When a prospective pastor or pastoral couple meet with the Personnel
Relations Commission, you need to be ready with good questions which
will be valuable in determing whether or not this pastor will be
a good fit for your church. Here are some questions you might use.
Intrinsic Motivation
What gives you the greatest feeling of accomplishment in your
ministry?
Tell us about a project or ministry program that you initiated
and implemented successfully. Describe the steps taken in the
process.
Spousal Cooperation
What convictions do you as husband and wife share regarding
your respective roles in ministry, and how have you arrived at
these convictions?
How do you balance the demands of ministry with the needs of
your family?
What discrepancies or disagreements do you and your spouse have
regarding ministry? How do you cope with these, and what efforts
have you made to resolve them?
Why do you believe that the context for this church is the right
setting for you and your family to minister?
Building Relationships
Would you say that you are "people-oriented" or "task-oriented"?
What are your strengths as far as people skills are concerned?
Do you have experience in discipling? Mentoring?
What is your basic reaction to conflict?
What group(s) do you feel most comfortable ministering to?
Tell us about a time when you had to work in a team situation
with a strong-willed and influential person whose ideas were not
compatible with your vision. How did you to come to agreement
with that person? What were the results? Would you change anything
if you had it to do over again?
Congregational Health
What are the characteristics of a healthy congregation?
How would you go about improving an area where a church was
not healthy?
Give us an example of a time you led a medium sized group (50-100)
into a program of systematic and/or sustained discipleship. What
were the results? Immediate? Long term?
Give us an example of a time you led a medium sized group (50-100)
into a time of systematic and/or sustained evangelism. What were
the results? Immediate? Long-term?
Describe a conflict you encountered regarding someone’s
role in the church or in a group. How did you attempt to resolve
it? What were the results? Do you wish you had done anything differently?
Using the Giftedness of Others
Share an experience or two in which you helped people realize
and develop their spiritual gifts.
Describe one of the methods you use to involve others in the
ministry of the church. When did you last use this method? What
were the results? If you did this again, would you do anything
differently?
Building Group Cohesiveness
Have you experienced a time in your ministry when you felt a
negative reaction to your authority as a pastor or leader? If
yes, how did you handle the situation? If no, how would you handle
a situation like this in your ministry?
Describe a time when members of your church were divided over
an important issue. How were you able to guide them to a satisfactory
solution?
Describe the program you have found most successful in regards
to greeting new people, doing follow-up with the first time attenders,
and assimilating them into your church ministry.
Tell us about the last time you worked with a group that was
resistant to change. What did you do to overcome the resistance?
What was the result? Would you do anything differently?
Tell us about the most recent major change you initiated in
a church setting. Walk us through the process you used. What did
you do to ensure the change was permanent and working well?
Theological Distinctives
Do you have difficulty accepting the doctrinal stance of the
Church of the United Brethren in Christ?
If you have a disagreement with the Church, where is that disagreement?
Do you have a doctrinal "hobby horse" that has caused
you difficulty in the past?
Exercising Faith
Tell us about the last time God answered one of your prayers.
Tell us about a situation when you stood upon a biblical principle
even though you were not sure anyone would stand with you.
Resilience
What has been your biggest personal failure or disappointment?
How did you cope with it?
Describe a time when you handled unfounded criticism against
you.
Describe a situation when your ministry expectations were high
but the outcome was unexpectedly disappointing. What was your
response to the disappointment?
Tell us about an incident where politics were used to undermine
or reverse a decision made by you or the church board. How did
you handle it? What were the results? What changes would you make
in your actions if it happened again?
Responsiveness to Community
Tell us about the process you used to become familiar with a
new church or position that you held for more than one year. What
was the situation? What did you do to make sure you did a good
job in the first year? What were the results? What changes did
you make the following year? How were the results improved?
Describe a time in your ministry in which you used information
concerning the community to develop an outreach ministry plan.
Describe an outreach ministry or event in which specific needs
of the community were met.
Describe the ways by which information concerning the ministry
of the church was communicated to the community.
Additional Questions:
What areas of your ministry need the most development?
How do you envision your ministry developing over the next three
years?
How do you maintain regularity and consistency in your prayer
life in the face of numerous demands upon your time?
Tell us about the last two formal seminars and/or courses you
attended to improve your pastoral and/or leadership skills. When
did you attend them? Give examples of how you implemented what
you learned. What were the results?
