Spirituality and Interim Ministry Resources

Interim Congregations

Who are Interim Congregations?

To be an interim congregation is to be in-between Pastors. To be an interim congregation could mean that the solo, lead or senior Pastor has moved on, was transferred, was removed from office (involuntary termination), retired, went on disability, or died. To a somewhat lesser extent, it could mean the same things for an Associate Pastor or other ministerial staff. An Interim Pastor may or may not be brought in for a brief time to help the congregation through the in-between time.

I was in a congregation once as an Interim Pastor where the congregation had no real sense that they were an interim congregation. Several of the influential members stated they were the same, nothing was changing with them. They believed that the only “interim” thing about them was that they had an Interim Pastor (me) who came after their previous Pastor. My position was that they couldn’t have been more misinformed. They were an interim congregation, going through many changes, while in-between Pastors. They would have been an interim congregation whether or not they had an Interim Pastor to help them out during the in-between time.

Affiliation / Denomination

Interim congregations who contract with Intentional Interim Pastors have many affiliations and denominations. Some of the more common are: American Baptist, Congregational/United Church of Christ, United Church of Canada, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Presbyterian, Reformed, Christian Reformed, and Unitarian. There are some Intentional Interim Pastors in United Methodist congregations. This list is not exhaustive.

All Leadership is Transitional

Interim literature talks about the myth of permanency. In congregational life, we sometimes like to talk about the “permanent pastor” as opposed to the “temporary (interim) pastor.” But even someone who stays with a congregation for thirty years isn’t permanent. In the whole span of time and history, that’s ‘a drop in the bucket.’

A congregation I previously served had a one hundred and twenty year history. Most Pastors in that congregation stayed five years or less. In the congregation I am serving now, most Pastors have been long-term. They have only had seven Installed Pastors in one hundred forty-two years. Pastors come and go. Permanency is a myth. The reality is that all ministry is transitional. Moses was a leader of God’s people, but only up to the banks of the Jordan River, where ministry was passed to his successor, Joshua. Deborah was a Judge for God’s people, but only one of many over the course of time. The itinerant Apostle Paul went on no fewer than three missionary journeys, visiting congregation after congregation, temporarily spending time with them and encouraging the elders and leaders.

In the eyes of congregations, some pastors stay too long, while others don’t stay long enough. It is the role of the pastor to know how long to stay. It is probably best not to think of leadership success in terms of longevity. Longevity has its blessings, but it is not everything. In the end, leaders come and go, and all leadership is really itinerant and transitional. It has been so from the days of the Bible.