If you’ve been a part of a church for any length of time—on staff, on a board of elders, as a volunteer, or just as a member of the congregation—you have probably experienced a period when your church faced some sort of transition or crisis involving your church’s leadership. It could have been that your pastor left (or was asked to leave) in an abrupt manner, or that he passed away unexpectedly. Whatever the specific circumstances were surrounding this event, it likely left you and other … [Read more...]
Latest News & Insights
New Service from VitalChurch Ministry: Pastoral Search Assistance
As we’ve served around the country and around the world as interim pastors, one of the things we often do during our tenure in a church is assist them in the search for their next interim pastor. We’ve spoken a little bit about this before in this blog post. We talked about how churches can find the most success in their pastoral search and how we can come alongside churches to help facilitate the process. Since that blog post was published, we’ve decided to make pastoral search assistance an … [Read more...]
How Do I Find the Right Interim Pastor for My Church?
Finding the right interim pastor for your church can be complicated. Typically, when a church has a need for an interim pastor, they are in a bit of a crisis, or at the very least, they are in a tough spot. Often when churches contact us about the possibility of using one of our interim pastors, it’s because they have found themselves unexpectedly without a senior pastor. Their pastor either passed away, left abruptly, or was asked to leave without much warning. Knowing that the pastoral … [Read more...]
VitalChurch Ministry Becomes Its Own Independent Charitable Organization
We received some exciting news recently at VitalChurch Ministry—our organization was officially granted nonprofit status by the IRS! It’s been a long process—with lots of paperwork and even more waiting—and it feels great to be on the other side of it all! Previously, VitalChurch was operating under the umbrella of Church Resource Ministries (CRM), a Christian nonprofit dedicated to reaching the lost, bringing about lasting transformation among the poor, and mobilizing the Church for mission. … [Read more...]
Conflict Resolution is at the Heart of Our Interim Pastor Ministry
In many of the churches in which VitalChurch serves, our interim pastors are faced with some sort of conflict upon their arrival. Sometimes that conflict is the main reason the last lead pastor is no longer employed by the church. Other times, the conflict is the reason that a church has seen a steady decline in attendance and fruitfulness. Conflict is part of life, and it is part of every church at one time or another. It can’t be avoided, no matter how hard we try. It’s how a church deals … [Read more...]
We’re Hiring! Here Are a Few of the Things We’re Looking for in an Interim Pastor
As our ministry grows, we are contacted by more and more churches across the United States, and even in other parts of the world, looking for an interim pastor help them through their time of transition. It’s important that we have an adequate number of interim pastors upon which we can call, so that when a church needs an interim pastor, we have someone available. That’s why we’re always looking to add qualified interim pastors to our team. So, what makes a qualified interim … [Read more...]
The Pastoral Search Process: What to Do Before You Even Begin
When you’re in a church without a permanent pastor, there can be a lot of pressure to “get it right” when it comes to finding the next pastor that will lead your church. The interim pastors at VitalChurch have walked many churches through the process of searching for a new pastor and have learned some valuable things along the way. One of the things we have discovered is that what churches do before they even begin the search process may be the most vital to ensure they end up with a pastor who … [Read more...]
VitalChurch Interim Pastors Serving Churches Across the United States and in the U.K.
The work of an interim pastor is never dull! Our team members are constantly finding themselves in new places with new groups of people as they perform the important work of church revitalization. Here’s where our intentional interim pastors are serving right now and a little bit of information about the work they are doing in their respective churches. Gregg Caruso Gregg is currently serving as the intentional interim pastor at Christ Community Church in East Taunton, Massachusetts. Since … [Read more...]
Experienced Interim Pastors Who Have Pretty Much Seen It All
There is a series of commercials on television right now by Farmers Insurance that features the tagline “We know a thing or two because we’ve seen a thing or two.” The commercials tell stories about actual insurance claims that the company has covered over their years in business. These stories from their “Hall of Claims” are meant to reassure customers and potential customers that they are prepared to handle any kind insurance claim, no matter how bizarre or unlikely. Here at VitalChurch … [Read more...]
The Role of an Elder Board: Recommendations from Intentional Interim Pastors
In our last blog post, we talked about how VitalChurch Ministry can come in to help a struggling elder board in a church in crisis, or in one without a permanent pastor, and that post got us thinking about the role of an elder board. In our many combined years of ministry, the interim pastors at VitalChurch have seen many different types of elder boards. Some are intimately involved with every decision being made in the church (even having the final say on the type of carpet being installed … [Read more...]