A major challenge for not only the pastor but the pastor’s family is how to get a sense of the congregation as a whole. Even if a Pastoral Nominating Committee does its best to represent the congregation, they do not reflect the various opinions, ideas, and personalities that exist in any congregation. Some of this requires time for people to interact; however, there are some things that can help facilitate the process.
In coordination with the new pastor, a series of small group meetings across the congregation can be set for the first three or four months. Since there will be many other demands on both the pastor and family in the first months, it is probably best to space these meetings so that there is one or no more than two a week. Do it in homes, rather than the church, so that the pastor can become acquainted with where the people live. It is important that the pastor’s spouse be present. To make this possible, arrange for childcare for the pastor’s young children.
SHARING EXPECTATIONS
The purpose of the meetings is both to meet each other and to begin to share expectations. To facilitate this, develop a set of four or five questions for use at all meetings. Some basic questions might be: What is something that you are most proud of in the church’s ministry? What is one hope you have for the future of the congregation? What is one thing about the congregation that you would like the pastor to know? What is one area in which you would like to see and support change occurring? What is something you hope will not change? What is one thing you expect from any pastor?
When the pastor has heard the majority of the congregation reflect on these or similar questions, s/he will have a pretty good sense of the challenge and promise of ministry in your church.
SPIRITUAL AND VOCATIONAL COVENANT
The new pastor arrives, and s/he has been called to be a spiritual leader of this congregation. It is so easy to get weighed down by the practical issues of beginning a new pastorate–getting to know the people, understanding the traditions of the congregation, getting acquainted with the community, becoming familiar with the church programs– that the spiritual and vocational (God’s unique calling for the church) focus of the congregation and pastor can fade into the background. Yet the future health of the congregation and the pastor may rest in these areas more than anywhere else. The first year is critical in setting the tone of the importance of the spiritual energy and the calling of God for the congregation. Below is a suggestion of how to keep alert to these areas.
After the first three months of the new pastorate, the Pastoral Nominating Committee should have a joint meeting with the pastor and the session. At that meeting, the PNC should share their own thoughts and ask both the session and the pastor to consider what they sense might be five worthy spiritual goals for the congregation and three statements expressing where they think God might be calling this congregation at this point in time. The pastor will also be asked to share what s/he thinks might be a couple of personal spiritual goals and how s/he understands God’s calling to this congregation. The numbers are arbitrary and might be more or less. The point is that after this brief experience with each other, what are they perceiving? It also sets the tone from the beginning that this is what it is all about. Finally the PNC, the session, and the pastor need to agree to meet near the end of the first year of their relationship and review their work and evaluate both the progress towards these goals and whether in light of their longer relationship they would make any changes.
The very decision to participate in this process elevates the importance of the spiritual and vocational aspect of their shared ministry. It also demonstrates support for the pastor to develop these areas.
