“The life cycle of a church includes a number of memorable milestones. One is pastoral transition. The longer a pastor has provided leadership, the more challenging the transition can be. That’s why it’s important to think carefully about how to navigate such waters.” - 9 Marks
Read Part 1.
It’s one thing to put some verses together and present a pastoral succession plan. It’s another thing to carry out this plan. The following distills many authors’ advice on pastoral succession, addressed here to key individuals and groups.
1. Commit yourself to training pastors. This commitment takes focus and time. Your ministry can have continuity when you train a pastor and have him take your place.
Every pastor is an interim pastor. Every pastor eventually resigns, retires, or dies. What is your church’s plan to find your next pastor?
Scripture lays the foundation for an ideal pastoral succession plan: the outgoing pastor trains men for ministry, prepares his church for his departure, and, with the church’s approval, appoints one of these men as his successor. If a pastor does not prepare his church for his departure, the church will likely struggle after he leaves. The Bible suggests a better way.
Six Bible passages help us form a Biblical plan for pastoral succession.
“In my experience, the search process usually takes longer for smaller churches. With limited financial resources, most small churches cannot provide a full-time compensation and benefits package for their pastor and his family, which often requires the pastor to serve in a bi-vocational capacity.” - BPNews
“I admit my bias here. I’ve served as an interim pastor when my schedule has allowed… I’m not asking for offers here, though. I’m simply encouraging pastorless churches to think about this option.” - Chuck Lawless
