Last month, the team at VitalChurch MInistry held our Intentional Interim Pastor Training Conference. This annual conference is designed to train and equip church leaders who feel called to the ministry of serving churches in transition or crisis. Just like in years past, we had a good mix of participants from all over the country. In attendance were current pastors, denominational leaders, as well as individuals who we are training up as intentional interim pastors to join the VitalChurch Ministry team.
The four-day conference was packed with information on our unique approach to interim pastoring, proven strategies for addressing conflict, idolatry, and power struggles, and methods for facilitating God’s change in churches. The entire training flows from a theology that places Christ and His purposes at the center of genuine church revitalization.
Every year, we seek to improve upon the previous years’ training events. One of the things that was different about this year’s conference is that all of our speakers, presenters, and discussion leaders were members of the VitalChurch Ministry team. In the past, we have brought in outside presenters to speak on topics that we thought would be valuable to prospective interim pastors and church leaders. However, we have received consistent feedback over the years that the most valuable information comes from our own intentional interim pastors who are able to offer real-world insight from their experiences working in the field. Time and time again, attendees have expressed how much they have loved learning the material through the perspective of someone currently walking through issues of conflict, idolatry, and power imbalances.
The main presenters at this year’s conference were Pastors Dave Miles and Tom Wilkens. Both have been serving as intentional interim pastors for more than two decades and have also trained many other interim pastors during that time! They have served in churches large and small in all areas of the United States. They have helped churches heal after experiencing major conflicts and have also helped revitalize congregations that had seen many years of steady decline. The stories they shared throughout the conference were powerful and engaging. Their perspectives really brought the curriculum to life and showed attendees how it can be used in real-life situations they will likely encounter.
Ever since the coronavirus pandemic forced us to conduct the training online, we’ve continued with the online format. We work really hard to still make the conference a collaborative experience by giving participants opportunities to engage with the speakers and with each other. While some participants say they would prefer an in-person conference, most participants (from this year and years past) say they appreciate the ability to learn from their homes or offices and to not have to spend their time and resources traveling to attend.
If you would like to be informed of upcoming training events, please subscribe to our email list. By doing so, you will also receive updates about our ministry and how our interim pastors are serving churches throughout the United States.