We need an Interim Minister!
You know what I hear a lot lately - “We need an Interim Minister!” From what I understand, there are very few to choose from at the moment. Maybe you are being called to Interim Ministry.
One of the respondents to our question about continuing education opportunities mentioned that they had completed The Art of Transitional Ministry… check it out to see if it might be for you.
Let us know in the comments if you’ve taken the training or are planning on it ⬇️
The Art of Transitional Ministry - It is an Art!
I’ll admit that I’ve considered taking training in Transitional (or what used to be called Interim) Ministry. I’ve always believed that it took someone with some unique gifts to pursue this kind of calling. Perhaps that’s why I have never felt called to it.
You see, a transitional minister needs to be someone who doesn’t mind being with a community of people for a short amount of time. For someone who served one congregation for over 20 years, it would seem that I wasn’t wired for short-term ministry!
I can definitely see the benefits in a ministry that is for a fixed time and is defined by some clear goals and objectives. Much of the practice of congregational ministry is less clear - at least in my experience.
So perhaps you are feeling pulled to this kind of ministry. It certainly would be a gift to the Church today. I hear so often that a congregation would be open to an “interim ministry,” but the availability of practitioners prevents them from pursuing it. Thus risking, in some cases, an ‘un-intentional’ interim minister as they call their next one without doing some of the necessary work that goes into transition periods.
From my perspective, whether you become a Transitional Minister or not, the training that you will receive could be a tremendous benefit to your current or future ministry context.
They address topics like:
family systems theory
adaptive change
group dynamics
conflict management
and much more.
These are areas that all ministry leaders could add to their toolkit.
And there may be more. Many are now offering virtual options as well as in-person training. Let us know if you’d recommend another organization to pursue this potential calling.