One of the things we hear over and over from church leaders and congregation members at the churches in which we’ve served is that the VitalChurch process is not an easy one. However, that is almost always immediately followed by them saying something like, “But it was what we needed to do and we are a better church for having gone through the process.” Very few people like change—churches are no different. Change can be hard, especially when there are people within the church who are … [Read more...]
Interim Pastor Ministries - Blog Posts by Tag
Where Do We Go from Here? Interim Pastors Helping Churches Discern God’s Preferred Future
The current world pandemic has caused an uncomfortable reality: we are all in some kind of transition or crisis. No one knows what to do next. World governments are doing the best they can with the information they have, but they are walking in new territory. Most people have more questions than they do answers right now. Experts are still trying to make sense of how “this” happened in the United States. As uncomfortable as that seems, churches in transition find themselves asking the same … [Read more...]
7 Ideas from an Interim Pastor for Engaging in Outreach During a Pandemic
I recently read a blog that stated, “The gospel can’t be quarantined.” I’m glad that’s right. People in our communities are facing fear, isolation, economic challenges, and the loss of their normal routine. Many are also dealing with significant health issues that bring spiritual issues to the forefront. People tend to be open to Christ during personal crises; the Coronavirus crisis fits that category. Our interim pastors are working extra hard at keeping the people in their churches … [Read more...]
Tethering-In-Place, the Benefit of Boundaries
Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.” Galatians 6:4,5. The Message When I was a little tyke, I spent many a summer day in a leather harness tethered to a flagpole in my grandparents’ spacious front yard. While that might sound odd to the modern parent, I … [Read more...]
Affected Even If Not Afflicted: Loss and the Coronavirus from the Perspective of an Interim Pastor
Our new normal includes living with a constant stream of news about the Coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, we are also living with an understated reality of how we are all affected by Coronavirus, even if not directly afflicted by it. This understated reality is that we are experiencing loss, and most of us aren’t good at grieving losses. Tragic losses reported in the news include the loss of lives, health, jobs, financial resources, and relational connection during a variety of critical … [Read more...]
Rochester Church Reflects on Their Time with VitalChurch Interim Pastors
Last month, VitalChurch interim pastor Dave Miles concluded his time at Christ Community Church (CCC) in Rochester, Minnesota. When VitalChurch arrived, the church was still reeling from the loss of their longtime lead pastor. There was a lot of grief and conflict associated with his resignation, and the 1,000-plus-member church was having a difficult time discerning how to move forward. After going through VitalChurch’s diagnostic assessment, which revealed the issues the church was facing, … [Read more...]
Do We Need an Interim Pastor if We Have Someone We Can Promote from Within?
This is a question that should be asked much more often than it actually is. Churches often mistakenly think that the best route after a lead pastor leaves is to promote a pastor who is already on staff to the vacant position. On the surface, this seems to make sense. There will be little or no “downtime” from one lead pastor to the next. The congregation is likely already familiar and comfortable with the current staff member. He can hit the ground running, since he will already have an … [Read more...]
Why an Intentional Interim Pastor Is Key When Transitioning to a New Pastor
Many (but not all) of the churches we work with are in a crisis situation when one of our interim pastors arrives on the scene. Some churches have the luxury of knowing ahead of time that their lead pastor will be vacating his position. It may be that the lead pastor has decided that it’s time for him to retire. Or he may be moving on to a position at another church or leaving the ministry in favor of another career path. In these cases, the pastor will ideally give his church plenty of notice … [Read more...]
The Benefits of Working with VitalChurch Interim Pastors from the Church’s Perspective
We talk a lot in this blog and on our website about how we help churches in transition or crisis. We outline our three-phase process and how it helps revitalize churches. But in this blog post, instead of us telling you how our work benefits churches, we thought you might like to hear from some of the people we’ve worked with recently in churches around the country. So, we reached out and got some great feedback! The Diagnostic Analysis is a Key Part of the Process Even before we send an … [Read more...]
VitalChurch Aids California Churches with Interim Pastors and Church Health Assessments
With headquarters in California, and several of our interim pastors using the state as their home base, we find ourselves doing a lot of work in California churches. If you know anything about the state, you could probably conclude that there are a diverse set of churches in California—and you’d be right! You’ll find traditional, denominational churches, non-denominational community churches, megachurches, and just about any other type of church you can think of. Experienced Intentional Interim … [Read more...]