Your church is heading into a pastoral transition, and let’s be honest—it can feel overwhelming. The good news? Churches face this every year, and while some manage it beautifully, others hit a few bumps along the way. When you look closer at the ones that struggle, you start to notice some common missteps.
The great thing is, once you know what those mistakes are (and how to steer clear of them), you can set your church up for success.
Let’s dive into three of the most common mistakes churches make during a pastoral transition—and how you can avoid them.
Mistake #1: Failing to Communicate Clearly and Often
Leadership transitions in any organization always pivot based on communications. That may be doubly true in churches. Too often, a pastor announces his retirement one week. You then hear a few discussions about a search committee to find the church’s next pastor.
Then nothing more … until one day you hear the search committee has a candidate—and they are ready to present that person to the church.
And then the search committee wonders why the candidate gets the cold shoulder. Frankly, it’s a recipe for disaster. People want to know what’s happening—especially when it’s related to the church’s lead shepherd.
How can you avoid this?
- Work off of a communications plan. Many churches don’t need extensive communications plans for the vast majority of their work. Transitioning to a new pastor is a clear example of when it’s almost always necessary (no matter the size of the church). Even if it’s a simple plan that only clarifies the frequency and the channels you’ll use during the transition period, it will make a big difference, especially if the staff and lay leadership involved all agree on it.
- Communicate often and consistently. Part of that plan needs to be a consistent cadence of communication. Make a commitment to communicating whatever information you have regularly. Even if you don’t have major news to share, you can say just that. A simple note like this can go a long way: “We’re still reviewing candidates for the lead pastor role. Please keep praying for us as we narrow in on the candidate God has for us.”
- Give your team opportunities to listen. Communication isn’t just one way. You need to give your congregants opportunities to share their concerns about the process. Regular Q & A sessions can be a great way to do this. Schedule them in advance and give people an opportunity to submit their questions ahead of time.
Mistake #2: Rushing the Process (or Dragging It Out)
The transition timeline can be hard to judge. There can be natural drift to either move too fast or move too slow. Both lead to problems.
If you rush the process, it’s possible you leave someone behind (the broader congregation, the outgoing pastor, the incoming pastor, the staff, etc.). Drag out the process and people may give up before you get to the finish line (either literally or figuratively).
How can you avoid this?
- Set a realistic timeline from the beginning. You need clear milestones. Of course, you can adjust those milestones as you go but be careful about moving too many of them.
Maybe in the beginning you expect to split preaching 50-50 after the first six months of the transition. Before doing so, it’s clear the incoming pastor isn’t ready for that. You may need to adjust the plan, but you should have a natural reticence to alter it too significantly. - Research what others are doing. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel with your timeline. Look at other successful transitions. Talk to denominational leaders and consultants. Every church is unique, but you can learn a lot from the timelines that have worked elsewhere. Look at the overall length of the transition, the milestones involved, etc. Make sure you’re checking out the timelines of churches that are similar to yours in size, denominational tradition, and temperament.
- Communicate your timeline to the congregation. When you communicate the timeline to the congregation, it’s harder to move away from it for whimsical reasons. You’d have to explain it first. Plus, you’re less likely to become reactive to congregational pressure to change the timeline.
Mistake #3: Ignoring Congregational Input
The bigger the church, the more likely it is to prioritize staff input over congregation input. In large churches, the top-down approach is simply easier. But this often leaves members feeling left out. Even in large churches, you need the buy-in of the congregation for a new lead pastor hire.
How can you avoid this?
- Schedule listening sessions or Q&A. Let your congregation’s voices be heard. One reason churches don’t take the input of the congregation seriously is that they lack a mechanism for hearing it.
- Go beyond formal channels of listening and engage informally as well. Ask questions of congregants throughout the process. Ask them questions about the transition after a small group meeting or during downtime at a ministry activity. Ask questions when you run into them at the supermarket. You’ll hear different responses in those informal situations than you do in the formal ones. Both kinds of interactions will provide important insights into what your congregants are thinking.
- Make sure your pastoral search committee reflects the diversity of your church. There’s a tendency to put the most educated and influential members of a church on a search committee. Decisions made that way usually lack diverse perspectives. Go out of your way to include different voices—whether those are people of different genders, ethnic backgrounds, ages, socio-economic levels, or education levels. You might also want to look at matching the diversity of the broader community you’re trying to reach.
It’s always best to learn from the mistakes of others. Your church can’t afford to make all of the mistakes on its own. Learn from the mistakes of others and you’ll give your transition a better chance to succeed.
For more insights into how your church can develop a successful church succession plan, take a look at our FREE guide: Planning for Tomorrow: Effective Succession Strategies for Church Leaders.
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