Questions Church Leaders Ask
Find Out More about What to Expect from IPM
Hiring an interim pastor is an important and strategic decision for your church. Here are answers to questions that church leaders regularly ask in the same position as you.
What else should I know about IPM that would encourage our church to partner with you?ipmwebmaster2021-05-26T14:23:21+00:00
- Church leaders have likened partnering with IPM to having additional unpaid pastoral transition specialists working on their behalf.
- Our pastors are gray-haired Sully Sullenberger’s of the evangelical pastoral world. (Sully was the American retired Air Force fighter pilot and airline captain that ditched the U.S. Airways Flight 1549 into the Hudson River, saving 155 lives.) They have been flying aircrafts for a long time, have combat experience, know what to do in a crisis, and have the skillset to land the plane safely.
- Our pastors provide a secure passage to the next exciting phase of ministry.
Where can I access IPM’s Statement of Faith?ipmwebmaster2021-05-03T18:08:39+00:00
- Our Founding Statement of Faith is available on our website – interimpastors.com – see “About Us – Beliefs”.
- We also allow members to join IPM by affirming the doctrinal statement of the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE), also displayed on our website.
How are IPM pastors vetted? What about coaching and continuing education?ipmwebmaster2021-05-03T18:08:33+00:00
- IPM has stringent membership requirements. Each applicant is thoroughly vetted relative to our standards. At a minimum, an IPM pastor must meet age, experience and education requirements, pass a criminal background check and undergo a rigorous application process.
- We have an entire IPM department dedicated to ongoing refinement of our training curriculum, fostering effective interim coaching, holding annual continuing education events and making new resources available to prepare and sharpen our members.
How long is the typical IPM placement?ipmwebmaster2021-05-03T18:08:28+00:00
- Placements generally run between 12 – 18 months but can be as short as 9 or as long as 24 depending upon the situation, need and constraints of the pastoral search.
Can an IPM Interim Pastor be a candidate for the permanent position?ipmwebmaster2021-05-03T18:08:21+00:00
- No. IPM policies prohibit a member from being a candidate while he is serving the church as Interim Pastor OR at any time in the future should the position become vacant again.
What expectations should we have of IPM, and how accountable will the Interim Pastor be to the church and denomination?ipmwebmaster2021-05-26T14:27:46+00:00
- You should expect IPM, as a partner in ministry, to be sensitive and responsive to you, the church leadership and denominational policy.
- An IPM Interim Pastor will largely perform all the expected duties of a church’s senior pastor. When serving intentionally, he’ll lead a process to connect with people, assess church health, facilitate action items, assist in forward planning — and with your consent and approval, help coach the pastoral search.
- Our Interim Pastors are trained to contact you soon after arrival to gain your insight, clarify issues and establish an ongoing line of communication. The IPM Interim Pastor is ultimately accountable to IPM as his employer.
What are the financial arrangements when a church partners with IPM – and is a contract required?ipmwebmaster2021-05-26T14:26:15+00:00
- We ask each church to provide salary information in a form upfront. This salary is made available to a potential candidate, so he can evaluate how it aligns with his personal household income needs.
- IPM does not renegotiate, or relitigate the salary at the end of the process.
- This ensures when a pastor is called to serve, money will not be an issue at the end of the process. The pastor sees the salary number upfront and agrees to it when he accepts the call to serve.
- A contract is executed directly between the church and IPM. The church pays a fixed, contracted amount to IPM each month and we, in turn, handle the payroll and associated issues directly with our member. He is a W-2 employee of IPM while he is placed in the church.
Can I request a specific IPM member with whom we already have a relationship and already know?ipmwebmaster2021-05-03T18:08:02+00:00
- You may request an existing IPM member with whom you are familiar and/or already have a working relationship. If the pastor is available and has a desire to serve the given church, we will certainly seek to fulfill your request.
Will the pastor be from my denomination?ipmwebmaster2021-05-03T18:07:56+00:00
- We will make every effort to provide someone from your denomination, and if not, we will provide an interim pastor who will closely align with your Statement of Faith and support and bolster the existing relationship between you and the church.
What is the process for matching an IPM Interim with a given church?ipmwebmaster2021-05-26T14:26:56+00:00
- After an initial intake call, each church fills out two forms: a church information form (background on finances, attendance, issues the church is facing and how they would like the Interim to allocate his time) as well as a form that discloses the full gross annual package that the last pastor was earning.
- In addition to the church information form, the church may also provide any other material that would help IPM understand the church better, such as: an overview of the church’s ministries, a copy of the constitution and bylaws, a document about the church’s history, a church health survey, and anything related to the permanent pastoral search.
- Once all documents are uploaded, the church is added to the database, the documents are reviewed, and IPM will search for a pastor that best fits the church. This search is based on denominational background, the size of church the pastor has experience leading, and a pastor’s experience leading a church through conflict, to name a few.
- If there are two pastors available who fit the criteria, IPM will provide the church with those two options to choose from. However, often there is only one pastor who fits the criteria. But your church will be the only church to receive that resume. We don’t provide the same resume to more than one church at the same time.
What is IPM’s history and what type of denominations do you typically serve?ipmwebmaster2021-05-03T18:07:43+00:00
- IPM originated in 1990 as a result of informal discussions by six District Superintendents of the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA). While the EFCA provides IPM with 25% of the churches we serve, we also work closely with 20+ biblically-conservative evangelical denominations and fellowships – as well as conservative independent evangelical churches.
- IPM was formed as an independent 501(c)(3) and is not affiliated with a specific denomination.
Setting Expectations for Your Interim
How an IPM placement works.
You need an interim. And you need one quickly. How quickly can IPM supply a pastor? And what does that process look like? Watch here.