When a church is looking for a new Senior Pastor, more often than not, they elect a Pastor Search Committee, Pastor Nominating Committee, or Call Committee, etc. A Pastor Search Committee usually does not include any staff members from the church. This helps the Pastor Search Committee maintain objectivity, keeping the best interests of the church (and not their own jobs or work culture) in mind.
However, it’s still very important for the Search Committee to gain input from the church staff, ideally before the search process begins. The members of the Search Committee don’t always know what it was like having the previous Pastor as the staff leader. They may not know what it was like to work under the last Pastor or what the staff culture was like.
In order to have the most comprehensive view possible of what kind of candidate you are looking for, the Pastor Search Committee must ask the church staff members about their previous leader and what they are hoping for in a new leader. This information-gathering can be done through a survey (there are lots of free, online, confidential survey resources available out there), face-to-face interviews with key staff members, and/or a group meeting.
Here are 17 example questions to help you decide what to ask your church staff when gathering information for your Senior Pastor search.
Make sure, when gathering this information, that you make it very clear that, while their honest answers are very important, they are not the final decision-making factors for what kind of Pastor you are seeking. You could include something like: “Your answers may or may not determine the specifics of the kind of candidate we are seeking. Your voice has been heard, and we will prayerfully and diligently seek the best possible candidate whom we believe God is calling to lead our church in our next season of ministry, who aligns with our church vision, and who will help our church and team carry out its mission.”
What other questions will help a Pastor Search Committee gain information from the church staff about what kind of leader they should be seeking?