Pastor Nominating Process

The pastoral transition process has four stages:

1. Making Interim arrangements. Pastor Larry Ferris arrived in Sept. 2009.
2. Self-Study: congregation envisions a new future. The Congregational Self-Study Final Report has been completed, see copy at left.
3. Selection and work of the Pastor Nominating Committee.
4. Evaluation of transition process. (review by PNC and Session guided by the Presbytery Committee on Ministry)

A brief overview of responsibilities for members of the Pastor Nominating Committee, follow. You may wish to review the detailed Presbytery document about these steps: http://www.pbydetroit.org/Committees/Ministry/Pastoral Transition checklist-2 (rev 0609).pdf

Timeline

April 2010
Candidates for the Pastor Nominating Committee approved by Session; presented to and elected by the congregation and approved by the Detroit Presbytery Committee on Ministry (COM).

The PNC, after an orientation from the COM representative about the process, selects a chair of the committee.

May 2010
The PNC creates a Church Information Form (CIF) based on the report of the First Pres Congregational Self Study and submits it to the COM for approval.
With the guidance of the COM representative, the PNC creates a position description for the Senior Pastor which is posted by the Presbytery.

June- Sept 2010
PNC members review, evaluate and check references of the candidates who submit Personal Information Forms (PIFs) .
Interviews, both in person and by phone are conducted by members of the PNC.

October 2010- January 2011
PNC members reach concensus on the leading 3 candidates and make visits to candidate churches to continue the evaluation process. The PNC invites hosts their choice of candidate and family for a visit.

The PNC chooses the final candidate and presents the pastor to the COM for approval and an interview.

May-June 2011
The PNC presents the candidate to Session who will in turn call a congregational meeting to hear the PNC Report and vote on the recommendation.

Pastor is installed in the congregation by Presbytery.

The PNC works with other committees of Session to welcome the candidate.

PNC members participate in the evaluation of the transition process.

Time Commitment for Members of the Pastor Nomination Committee

The PNC will meet frequently throughout the process - typically weekly, although during the review period of PIFs it may not be necessary to meet in person each week.  Committee members should expect to be in frequent phone and email contact with each other and potential candidates.

The PNC is expected to give regular updates to Session, staff and the congregation during the search.

Some travel may be necessary to visit potential candidates.

Leadership
The Chair of the PNC is determined by the members of the PNC with guidance from the representative from the COM.