MARSCAST

Episode 325: 325. How To Run a Faithful Pastoral Search

Reformed churches are facing more pastoral vacancies than at any point in Dr. Paul Ipema’s lifetime, and the elders left to fill them are rarely trained for the work. Send a letter of inquiry today, and perhaps one pastor in ten will even consider a call. So how does a search committee avoid both the three-year drift and the six-month mismatch? In part one of this two-part series, Dr. Ipema, who directs MARS’ Ministerial Apprenticeship Program and is the Associate Professor of Ministerial Studies, explains why calling a pastor is nothing like filling a job, which three priorities Scripture sets, who to ask about a candidate before the interview, and the answer he treats as a red flag. If you’re on a search committee, press play, then send this to the rest of your committee.