Pastor Search

Checking References for Ministers: Best Practices and Essential Questions Churches Must Ask

Checking References for Ministers: Best Practices and Essential Questions Churches Must Ask

Finding the right minister for your church is an important decision and checking references is a critical step in the hiring process. To ensure that you make a well-informed decision, it's important to know what questions to ask and how to conduct due diligence in case any red flags appear. Here are the essential best practices, sample questions to ask, and tips on executing due diligence when checking references for ministerial candidates. By following these guidelines, your pastor search team can be confident that you’re making the best possible hire for your congregation.

How to Hit a Bullseye on the First Interview Question

How to Hit a Bullseye on the First Interview Question

“Tell us about you” is an obligatory question with which most pastor search committees begin the first interview. If you spend too much time answering the first question, you won’t be able to spend enough time on more substantive questions that help everyone discern the best path forward. Hitting the bullseye on your first question will help you establish the mood for the rest of the interview and leave a lasting impression.

How NOT to Hire a Pastor Search Consultant

How NOT to Hire a Pastor Search Consultant

This is my manifesto about how not to hire a church consultant (me included) to help you with your pastor search. If your church will institutionalize these predictable one-off processes, your search team will thank you, your congregation will thank you, and your neck will thank you. That’s right, your neck, because you will not spend a year or more navel gazing. Instead of allocating your time to intensive internal work, your church will be well-positioned to initiate a search when the time comes. It’s much easier to keep up than catch up.