CHRISTIAN MINISTRY INTERNSHIP
CHRISTIAN MINISTRY INTERNSHIP
Read Essay →Interim Ministry
Interim Ministry
May 24
Mr._______,
Earlier this week _______, who takes care of speaker arrangements here at _________, forwarded to me your letter requesting information on interim ministry. Since coming to the faculty in 1977, I have been involved in interim ministries in Kansas, Nebraska, and Missouri almost constantly for sixteen years. Earlier while teaching at The Cincinnati Bible Seminary (1971-1974), I did this kind of work in several churches in Indiana, Ohio, and Kentucky. On the accompanying pages I have noted some values that I have seen come to the congregation from those kinds of experiences.
Read Essay →THOUGHTS ON INTERIM MINISTRIES
THOUGHTS ON INTERIM MINISTRIES
Virgil Warren
1. An interim ministry buys time for a congregation to find a capable minister suited to its needs. That factor alone is a significant gain among churches that practice local autonomy because they have no official centers for organizing information about the needs of congregations and information about potential ministers. Besides word of mouth, some Christsian colleges are about the only places that make a deliberate effort to put ministers and congregations in contact with one another. Having more time is helpful also because it sometimes takes a while to check out references thoroughly, conduct interviews, arrange visits to the church, and make arrangements to close a previous ministry and relocate. When school-age children are involved, it is often not convenient or advisable to move during semesters; waiting till the end of a term might mean a three- or four-month delay. Sometimes ministers’ spouses have employment that is not easy to leave quickly. There may be property that has to be sold. Having time takes the pressure off so a church does not feel they must take the first possibility that presents itself; they can wait for the right man for a few months even, if need be.
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