Our Team
Interim Pastor Ministries Leadership
Meet Interim Pastor Ministries’ leadership team, seasoned church leaders with years of experience in interim ministry. We are passionate about helping your church find the right pastor to lead you through transition so you can move confidently into the next season of ministry.
Dr. Tom Harris
President
Tom Harris was appointed to IPM’s Executive Director position in 2012, the third Executive Director in the history of IPM since its formation in 1990. Tom’s title was upgraded to President by the IPM Board of Directors in the Fall of 2019. During his tenure IPM has provided well over 500 IPM interim pastors to churches across America.
Before assuming the helm of IPM, Tom served over a period of sixteen years as a skilled and strategic Interim Pastor in ten churches across seven different states. Dr. Charles McGowan, a PCA denominational statesman and founder of McGowan Associates, declares, “I know of no one in America who knows more about the ministry and work of skilled, strategic interim pastoring than Tom Harris. I highly recommend Tom and IPM to any and every church that needs an Interim Pastor.”
Tom’s education includes a B.A. from Washington Bible College, a Th.M. degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, and a Doctor of Divinity degree from Capital Seminary and Graduate School of Lancaster Bible College.
Tom’s passion is the health, vitality, and fruitfulness of the local church. He leads the IPM Team, distributed in various locales across America, from his home-base in the Raleigh, NC area. He is the author of Soaring Between Pastors: 8 Actions to Thrive During a Pastoral Transition.
Dr. Gordon Simms
Senior Director of Pastor and Church Development
After serving over 40 years in pastoral and Christian educational ministry, Gordon began ministry in 2011 as an IPM intentional interim pastor. During his interim ministry, he contributed to the development and oversight of IPM’s coaching program.
In 2016, Dr. Simms began serving as IPM’s Senior Director of Pastor and Church Development. In this role, Gordon is responsible for oversight of IPM’s comprehensive training process, the coaching program, and ongoing connection with interims, coaches, denominational and church leaders. He also oversees IPM’s Assessment Processes and is editor of IPM’s monthly publication, IPM IMPACT.
Gordon holds a Th.M. degree from Dallas Theological Seminary and a Doctor of Ministry degree in church leadership from Bethel Theological Seminary. He and his wife Andrea, live in Scranton, PA.
Todd Musser
Senior Director of Pastor and Church Engagement
Todd spent over 25 years in the business and corporate world prior to joining the IPM Team in 2014. He was employed in the southeast Pennsylvania area by regional banking corporations, two advertising agencies and a faith-based not-for-profit continuing care retirement community. Over his secular career he’s held titles as diverse as Accounting Clerk to Vice President of Sales & Marketing and many positions in between.
Todd’s focus at IPM is working with churches who seek to partner with us during pastoral transitions, as well as with pastors who desire to pursue IPM membership — from initial contact through the membership application process. He also oversees the production of IPM promotional materials and efforts, as well as the consistency of the IPM’s branding, marketing and visual identity.
He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Shippensburg University, Shippensburg, PA, and an MBA from St. Joseph’s University, Philadelphia, PA. Todd and his wife Kristi, live in Murrells Inlet, SC.
Rich Brown
National Director of Pastor and Regional Relationships
After 24 years in pastoral ministry and 21 years in Christian higher education (professor, seminary dean, VP), Rich retired in 2014 and began his new career in interim pastoring. After serving six interim pastorates on the West Coast (two prior to retirement), Rich accepted IPM’s invitation in 2019 to serve as IPM’s Western Director of Pastor and Regional Relationships. In December of 2020, Rich moved to his current role as National Director of Pastor and Regional Relationships.
“Initially my heart for churches in transition found its expression in serving as an interim pastor. Now my heart for churches in transition is being expressed through developing relationships with pastors, churches, and denominational leaders across America who could be assisted by the ministry of IPM.”
Rich has a B.A. in history from Crown College, (St. Paul, MN) and an M.A. in Christian Education, an M.Div and a D.Min from Bethel Seminary (St. Paul. MN). Rich and his wife, Kathy, live in Redding, CA.
Rebecca Stearns
Executive Assistant
Rebecca Stearns joined the IPM team in 2014. She and her husband call South Carolina home. Together they have been raising six terrific children and recently became grandparents for the first time. Rebecca’s favorite part of working with Interim Pastor Ministries is watching churches come to a place of healing and restoration.