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Consider three facts of church life. Every church, at some point, will have to have to conduct a pastoral search. Most church boards, with their ever changing leadership, have little experience in forming a search team. Most members of newly appointed search teams have never participated in a search effort and have no idea where to begin.

The magnitude of tasks required to conduct an effective pastoral search process can be staggering. Church boards need to understand what they are responsible for and how to form the search team. Newly formed teams need to understand the strategy of a search process, the order of the multitude of tasks, and how to manage the search.

Two books, one message. The two books below are essentially the same. The one of the right is written for general church use across denominational lines while the one of the left is written for two specific denominations. In order to best function as a search team, it is suggested that each team member have their own copy. Every member then is on the same page and understands the process.

Managing the Pastoral Search Process: A Manual on Bringing Quality to the Pastoral Search Process

The Alban Guide to Managing the Pastoral Search Process

• © 1999 by The Alban Institute
• Author: John Vonhof
• ISBN: 1-56699-213-3
• 124 pages with charts
• 6 x 9
• $14.95
• 124 pages with charts Soft cover 5.5 x 8.5 $14.95

• © 1996 by Footwork Publications
• Author: John Vonhof
• 130 pages with charts/hole punched
• Soft cover
• 8.5 x 11
• $8.95

Click here to order the book now

Click here to order the book from Alban

This book is an exhaustive source of information for churches in the Christian Reformed and Reformed Church of America. The book relates the information to the church order of both denominations. A generic sample 24-page Church Information packet is available to help churches through identifying who they are as a church. The Diskette of Appendix Files contains WORD document files of the book's 10 appendix items.

• Church Information Packet ($4.95)
• Diskette of Appendix Files ($4.95)

Pastoral search teams for congregations in all denominations will find a wealth of information and ideas in The Alban Institute's guide to the complex task of finding a new pastor. Every step is detailed: forming the search team, keeping the congregation informed, conducting a congregation self-study, communicating with candidates, developing selection criteria, conducting interviews, managing the call process, and arranging for a smooth transition. Sample letters, forms, and other tools are provided for use in major aspects of the search process.

Task Clusters - Each of the books have task clusters at the end of each chapter. These are charts similar to flow charts that detail the flow of tasks as the search team works through the steps of the search process. An important part of the charts is how they show the inter-relatedness of all the tasks. They show tasks which otherwise might be over looked. There are 13 task cluster charts.

Church Information Packet - The Church Information Packet is 24 pages in length and is usable by readers of either book. The packet is a very detailed example of how one church described themselves to pastors who were interested in their church.

Diskette of Appendix Files - The diskette contains files related to the book on the left although they can easily be used for both books. There are 10 files in WORD format that will save hours of retyping.

The Church Information Packet and diskette of Appendix Files are available on the Order Form

© 2003 Footwork Publications, All Rights Reserved. Last Updated August 15, 2003