APIMS recently commissioned PCUSA Research Services to do a study of attitudes towards interim ministry.  The purpose of the study was to further understanding of interim ministry, help those pastors do their jobs better and to interpret our specialty more effectively  “A Study of the Effectiveness of Interim Pastors” is now complete and accessible at http://www.pcusa.org/research/interimpastors.pdf.  What follows is a very brief description of and response to the study’s results.

      To begin, there is good news.  The study sought responses from four groups: presbytery executives, Committee on Ministry chairs, clerks of session from churches that had employed interims pastors, and pastors who followed interims pastors.  Most were very favorable to the work of interim pastors.  Better still, the clerks and pastors, those who most closely experienced the interim pastors’ work, were most favorable.  “69% of both groups responded, ‘yes, a very good idea,’ and another two in ten responded, ‘yes, a good idea’” when asked if it was a good idea for a congregation to have an interim pastor.  That means that 89% of those who experienced the work of interim pastors felt it was a good or very good idea to use their services.

      Nothing is perfect, however, and issues of concern were raised.  First is the difficulty smaller congregations, especially those in more outlying areas, have in obtaining interims.  Partially, this is related to the difficulties smaller congregations have in obtaining any pastoral leadership.  As salaries and pension/medical costs rise while congregations shrink, many find the costs of trained pastoral leadership of any type prohibitive.  Tethered interim pastors (those who are tied to a home base) are most likely to be found in areas with a high concentration of population and congregations.  Outside these areas, congregations face the additional financial burden of helping an interim pastor relocate for one to two years.  For smaller congregations, the costs become an additional burden.  If interim processes are indeed worthwhile, APIMS and the denomination as a whole need to find a creative way to make these available to smaller congregation-through financial support, interim pastors that can serve as long-distance consultants, or the creation of interim teams.

      Second is the uneven quality of those available to do interim work.  While most congregations had good experiences, there were notable exceptions.  Someone untrained hired simply to fill the post often provides no benefit and may cause harm.  Additionally, it should be noted that training is not certification.  Nor is it a guarantee of competency.  That is as true for interim pastors as it is for seminary graduates as a whole, doctors, lawyers, business graduates, and others. There is no longer a certification program within the PC(USA), although few previously certified interim specialists retain that title until their certifications expire.  Misconduct and incompetence by interims is dealt with under the same procedures as misconduct and incompetence by other clergy.  Such decisions are in the hands of the local presbytery.

      So how does a congregation increase its chances of finding a successful interim pastor?
 
• Look for a candidate who has had a successful pastorate in the past, either as an interim or installed pastor.  Those who have been unsuccessful in multiple situations are unlikely to be successful interim pastors.
• If a person has not been an interim pastor before, look for someone with related experience.  This is especially true if a candidate is newly ordained or soon to be ordained
• Ask those who feel they had a good interim experience for the name of their interim pastor.  If that person is not available, ask him or her for additional referrals.
• Ask other interim pastors for referrals.
• Ask presbytery officials (presbytery executives, Stated Clerks, COM representatives) for suggestions
• Post your interim pastor search on the APIMS website.  http://www.apims.org/
• Check with representatives of the interim candidate’s former congregations, people who were there at the time, about how things went.
• Be clear on the tasks expected of the interim pastor and their relative importance.  One of the causes of disappointment is overly high (even good interims are limited humans) or differing expectations.  If there are particular concerns, look for someone with skills in those areas. 
• Don’t expect the interim pastor to make everyone to feel good.  Sometimes there are serious administrative or staffing problems that need to be addressed (i.e. a long-time staff member who is no longer functioning or has become disruptive).  A good interim pastor will make the change and take the hit rather than leave it to the new pastor.
 
       Finally, it is helpful to know when interim pastors are most useful.  A majority of COM chairs and Presbytery Executives identified the following situations as those in which the skills of an interim pastors are most beneficial:
 

  When a pastor leaves a congregation under duress.
  When a congregation is experiencing significant conflict.
  When the senior pastor of a multi-staff congregation leaves.
  When the pastor dies unexpectedly.
  When a pastor who served the church for many years accepts another call.
  But there are other occasions when an effective interim pastor will benefit the congregation in transition.