Succession Planning In A Local Church
Your pastor is happily serving your church. And the church is happy to have their pastor. In fact, the church couldn’t be in a better season. With everything so good, now is the best time to shape your church culture so that your pastor’s eventual succession will be as seamless as possible.
Succession planning is creating a plan for what will happen once a congregation needs a new lead pastor – something every church will face.
And it’s important to note that succession planning is not primarily about retirement. Pastoral transitions will happen with a pastor who is far away from retirement age.
Pastors spend an average of eighteen years serving churches and an average of eight years staying at their church. On average, a lead pastor transitions at least twice during his or her career. Most pastors do not face the reality that one day, they will need to step down from their present role.
The State of Pastoring
More pastors are staying in their role until age 70.
The average tenure of lead pastors is increasing.
There are more full-time lead pastors over age 60 than under age 40.
The effectiveness of lead pastors over age 60 and in place over 15 years is on the decline.
Lead pastors who transition into another ministry role before age 65 have a better chance of re-employment than those who wait until over 65.
38% of ABNWT lead pastors are over the age of 60.
75% of lead pastors over the age of 60 are not financially prepared for their next.
Five years before age 65 (retirement age) is when the typical lead pastor begins to think about succession. (Vanderbloemen Client Survey, 2019)
The wisest pastors spend their early years creating options for their later years.
The Best Time to Plan
When is the best time for a Board and pastor to talk about planning for succession? Yesterday. The second best time is today. Succession is more urgent than you think and more important than you imagine.
Planning is godly. We plan when we build God’s house (our campuses). We plan how we will use God’s offerings (our budgets). Identifying the person God has anointed as your next pastor requires all the prayer and all the process you can muster.
Pastoral succession is a sign of stability and maturity in the ministry and tends to entail appreciation for the outgoing pastor. Appreciation and parting sorrow signify the pastoral ministry has been a success.
Maintaining Momentum in Transition
Whether it’s the pastor’s decision, the Board’s decision, or life circumstance, sooner or later all pastors move on.
When that transition occurs in a PAOC church, the traditional approach is:
The District Superintendent or their designate is empowered to act in the full capacity of the pastor.
The Board forms a search committee to find a new pastor.
The Board employs an interim or transitional pastor or a pastor for pulpit supply.
The church wonders how long the process is going to take.
To find a skilled candidate suitable for the church’s needs, with godly personal character, core competencies, ministry calling, and a fit for congregation/team chemistry, can last 9-18 months or more.
When a lead pastor exits without a successor, like it or not, strategic decisions for the church tend to be put on hold until the next lead pastor is chosen.
Momentum is lost.
Opportunities are lost.
People are lost.
Budgets become tighter.
The vision is downsized.
The congregation becomes inwardly focused in survival mode.
What if thinking ahead and planning for succession could benefit a pastor’s legacy and a church’s trajectory?
What marks the greatest leaders is thinking about what’s next before they have to.
Scripture has a lot to say about succession without offering a one-size-fits-all plan. Healthy succession is much more art than science and is a deeply spiritual process that calls for prayer and recognition of God’s leading.
Steps in A Succession Process
Pray and Fast: Leadership sets the pace for a special time of leaning into God at the start of the process. Consider calling the congregation to a month of prayer and fasting.
Create a Timeline: Craft an overall game plan. Work with the transitioning lead pastor to determine the timeline for the transition. Start date. Length of process. Baton pass to a successor. Exit date.
Define the Role: The role of the exiting lead pastor also needs to be discussed. Will they be part of the team choosing the new leader?
If they are retiring, will they have a temporary role in the church after retirement? At some churches, the retiring leader pastor continues to serve in a lesser role for a temporary period in something missions related or community related. In other instances, it is decided that the exiting lead pastor will have no role in the church after retirement.
It is important to have this conversation before you launch the succession process. Candidates for the role will want to know the answer to that question, and you owe it to the exiting lead pastor to allow him or her to be part of that conversation.
Release The Power: Over time, there must be a complete relinquishing of power by the outgoing pastor. The succession pastor must control four things to be the pastor fully: the pulpit, the money, the calendar, and the leaders. So long as the outgoing pastor has control over any of these things, the new pastor is not fully the pastor.
Care for the Transitioning Pastor and Spouse: A Board needs to walk alongside the exiting pastor and family. Some days, they will be looking forward to succession. On other days, they will feel they made the wrong decision and are transitioning too early. Give the exiting lead pastor a voice and plenty of space to transition with grace.
Time for the Successor: Succession is not complete when the name changes in the lead pastor’s office. A succession transition will last between 12-18 months. Check-ins along the way with pastor, Board and a church coach will help the healthy process stay on track.
No Rose-Coloured Glasses
Well-planned succession is messy. Complex. Emotional.
It won’t take the amount of time you plan for. It may be shorter, but most likely longer. Be flexible.
The process works best with an objective third party like a consultant, coach or district official.
Succession is not over when the successor begins. There is transition work to be done in the first year following succession. The process will go on for 1-3 years depending on congregation and staff size.
Succession Principles
Every pastor is an interim pastor.
Succession is not a “dirty” word. Take the long view. It’s time to create church cultures where succession is normal.
Succession planning builds long-term congregational health.
Early planning produces higher-quality planning.
Succession clarity takes time to develop.
The spouse of the transitioning pastor could experience the greatest emotional and relational impact. Be understanding and supportive.
The Successor writes the story of the succession experience. Their narrative is what is remembered. Honour the transitioning pastor.
Next
Start with the pastor and Board reading the book, “Next: Pastoral Succession That Works.”
Schedule a morning to discuss takeaways from the book. Talk about concerns, hopes, and anxiety in succession.
Contact Bob Jones at bob@abnwt.com or Corey Randell at corey@abnwt.com for more information on leading a successful succession process.