Pastor Search Committee Toolkit
Everything you need to find your next pastor — in one comprehensive, step-by-step guide.
Price: $39
When Your Pastor Leaves, Everything Changes
Your pastor just left. Maybe it was expected. Maybe it was sudden. Either way, your church is now in crisis.
A search committee has been formed. You’re on it. And you have no idea what to do next.
Where do we start? How do we find candidates? What should we pay? How do we avoid making a terrible mistake?
A bad pastor hire costs $50,000 or more in wasted salary, search costs, and church damage. The stakes are high. You need guidance you can trust.
The Solution
The Pastor Search Committee Toolkit is a comprehensive, step-by-step guide that takes you from “our pastor just left” to “our new pastor’s first Sunday.”
Written specifically for small churches, this toolkit assumes you have no experience with pastoral searches. It walks you through every step, answers every question, and provides every template you need.
What’s Included
The toolkit includes 8 comprehensive PDF documents totaling 55+ pages of practical guidance, checklists, and editable templates:
- Part 1: Getting Started — Immediate action checklist, grief processing guide, interim pastor guide, church self-assessment, search committee formation, committee covenant, communication plan
- Part 2: Defining What You Need — Church profile template, pastor profile template, compensation benchmarking guide (by church size and region), job description template, bi-vocational consideration guide
- Part 3: Finding Candidates — Where to post job listings, candidate sourcing strategies for small churches, resume evaluation scorecard, initial screening checklist, phone interview guide
- Part 4: Evaluating Candidates — In-person interview guide, character reference check guide, background check policy, social media review guide, spouse/family interview guide, candidate comparison matrix
- Part 5: Making the Decision — How to narrow to your final candidate, extended reference check guide, credential verification, how to make the offer, compensation negotiation guide, how to notify unsuccessful candidates
- Part 6: Onboarding Your New Pastor — First 90 days plan, assimilation guide for the church, pastor-church covenant, first Sunday planning, communication templates
- Part 7: Bonus Resources — 10 biggest mistakes search committees make, search committee prayer guide, timeline templates (6, 9, and 12-month), budget template, FAQ with 15 common questions, recommended resources
- All Templates — 15 ready-to-use templates: search committee covenant, church self-assessment questionnaire, pastor profile worksheet, resume evaluation scorecard, phone interview scorecard, reference check form, candidate comparison matrix, offer letter, non-acceptance letter, pastor-church covenant, first 90 days plan, search budget worksheet, communication plan timeline, background check authorization, interim pastor agreement
What Makes This Different
vs. Free PDFs: Non-denominational, comprehensive, digital + editable, includes step-by-step guides, updated regularly
vs. Hiring a Consultant ($2,000-$10,000): A fraction of the cost, available immediately, comprehensive and practical
Pricing
Standard Price: $39
Scripture quotations are from The ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
© 2026 MinistryPlace.net. All rights reserved.