Our organization gets calls and emails from a variety of churches. Some are in a season of transition and want our help in making some changes before they enter their next phase of ministry, while others are in the midst of something more serious. Occasionally, we get contacted by an individual who is very vague and seems hesitant to tell us what is really going on at his or her church. We know there can be privacy concerns and we don’t need to know all the details upfront, but there are … [Read more...]
Interim Pastor Ministries - Blog Posts by Tag
Announcing Our New Executive Director: Tom Wilkens
VitalChurch Ministry is excited to announce Tom Wilkens as its next executive director! Tom succeeded Mike Merwin, who retired from the executive director role in July 2021. Thank you, Mike! Mike served as the executive director for six years and was instrumental in helping VitalChurch define itself as a new ministry organization. Under Mike’s leadership, VitalChurch received its nonprofit status with the IRS, rebranded as VitalChurch Ministry and launched its website, firmed up our mission … [Read more...]
Why Does a Church Need an Intentional Interim Pastor?
In one of our recent blog posts, we talked about exactly what an intentional interim pastor is, and what it isn’t, according to VitalChurch Ministry. It was a great post for those looking to get a better understanding of interim pastor ministry and how churches can benefit from it. In this blog post, we wanted to dive a little deeper into the subject and discuss the situations in which a church might consider using an intentional interim pastor. When There’s an Unexpected Vacancy in the Lead … [Read more...]
A Follow-Up to Our Year-End Fundraising Campaign
If you follow this blog or are on our email list, you probably heard about our year-end fundraising campaign. To end the year 2020, we were looking to raise $25,000 for our Compassion Grant Fund, which directly supports churches who need the services that VitalChurch provides, but are unable to afford the full cost of those services. In the past, Compassion Grants have been given to churches to help them pay for diagnostic assessments, as well as our interim pastor services. We established our … [Read more...]
What Is an Interim Pastor?
As our team travels the country working with churches, we’ve found that not everyone has the same idea of what an interim pastor is and does. Of course, they have a general idea, just based on the name, but there are some variations on the types of pastors who serve in churches without a permanent lead pastor. We thought we’d take some time in this blog post to clear up some of the confusion surrounding phrases such as “interim pastor,” “intentional interim pastor,” “transitional pastor,” and … [Read more...]
Year-End Giving Campaign for VitalChurch Ministry’s Compassion Grant Fund
DONATE VitalChurch Ministry is excited to announce the launch of our 2020 year-end giving campaign! As a nonprofit organization, we rely on the generosity of donors to help fund our organization and ask that you prayerfully consider a year-end donation to VitalChurch. The majority of the recurring charitable donations we receive throughout the year go to funding the salaries for our interim pastors when they’re in between assignments—when they’re either on sabbatical, spending their time … [Read more...]
Interim Pastors That Help Churches Make Hard but Necessary Changes
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...]
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...]