March 23, 2025
It has been estimated that out of the approximately 3,550 Southern Baptist Churches in Georgia, almost ten percent could be without pastors at any given time. That leaves many facing the question, "How should a church go about seeking a new pastor?"
Initially, church members must decide whether they should have an interim or a transitional pastor. An interim pastor would be a trusted servant of God who will provide the messages during the time a new pastor is being sought. A transitional pastor would preach, but also undertake more responsibilities, including providing leadership for the staff, being available to assist the committees of the church, and being accessible to meet certain needs as they arise in the life of the fellowship.
Sometimes, the pastor search team will seek out the interim or transitional pastor before any significant focus is given to securing a permanent spiritual leader for the congregation. The search team should be carefully selected and should include church members who have demonstrated a great love for the Lord, a consistent devotional life, an unwavering commitment to the Word of God, an obvious devotion to the health of the church, and who have given evidence of an appreciation and love for the role of the pastor.
No one on the search team should be known as a Diotrephes, a troublemaker (see 3 John: 9-11), or whose faithfulness in attendance and stewardship is questionable, or who has an agenda or an un-cooperative spirit.
It is recommended that the search team be properly trained by the local director of missions or a qualified person from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board.
The chairman of the search team should preside at the meetings, lead the committee, relate affably and knowledgeably to prospective candidates, and be prepared to speak to the congregation to report the progress of the team and ultimately present the chosen candidate to the church family.
The entire search process should be bathed in prayer from the start, and perhaps there should be two or three meetings at the beginning of the search that are completely devoted to prayer and seeking God’s will. The quest for a new pastor should not be based on what the search team wants, but to find out what God has already decided. That requires seeking the face of God.
Some criteria should be developed by the search team, born out of the prayers that have already been raised to God. The highest criteria should not be based on age, education, or experience (not that those qualities are unimportant), but on complete integrity, depth of faith, surrender to Christ, allegiance to the absolute truth of God’s Word, commitment to preach the whole counsel of God, love for the saints, and a passion to reach the lost for Christ.
The state convention offices will have resumes of pastors who may be willing to consider a new opportunity to serve the Lord. Perhaps the best way to secure a worthy recommendation is to contact a local pastor or the director of missions, because their reputations are at stake if they suggest some candidate who is not worthy of consideration. Recommendations from church members, seminaries, respected pastors, and denominational leaders are also commendable.
The search team should be prepared to review and pray over every resume, watch the live-streamed sermons of prospective candidates, do ample research, call references, and inquire of the associational mission strategist in the area where the prospective pastor’s church is located about his character and effectiveness as a pastor.
Developing a plan for evaluating the prospects is vitally important. After much prayer and consideration, the team may decide to have three categories. One category could be for those who are no longer to be considered, perhaps a “purged” file. There could also be a “possibility” file. This file is for those who are on the bubble. Then, there could be a “prospect” file for those who would be likely candidates for pastor after additional prayer and engagement.
As mentioned earlier, the chairman of the pastor search team should update the church periodically with a progress report and a reminder that the congregation must undergird their responsibility with prayer. It would be wonderful if a new pastor could come to a church that was already experiencing a spirit of renewal and revival.
As the search process continues, the team should realize that it is not likely that any prospect wants to be in a favorability contest with other possible candidates. It is best for all concerned for the search team to settle on one person at a time.
Then, the team will want to visit the candidate’s church in person. There is only so much that can be determined by watching a livestream of the candidate’s worship service and sermon.
Subsequently, there is the hard work of checking references, getting permission to conduct a background check, a face-to-face interview, praying over him, inviting him and his wife to visit the church, providing all information available about the church and finding out if God confirms in the hearts of the committee and the candidate and his wife that he is God’s choice for pastor of the church.
If all the pieces fit together, schedule a time for the candidate to preach a “trial sermon,” keeping in mind that not only is the candidate on trial, but the congregation is on trial as well.
The search team should prepare the church for the candidate’s visit by expressing enthusiasm for the candidate, but his name should not be disclosed until very near the date for the introductory or trial sermon. The reason for that is to protect the candidate and keep his church from falsely assuming that he is shopping for a new church.
The trial sermon should be on a Sunday morning when the most people are generally present for the worship service. The church’s bylaws will generally provide the specifics for the voting process, but the vote should probably be taken after the worship service. The chairman and the entire search team should be on the platform of the church, showing their unanimity, when the recommendation is made to call the candidate to be the pastor.
The vote should be taken without discussion and probably by secret ballot. Hopefully, the vote will reflect that a large majority of the church is favorable to the calling of the pastor.
The committee should see that the new pastor’s move to the church is properly financed and that he is paid sufficiently for his labor. There are ample passages of scripture indicating that ministers are to be properly cared for materially, so they will be free to serve without having to be concerned about their personal financial condition.
There is probably no responsibility in the church more vital to the health and success of its ministry than the work of a pastor search team. The church should express its appreciation for their labor of love in helping secure a new pastor, and the team should stay close to the church’s new pastor to encourage and reinforce his ministry for at least the first year of his ministry with them.
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J. Gerald Harris is a retired pastor and journalist who served as editor of The Christian Index for nearly two decades. You can reach him at gharris@loveliftedmehigher.org.
