Interim Pastor Handbook for Small Churches

When a pastor leaves a small church, the congregation often faces an immediate question: who leads us now? The interim period — the season between one pastor’s departure and the next pastor’s arrival — is one of the most consequential seasons a church will walk through. How it is navigated shapes the health of the congregation for years to come.

This handbook is a practical guide for interim pastors, church boards, and congregations in small and rural churches. It covers every stage of the interim period from the first week to the final transition.

What This Handbook Covers

The Purpose of the Interim Period

The interim period is not simply a waiting room between pastors. It is a distinct season with its own purpose: stability, honest assessment, healing, preparation, and prayer. Churches that treat it as a waiting room miss what God may want to do in it.

The Interim Pastor’s Role

• Core responsibilities — preaching, pastoral care, stability, and supporting the search
• What the interim pastor should not do — a clear list of boundaries that protect both the interim pastor and the congregation
• How to avoid the most common interim pastor mistakes

The Board’s Role During the Interim

• Establishing a written interim agreement — what to include and why it matters
• Supporting the interim pastor effectively
• Managing the search process alongside the interim period

Common Challenges and How to Handle Them

• When the congregation wants to skip the interim and call someone quickly
• When the interim pastor becomes too comfortable and starts acting permanent
• When conflict surfaces during the transition
• When the search takes longer than expected
• When the congregation wants to call the interim pastor permanently

Interim Pastor First 30 Days Checklist

A week-by-week checklist covering orientation, relationships, assessment, and communication — everything the interim pastor needs to do in the first month to get off to a strong start.

Closing the Interim Well

• How to step back gracefully when the new pastor is called
• The transition document — what to prepare for the incoming pastor
• Why how the interim pastor leaves shapes how the new pastor arrives

Who This Is For

Retired pastors serving as interim ministers. Church boards navigating a pastoral transition. Denominational leaders placing interim pastors. Any small or rural church between pastors.