastors at VitalChurch are seasoned pastors with many years of experience pastoring churches. Not only that, the leadership at VitalChurch have spent many years putting together a process that helps churches address important issues while their interim pastors are at the helm. Before an interim pastor from VitalChurch arrives at a new church, the church undergoes an assessment. This church assessment is meant to uncover the church’s strengths as well as their weaknesses. Then, during the interim pastor’s time at the church, he will help the church address their issues. For example, sometimes there are problems with a church’s organizational structure, other times the problems stem from years of unaddressed conflict, or it could simply be that the church has gotten off track and drifted away from its original vision and mission. Whatever the specific issue may be, it’s always helpful to have an experienced, outside perspective when dealing with difficult circumstances. Our interim pastors are well-equipped for dealing with conflict of all types. In addition, our interim pastors can help churches in the search for their next lead pastor. The pastoral search process can be long and difficult, but the interim pastors at VitalChurch have been through it many times. They can guide a congregation through the process and help them identify the person who will be the best fit for their church based on a pastor’s gifts, experience, and theology. Churches in transition don’t need to go it alone! There is help available in the form of interim pastors who can help immensely in difficult times.
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