Interim Pastors

by   T. C. Pinckney                                                                                                                                                               Vol. XIV, No. 6, June/July 2001

Finding an effective interim pastor can be difficult for a church in transition. Likewise, it is often hard for a pastor available to serve as an interim to connect with a church in need.

As many of you know, I supply resumes of biblically conservative pastors to churches looking for a permanent pastor. However, contrary to what one might think, it is more difficult to match a potential interim pastor with a church than it is a permanent pastor. Why should that be so?

Basically it boils down to location. Most men available as interims are retired or have secular jobs. In either case he lives in one location and is not able to move from one part of the state to another to serve for a few weeks or months as an interim. That makes it hard to match potential interims with open churches.

To help churches and interims get together, we are adding a link on The Baptist Banner website (www.thebaptistbanner.com) listing conservative men available for interim positions. The listing will include their addresses, phone numbers, and e-mail addresses (if any). Also, if the pastor has supplied me with any information about how far he is willing to drive to reach a church, this will be shown. Please Note: The interim page is not ready yet. This article is a request for more information so that we can prepare it. It may be ready by some time in September.

Pastors open to serving as interims are invited to mail or e-mail me the above information so that it can be listed on the website.

Churches are invited to check the website. Go to The Baptist Banner home page, scroll down to the links shown just below the Relationships paragraph and above Contacting the Editor. Click on Interims and the page will open listing all the interims I know about.

One caution to churches: Choosing the right interim pastor can be critically important. He is not just someone to fill a hole on Sunday morning. His preaching and influence can affect the church for years to come. And he may be with you not for just a few weeks but for months and, in some cases, a year or more. Be very careful you know exactly where the new man stands before you call him to serve at your church.