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Search Committees Unite!
Search committees in churches are notoriously bad at communicating to candidates… at least that’s what I heard time and time again when I ran a church staffing website. Thom Rainer has put together a great list of suggestions your search committee should consider:
– Understand the potential disruption caused by your contact of a pastor. Most pastors at least pause and pray when they hear from another church. They often include their spouses in the early discussion. They may wonder if the contact is indicative that God may be leading them to another place of ministry. If a search committee contacts a pastor, at least be aware of the disruption that could take place. Perhaps it’s not best to send 200 inquiry letters to 200 different pastors to see if anything sticks.
– Have a clear plan for the process of calling a pastor. Let the contacted pastor know that plan on the front end so he won’t be left wondering what the next steps are.
– Prepare any questions before you contact the pastor. I have heard from many pastors who meet in person with the search committee, as well as those who first communicate via phone or Skype. They are often frustrated at the randomness of questions asked, and how different members of the search committee don’t know what the other members will ask.
– Do your homework thoroughly before showing up in the pastor’s present church. Many congregations recognize a search committee immediately when they attend a worship service. These church members soon become worried, frustrated or angry at either the pastor or the inquiring church. The presence of a search committee can be highly disruptive. Many pastors do not even know that a committee is visiting his church. He, too, is caught off guard.
– Communicate regularly and clearly with the prospective pastor. As long as the process is open, stay in touch with the pastor. Many times the greatest frustration is the lack of communication. One pastor recently told me that he resolved not to talk further with a church because he had not heard from them in such a long time. He assumed that they had moved in another direction. The search committee was shocked when they heard that information from the pastor several months later.
– If the search committee decides to move in another direction, let the pastor know immediately. A courtesy call, even an email, will always be appreciated even if the committee concludes that the pastor is not a fit for the church. Many pastors have told me that they thought they were still under consideration, only to discover sometimes later that the church had called another pastor.
via Baptist Press – FIRST-PERSON: Suggestions for pastor search committees
What are your thoughts? Have you ever sat on a search committee? Was it a good or bad experience?
Another option for searching is to use a professional church search firm to find the right candidate for the job. Some of the things we can offer that pastors should consider:
* We can save you time – we do all the calling, background checks, face-to-face meetings, etc.
* Narrow the list down to 4-6 candidates.
* Unbiased
* National search
* Positive side of budget – if you add the right person, the money that was spent in the search will quickly be replaced and even grow as the people support him/her.
* With multiple campuses, hiring staff becomes more frequent. We can help manage the process and take that burden off of the staff. Plus, we will give discounts for multiple searches.
God has called us into the ministry of serving the church with our talent and experience.
Here is one of my blog posts that I see youthworkers using and YS have used … http://fess2.blogspot.com/2010/10/top-10-things-to-know-when-hiring-youth.html
“Prepare any questions before you contact the pastor.”
I’ve been to interviews where, not only did the committee not have any significant questions, they were unable to answer many of my own.
“Have a clear plan for the process of calling a pastor. Let the contacted pastor know that plan on the front end so he won’t be left wondering what the next steps are. … If the search committee decides to move in another direction, let the pastor know immediately”
I would add that the committee should stick with the plan and just advise any candidates and start over from zero if they need to change. Don’t change the rules.
One committee had come to the point of considering me exclusively, and asked me to do the same. They were unable to decide unanimously one way or the other and started talking with two other candidates as well. I waited several months and turned down other potential opportunities as I waited for their decision. When I discovered what was going on, I withdrew my application.
(by the way, only two search committees have ever communicated with me that they had stopped considering me as a candidate. All of the others simply ceased communication.)
This process can be very frustrating.
And if you decide not to go with a candidate, don’t do them any favors by making a list of what you believe are their shortcomings…yes has happened!
I spent about 18 months searching for a position in ministry from 2006-2007. I have a ton of records documenting my search, interactions with search committees, and follow ups. I can tell you in my experience, most search committees have no clue at how to communicate with a prospective candidate. I had churches request my resume, and never follow up with me to tell me I was not being considered, or where they were in the process. Communicating with the committee was difficult if not impossible with phone calls not returned and emails not replied to. I had a church contact me after I had been in my current position for a year asking if I was still available.
To be fair, the internet has corrupted the process with churches receiving hundreds of emails in response to a job posting. They’re shocked when they receive so many resumes that they comes up with an unrealistic list of requirements and or hoops to jump through to get to the next step in the process. One church wanted my resume, a DVD of me preaching, my certified transcripts, answers to a questionnaire, and copies of my credentials. No I am not kidding.