Churches in Transition

PBA churches seeking to call a pastor are invited to contact the offices of the PBA. The Regional Executive Pastor and/or Area Minister will meet with the church leadership to dialogue about the pastoral church process. The Equipped to Serve Anew manual has been developed by the PBA to assist congregations in discerning the level of clergy support needed during the transitional period between settled pastors.

PBA is available to provide assistance to the pastoral search committee and congregation as they begin to assess the needs of the church in preparation for calling a new pastor.  The booklet, ” Calling An American Baptist Minister,” a principle American Baptist resource, will be provided to assist the church in preparing for the pastoral search process.  This helpful resource provides important details about the search process including the exit interview with the outgoing pastor, the service of Closure/Farewell, calling the search committee, developing an Interim Minister plan, preparing a church profile, reviewing perspective pastoral candidates and the final call process.  We will connect the congregation to the American Baptist Personnel Services of ABHMS to assist in connecting to ABCUSA clergy seeking placement in our congregations.

Understanding the importance of the pastoral search process PBA is available throughout the search process and the service of installation.

PBA is also a valuable resource for other transition needs that may occur in the life cycle of the church.  A significant part of the ministry of PBA is to be present, to be prayerful, and to partner in ministry with all of the congregations that it serves.