Churches in every part of the world experience times of transition or crisis. And while VitalChurch’s team of interim pastors is largely based in the United States, we have worked with churches worldwide. Churches in other parts of the world can look very different from our own, but they experience many of the same struggles, especially in the absence of a permanent senior pastor.
Recently, VitalChurch Ministry was contacted by a church in the Newcastle area of England. Their senior pastor had just resigned unexpectedly, and the church’s remaining leadership was given our name as a resource in order to get some outside advice and opinions regarding potential next steps for the church. After several in-depth phone conversations and in-person meetings with church leadership, VitalChurch was invited to come alongside them to help lead the church through their transition.
We began, as we always do, with a diagnostic assessment of the church. At the end of last year, we fielded an online survey and had an 80% response rate from their congregation! Because of this high rate of response, we are confident that our team has been given a very complete and accurate picture of the current state of the church. We are currently analyzing the survey results in preparation for our upcoming on-site visit, where we will conduct one-on-one interviews with leadership and key volunteers. From there, we will prepare the final report, which will lay out the issues identified in the assessment, and offer several specific recommendations to address each issue.
Flowing out of the final report, our intentional interim pastors, alongside church leadership, will craft a plan of action to implement and execute the report’s recommendations.
Throughout this entire process, our interim pastors will invest in developing existing church leadership to help them effectively move through this transition time. The end goal is to bring the church to a place where it is vital and healthy, and ready to call their next senior pastor.
These are exciting times at VitalChurch Ministry! We are at a point where we are able to build on our years of experience as interim pastors in the United States and bring our ministry of hope and restoration to churches in the UK and beyond!
Is your church experiencing a time of transition or crisis? Perhaps you have recently lost your senior pastor, experienced a church split, or have a congregation that has lost their confidence in the current leadership of your church. The interim pastors at VitalChurch Ministry can help, no matter the current state of your church. Our team has many years of experience helping churches that find themselves in tough spots, and we can guide your church through whatever it is facing.
If lack of leadership is your issue, we can send one of our intentional interim pastors to your church for an extended period of time, who will help prepare your church to call its next senior pastor. We also offer follow-up coaching to help with the transition of leadership from interim pastor to permanent senior pastor.
Contact us today for more information about our interim pastors or our biblically based, three-phase process for church revitalization. We’d love to talk with you about your church and how we can help with whatever it’s facing.