ABCUSA Transition Ministries is interested in placing trained interim ministers.  We provide opportunities to learn the differences between installed pastorates and interim ministry, the emotional dynamics of a congregation after a pastor has left, the focus tasks of interim ministry, and how to prepare a congregation for the coming of new leadership. Contact Patricia.Hernandez@abc-usa.org to learn about upcoming training opportunities.

Transition Ministries Training Topics: Those participating in the course will engage in many new learnings and activities. However, the most time will be spent on the following five topics:

1. The stages of the interim time: Every transitional congregation engages in a sequential line of events, eight in total. The first of these is closure or the conclusion of the previous Pastor’s ministry and the final one is startup, the beginning of the new Pastor’s ministry. In between is the work of Transition – direction finding, identity clarification, search, negotiation, call and installation.
2. The process tasks of the interim minister: Work on the process tasks is systemic rather than sequential. The emphasis changes over time, but work on the process tasks, or at least most of them, is going on all at the same time. There are five process tasks – joining the system, connecting with the system, assessing the system, focusing/assuming responsibility, and evaluating and exiting.
3. Congregational assessment tools: These are tools that can be used to study the health of a congregation to assist the congregation with its organizational and spiritual growth. More than seventy-five pages of congregational analysis/assessment tools are included in the resource notebook that will be provided to those participating in the training.
4. The five focus points of the congregation in transition: The five focus points are heritage, mission, leadership, connections, and future. For almost all congregations in transition heritage is first focus point explored as an examination of a congregations’ past informs mission, leadership and connections Future is the last of the focus points to be considered as it deals with the qualities needed in the next Pastor and is the point at which the Pastor Search Committee is formed/activated.
5. The Transition Team: This Team is the distinctive aspect of Intentional Interim Ministry. It is the means by which the congregation does its transition work. The Interim Minister does not lead the Transition Team but is the facilitator of the Team. The Transition Team leads the transition process, the congregation participates, and the Interim Minister has the limited, but important role of facilitating the process.