Reference and Referral Resources

Congratulations on being chosen by your church to serve on the pastor (or staff minister) search committee! What an important task is before you. And what great trust and respect your church must have in you to have chosen you to represent them in this way and to act on their behalf.

Our mission at CBF is to "serve Christians and churches as they discover and fulfill their God-given mission." We are committed to assisting you as you seek the leader who will serve with you in the unique mission of your congregation.

You may be feeling a bit overwhelmed. And it is possible that none of your committee members has ever served on a search committee. Whether or not that is the case, it is important for your committee members to get to know each other well. Your trust in one another is of paramount importance as you work together. There is no place on a search committee for personal agendas, unrevealed reservations about the process or a candidate, or power struggles. You will need to bathe the process in prayer and be committed to each other and to the good of the particular Body of Christ whom you represent.

While no two search committees go about the process in the same way, there are resources that can help equip you for the process of finding the man or woman who is truly called to serve with your congregation. We have listed some of them below.

If you wish to advertise your open position, we have also included links to some of the Baptist publications in which you may wish to post an ad.

As you go about your task, know of the prayerful good wishes of those of us at CBF for you and for your church. Let us know when you need us!

Craig Janney (cjanney@cbf.net)

 List of resources:

• Ten Commandments for Search Committees
• Reading/Resource List for Search Committees
• Pastor Profiling
• Background Checks – Why the Necessity
• Avoiding Hiring Mistakes
• Interviewing a Candidate
• Writing the Perfect Job Description
• Choosing Your Next Clergy Leader
• Search Committee Guide (Baptist General Convention of Texas)
• Questions for Search Committees
• The Pastor Search – One Church’s Story
• Strengthening the Church During a Staff Search
• Maintaining Confidentiality in Search Committees

Links for Advertising Your Ministry Position:

Baptists Today
Biblical Recorder (NC)
Baptist News Global

CBF of Georgia

CBF of North Carolina

CBF of Virginia

Truett Theological Seminary, Office of Ministry Connections