“Pastor searches may involve posts on ministry job boards and hours reviewing resumes and following up on references for a wide variety of unknown candidates. However, many churches and church leaders have access to a wide variety of resources and connections that may well be overlooked when it comes time for a ministry position opening or pastoral search.” – Matt Steen
If you do not know Matt Steen, co-founder of Chemistry Staffing, you should. This is a guest post from Matt, who along with Todd Rhoades, lead a new organization who helps churches and potential staff members make healthy connections. Chemistry Staffing’s process has one goal: a long-term, healthy fit for both the church and the staff member. I can’t recommend Chemistry Staffing enough. Matt is going to tell about 4 Networks To Use When Needing To Fill Pastor And Ministry Job Positions. However, my first call would be to Chemistry Staffing.
Let’s continue with more of his thoughts….
Finding a pastor during a job search can be significantly simplified by tapping into a series of networks that are available to just about every church. Here are a few places that we often recommend for churches when conducting a ministry candidate search:
Ask for Candidates in Local Pastor Networks
The other day I met a pastor, we’ll call him Bill, who had recently been hired on as a worship leader at a relatively new church plant. Bill had been serving as a senior pastor, but he sensed a need to move back to his first love of leading music ministry.
It turned out that the church that hired Bill was lead by a pastor who had been a ministry volunteer several years ago at Bill’s former church where he had been the senior pastor. When Bill’s denomination’s church planting team asked for a recommendation for a church planter, he had recommended the volunteer, who went on to serve as Bill’s senior pastor at his new worship leader position!
You never know what you’ll find in your own pastoral networks, and if the pastors in your networks are committed to training and building up leaders, the long-term results can be surprising!
Find Pastors in Seminary Networks
A regional seminary can have deep roots into local churches, connecting pastors with job opportunities and connecting churches with a wide variety of candidates. If you can think of a seminary having 200 students, that’s 200 potential churches that may have leaders searching for new opportunities or ways to express their gifts more completely.
In addition, asking a seasoned seminary professor for a recommendation could become a fast-track way to land a qualified candidate. They see future pastors and current pastors pass through their classrooms each year, and they most likely know what it takes to stick in ministry vs. those who burn out.
Review Social Media for Pastors Who Stand Out
Every pastoral job search should include an online element, viewing videos and social media posts in order to determine what kind of presence the pastor may have. However, sometimes reviewing the social media profiles and websites of staff at churches in your region can lead to some worthwhile connections.
This would be more of a longshot, but if social media is already part of your interview process, it may be worth integrating it into the early stages of your search to see what you can find.
Find Internal Candidates in Your Church
The network that should be considered in every pastoral job search is the church conducting the search. By simply making it known that a position may be opening, candidates may step forward that have been overlooked or who may be considering a new calling.
While sometimes a network of volunteers may prove to be a useful training ground for future leaders, there are many ways that a church’s congregation can prove important in a pastoral job search.
More from Matt at Chemistry Staffing
We spend a lot of time helping churches at Chemistry Staffing consider who to hire and where to find the best candidates. If you’d like to learn more, click here to receive a copy of 20 Things to Know About Church Staff Candidates BEFORE You Interview Them. This document is the foundation of our unique candidate assessment system and should be the starting point for your search as well.
We love learning about churches and helping them find candidates for their open positions… and we’d love to help you. As a reader of Brian’s blog, I’d love for you to take part in a free 30-Minute Consultation where we can learn a little bit about what you are looking for, and share some of what we have learned from the churches we have served. You can click here to schedule a time.