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One of the more common conversations we have with churches is about how they should deal with an internal candidate. Sometimes it’s a potential successor for their Senior Pastor transition, but other times it’s moving an associate into a director-level role. Whatever the transition, internal candidates can be tricky and emotional waters to navigate.

Should you find yourself in this situation, it’s important that you handle it with care. There is not only a job at stake, but a relationship to consider as well. We’ve walked alongside several churches as they navigate this situation and below is our best advice for doing this well.

When we visit with churches that are going through a senior pastor search, we often see a strong generational divide. Either the younger congregants feel as if the pastor search committee isn’t considering candidates who will bring the church “up-to-date”, or the older congregants feel that the committee is trying to force change while neglecting the church’s legacy.

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The first line of the book NEXT: Pastoral Succesion That Works is, "Every pastor is an interim pastor."

Whether a season of ministry lasts three years or three decades, every church will be faced with the inevitable challenge of replacing its pastor at some point. Some transitions will be positive, and it will be appropriate to surround them with praise and celebration. However, a transition often occurs because a pastor is involved in something that requires them to step away from ministry.

Churches often ask what is the “standard severance package” or the “standard way” they should handle their pastoral transition. Our answer is always the same: there is no standard answer. Every transition will have different aspects that will influence the what the severance package and departing situation looks like.

Here are five issues your church leadership and board should think through when faced with a pastoral transition.

One of the offerings that Vanderbloemen Search Group provides for churches is a comprehensive background, social media and credit check. By providing these services, we are behind hundreds of candidate credit checks per year, good and bad. 

While most candidates have great credit, and some don’t even have a credit card, other candidates have less than perfect credit. This isn't a dealbreaker in the hiring process necessarily, but certainly something worth noting. So what should an organization do when one of its candidates has bad credit?

Here are 5 things to consider. 

It’s inevitable. All pastors will move on at some point. Whether it’s retirement, going to another church, or an unexpected passing away, no one stays at the same place forever. Most pastors love their flock and understand that their calling to shepherd is a weighty responsibility. However, pastors often don’t think the process of pastoral succession is their job.

Having the right church leaders in place is a critical part of the success of a ministry, but it’s getting them there that is the hardest part. And who you have on your search team makes a big difference when you’re looking for that key hire. Choosing who to have on your pastor search committee is an important decision and should be approached thoughtfully and prayerfully. 

Though any Lead Pastor transition is an important one, replacing a long-tenured Senior Pastor often carries a lot more weight and is filled with nuances outside a normal pastor search. We’ve walked alongside hundreds of churches during this holy crossroads, and we can tell you that a pastor search like this is so important to get right.

Here are three things to consider when searching for a new pastor after a long-tenured one.

Let’s face it, not all ministry resumes are created equal. Some people have known what they wanted to do since first grade and have focused on education and activities that are attractive to potential employers in their desired career path. Many others discover a later-in-life calling to what they were made to do.

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.