Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond has launched LeaderConnect, a web-based internet reference and referral service provided at no charge to the users.
The new resource, which started Feb. 12, draws on the resources of a Lilly Endowment funded grant and is taken in collaboration with the Virginia Baptist Mission Board, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, and state and national organizations of the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship.
Available from multiple entry points from the named collaborators, this nationally shared database will enable individual pastoral and church staff candidates and congregations a confidential means of initiating a conversation of job placement.
“Simply put, the system seeks to connect prospective candidates and churches,” said Timothy Norman, director of congregational relationships at the seminary.
To access the system, individuals and churches go to each organization's web page and click “Placement Opportunities” or “LeaderConnect” or whatever suggestive title the organization is using for the system. Then each user (candidate or church) will be guided in the development of a detailed profile (example: www.btsr.edu).
Once entry information is completed, Norman stated, “Users will be contacted by one of the partners in the collaborative consortium, thus combining high tech and high touch.”
Norman continued: “Research asserts that the best predictor of success in church placements is a realistic reference and referral strategy that takes advantage of structures linking candidates with churches. We combine this assertion with the knowledge that Baptists adhere to congregational polity, so there are no regional or national placement programs enabling these possible matches. Therefore, we are introducing and launching a system that will have a profound impact upon the health and vitality of congregations and will increase the likelihood of more efficient and effective church/staff relations.
“And, adding a relational component to this much-needed internet system, we are also developing a reference and referral team made up of the placement personnel at each collaborating institution to enable better communication among a web of persons working toward healthy transitions in churches and among ministers.”
It is unknown if other national denominations and religious groups have such a system but this is unique and leading edge among Baptists.
Linda Wear, LeaderConnect specialist for Texas Baptists, observes, “It has long been recognized that churches need an effective way to find appropriate candidates to consider without having to just ask around and candidates need a method to get their résumés before churches in a more efficient manner. LeaderConnect is an attempt to respond to that need.”
LeaderConnect is the result of a cooperative effort through the Network for Ministerial Excellence Matching Consortium that was formed through a grant from the Lilly Endowment. The consortium hired Merge Computer Inc. of Richmond to develop the technology for the system that has undergone several months of testing and has been revised and customized to fit the needs of each collaborating organization. Other participating organizations in the consortium that contributed to the creation of the basic operating system will have their own versions of it.
Special to the Herald