LYNCHBURG, Va. — Challenges facing intentional interim pastors as they help churches achieve “closure” during leadership transitions will be the focus of a March 4 event sponsored by the Virginia Network of Interim Ministers.
“Cake and Coffee Is Not Enough!”, to be held at Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center near Lynchburg, Va., will be led by Les Robinson, vice president and manager of interim ministry resources at the Center for Congregational Health in Winson-Salem.
Churches sometimes have difficulty achieving closure when a pastor transitions from leadership.
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“It is becoming increasingly clear that ‘closure’ is rarely handled well as a church begins the transition from one pastor to another,” Roy Thomas, president of the Virginia network said in a press release. “Consequently, interim ministers often are discovering that they must address this topic before they really can begin to engage the congregation.”
Participants at the 9:30 a.m.- 1 p.m. training event will consider why closure with a previous pastor is crucial for healthy congregations, when and how to address the issue during the interim period, and how interim ministers can model good closure.
For additional information, contact Thomas at pastorroy@salembc.com. To pre-register, contact Robin Danner at congreg@wakehealth.edu or 336.716.9722 by Feb. 28.
“Cake and Coffee Is Not Enough!” precedes a three-day conference on “Interim Ministry for Today’s Church,” hosted by the Center for Congregational Health. Registration and information on that conference is available from Danner or on the Center’s website.
Robert Dilday (rdilday@religiousherald.org) is managing editor of the Religious Herald.