The only search firm focused exclusively on the churches of Christ!
Churches
Equip Your Search Committee
Read More...
Templates
Sample Documents
Read More...
Don Viar, MBA, CPA (inactive)
Founder & CEO
The Minister Hiring Process™
Thank you for your interest in our Minister Hiring Process. This is the process we advocate in our self-driven search training program. It is at the heart of what we do and if followed correctly can be the key to better results for you in your minister search.
The Need
Have you been asked to help with the search for a new minister? If so, you probably have a lot of questions such as:
- Where do you start?
- What sort of steps should you take in the search process?
- What do the elders need to do?
- How do you form a search committee?
- How do you find the best candidates?
- Are there any resources out there that can help us?
We created The Minister Hiring Process™ to help you answer these questions and avoid the pitfalls that most congregations encounter when searching for a new minister.
The Process
The Minister Hiring Process™ was based on search models used over the last 30 years in the business and academia worlds for the hiring of senior executives and university officials. Minister Match took these models and adapted them to the unique nature of hiring a minister within the churches of Christ. The result is a proven 5 phase process designed to help you:
- Create a focused and driven search process
- Form a representative search committee
- Clearly define what you want in the next minister
- Develop outstanding candidates
- Create a highly interactive environment where the candidates and committee really get to know each other
- Reduce the risk of a candidate rejecting your offer
- Increase your odds of making a fantastic long term hire
Resources
To help you learn more about the Minister Hiring Process we have created a series of publications, webinars and training seminars. When you are ready to learn more:
- Download the "Minister Hiring Process - Overview" using the link shown on the top right of this page.
- Order a copy of The Search Committee Handbook
The Role of the Elders in the Search Process
A successful minister search begins with clear, effective leadership from the elders of the congregation. In this 60 minute webinar we explore the minister search process from an elder’s point of view. Specifically, we cover:
- The importance of making the right hire;
- An overview of the Minister Hiring Process™;
- The role of the elders in a search;
- Defining the position;
- Forming a search committee;
- Supporting and equipping the search committee;
- Creating a “Charge” for the committee;
- Working with your committee;
- Receiving the Nominee; and
- Crafting the job offer.
Attend this webinar BEFORE you start your search!
Price - Free!
Target Audience - The elders of the congregation (hopefully as a group)
Timing - Webinars are conducted by appointment at a time that is convenient for your elders.
The Search Process Workshop
What is the cost of a bad hire or a failed search?
Since there are tremendous amounts of time, effort, and resources expended in the search process, it makes sense to conduct your search in an efficient and effective manner that increases your odds of finding a long term minister. Avoid the most common pitfalls by providing your search committee with a custom designed workshop to improve how your congregation identifies and selects its candidates.
This on-site, half-day workshop presents a step-by-step guide to the Minister Hiring Process™ and helps the committee lay the foundation for a successful search. The workshop can be tailored to the appropriate audience as well as to the target for the search process (i.e., pulpit vs non-pulpit ministers).
In addition to the topics discussed in the Search Committee Webinar, we typically cover advanced topics such as:
- Wrapping up the Planning Process
- The Job Description
- Writing effective ads and where to place them
- The Congregational Survey
- The Candidate Questionnaire
- Handling internal candidates
- Developing a recruiting plan
- Identifying networking sources
- Building a prospect list
- Practicing the “cold call”
- Writing better interview questions
- Details of the Selection Process
Bonus #1 - 10 Free copies of the Minister Search Handbook - The Step-by-Step Guide to Hiring Your Next Minister. -- A $250 value.
Bonus #2 - As part of this workshop, the committee receives unlimited access to the tools and templates section of the MinisterMatch.com website. This toolkit is full of the checklists, letters, agendas, sample forms, and sample questions that will help ease the workload on the committee and ensure the success of your search. -- A $450 value.
Price - $2,500.00 plus travel.
Target Audience - The Search Committee
The Role of a Search Committee Member
The simple fact is that most congregations fail to provide their search committees with any real training about how to do their job. In this 60 minute webinar we provide search committee members with a realistic overview of the task before them and provide practical instruction about how to proceed through the process. This introductory webinar will cover:
- The importance of making the right hire;
- An overview of the Minister Hiring Process™;
- The role of a search committee member;
- The importance of confidentiality;
- Planning the search;
- Developing a candidate recruiting strategy;
- An overview of the selection process; and
- Fulfilling your “Charge” from the elders.
Attend this webinar as you start your search!
Price - Free! (for a limited time)
Target Audience - The Search Committee
Timing - Webinars are conducted by appointment at a time that is convenient for your committee.
Get Started with Training and Coaching
If you represent a church, search committee, or non-profit organization and would like to find out more about our services, please fill out the form below. A representative from our firm will contact you shortly and walk you through our process as well as what an engagement with our firm looks like.
If you are an individual looking for career coaching, please take a look at our resume writing and career coaching resources. Please do not fill out the form below.
Contact Information
Minister Match
410 South Lowe Avenue
Cookeville, TN 38501
Your congregation has just hired a minister, and it seems like they are the perfect fit. Congratulations! There is one more step to the process, though, and it is just as important as the process of finding the right minister. You might have heard people refer to how the “first hundred days” of someone’s job usually sets the tone for their entire career with that organization. The same is true with ministers. Just as your congregation is going through a major transition, so is your new minister. The first few months of a job are a stressful time, and it is the job of the elders and search committee to help your new minister through their transition.
We refer to this as the “On-Boarding Stage.” Since the “first hundred days” is so important to the rest of a minister’s career with your congregation, we believe this stage is one of the keys to reducing minister turnover in the church. In this post, we want to talk about a few of the things that a new minister needs from their congregation during this transition period. We will refer to them as the ABC’s of the On-Boarding Phase.