Pastor Search Committee Training and Resources
The Pastor/Staff Committee training presents a chronological, step-by-step process of the work of a Pastor/Staff Search Committee. The training includes resources to help the committee lead the church in searching for God’s Will regarding a new minister. Each member of the committee receives a study guide for use during the training event.
Your regional Pastor Wellness Catalyst will come to your church and conduct a two-hour training. Once your Search Committee is formed please call Loretta Crow at our office at (770) 936-5232 to confirm a date for the training.
Training Handbook
The following tools are designed to work in cooperation with training provided by your regional Pastor Wellness Catalyst from the Georgia Baptist Mission Board (All downloads are PDF format).
Tool 1 Pastor Search Committee Retreat
Tool 2 Directory of Baptist State Conventions
Tool 3 Pastor Search Committee Covenant of Agreements
Tool 4 Pastor-Church Covenant of Relationship
Tool 5 Pastor’s Salary, Housing, Benefits and Expenses
Tool 6 Checklist for Pastor’s Salary, Housing, Benefits and Expenses
Tool 7 Pastor Search Congregational Survey
Tool 8 Position Insights and ministry Insights Assessments
Tool 9 Demographic Profile of Church Membership
Tool 10 Directory of Southern Baptist Seminaries
Tool 11 Biographical Profile
Tool 12 Prospective-Pastor Evaluation
Tool 13 Degrees Related to Pastoral Ministry
Tool 14 Confidential Personnel Information
Tool 15 Reference Release
Tool 16 Portfolio of Church and Community
Tool 17 Letter for Written References
Tool 18 Character-Reference Inquiry
Tool 19 Letter for telephone Interviews
Tool 20 Interview Questions
Tool 21 Sermon Evaluation
Tool 22 Credit and Legal information Release
Tool 23 Request for Criminal Records Check and Authorization
Tool 24 Letter to Prospective Pastor about Questionnaire
Tool 25 Prospective-Pastor Questionnaire
Tool 26 Service of Installation and Commitment
Tool 27 Installation Service
Tool 28 Pastor-Church relations Team
Tool 29 Performance Review
Sample Letters:
First Sample Letter – Acknowledge Receipt of Resume
Second Sample Letter – Different Direction
Second Sample Letter – Top Group
Third Sample Letter – Confirming the Call
More Resources
Background Checks through LifeWay
Ministry Safe Background Checks
A typical site to obtain a credit check: Experian.com: Employment Credit Checks
These samples are available to you for drafting and building a church constitution and by-laws.
The 2021 Compensation Study was a joint project of state Baptist conventions, GuideStone Financial Resources, and LifeWay Christian Resources. Compensation and congregational data was collected anonymously from ministers and office/custodial personnel of Southern Baptist churches and church-type missions. Reports are based on compensation for over 12,000 respondents from all 42 state conventions.
- Consent Form for Your Church to Provide References
- Interviewing Applicants for Church Support Staff Positions
- Ministerial Compensation Worksheet
- Non-Ministerial Compensation Worksheet
- Paying a Minister Legally
- Personnel Policy Questionnaire
- Providing Good and Safe References
- Record-Keeping Requirements for Employees
- Sexual Harassment Sample Policy
- Tax Concerns for New Ministers
- US Department of Labor Poster Advisor
Employee Evaluation Sample forms are available for you and your staff. The purpose of the performance evaluation is to inform the employee how well they are doing and evaluate areas for improvement.