There is no question that one of the keys to the success of our Minister Hiring Process is the cooperation of a congregation's search committee. These are the folks that are hard at work meeting with each other on a regular basis, making recruiting calls (if taking the Self-Service route), sifting through applications, interviewing candidates both remotely and in person, and ultimately deciding who to move forward in the process. A good search committee is crucial to finding the right minister for your congregation, but what about the elders?
Isn't it the elders who are ultimately supposed to be in charge? When ministers are told, "We just don't think you're the right fit," as the reason for their termination (which is ultimately what Minister Match wants to prevent), isn't it the elders who are making that decision? Some of you may be thinking, "Okay, I get the idea of having a good search committee, but shouldn't the elders have a larger role in this process?" We understand this concern, so we want to take a few minutes in this post to assure you that if your congregation chooses to work with us, your elders will be just as involved as your search committee in finding the "right fit" for your congregation.
Before the search committee is even formed, it is the elders that communicate with us over the phone and in person to help us understand the needs of your congregation. They decide what finding the "right fit" means for their congregation, and the search committee chair works closely with the elders to craft a job description and determine what questions need to be asked to determine who is that "right fit." The elders develop a "Charge" to the search committee and entrust those members with the responsibility of finding candidates who meet the qualifications that have been determined by the elders. The leadership of the elders is crucial in this Planning Phase of our process, both to the search committee and our recruiting team.
Their involvement does not stop there. It is their responsibility to work closely with the search committee throughout each phase of the process, supporting and encouraging them and giving approval to the canididates they select to move forward in the process. During the final stages of the process, the elders have the opportunity to meet with each finalist and get to know them on a more personal level. This way, they can feel confident in their decision to offer the job to the final nominee. The decision to offer the job to the nominee and the details of that job offer are completely up to the elders.
The presence of a search committee does not serve to diminish and eldership's control over the process, but it allows the search committee to carry out the eldership's vision more efficiently than the elders alone, due to their many responsibilities, could do. The goal of our process is to involve as much of the congregation as possible in the search process while still allowing the elders to have control over that process. From experience, we think your elders will be pleased with our results.