Placement Services
Placement in the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference is handled through the central office in Lake Elmo, Minnesota. While our member pastors and churches may also seek outside of the Conference, it is in the best interest of both the church and pastoral candidate to use the placement process to help ensure a healthy and fruitful pastor-parish marriage.
For the Church:
Church Information Form (CIF) - Local churches seeking a CCCC-member pastor should first submit a Church Information Form. This form will allow us to more accurately match potential candidates to the congregation with respect to their doctrine, ministry practices, and geographic availability.
Transitioning Your Church: Guiding Church Leaders, Search Committees and Transition Teams through the Challenges of a Season of Pastoral Change (©2008 CCCC) - Written by a large list of CCCC contributors, this manual is designed to provide guidance to local congregations on the pastoral search process and to maintain a healthy ministry in between pastors. Topics will also include interim pastor options, staff salary considerations, and addressing conflict and dysfunction before calling the new pastor. Downloadable free of charge to CCCC-member churches – contact the Conference Office for a password. Coming Soon!
Church Ministry Assessment Profile – The CCCC highly recommends that local churches in transition request a Church Ministry Assessment Profile. This profile not only identifies specific steps the church can take to improve ministry to its membership and community, but it will also help the church address conflict and other problems before calling the next permanent pastor.
Interim Pastor Ministry – There are essentially three pastoral options for the time between permanent pastors:
A “Temporary” Pastor - essentially a supply pastor, covering Sunday morning ministry, weddings and funerals, this option is the least expensive, but may also cause the church to lose serious ministry momentum while seeking a new permanent pastor because the daily ministry leadership the church needs is missing. For this reason, we generally recommend against this option.
A “Transitional” Pastor - for congregations that are relatively healthy and at peace, this option provides a regular pastor who can continue the needed ministry and can also assist the search committee while the church seeks a permanent pastor.
A “Transformational” Pastor - where there has been a forced pastoral exit, conflict, dysfunction or other congregational wounds, we recommend an extended season of specialized ministry with an Intentional Interim Pastor — a pastor who is trained to address these issues so that the church is again healthy before calling their next permanent pastor.
The CCCC Placement office can provide important guidance for interim ministry.
Church Placement Resources - Guides available from Foresee Publications to assist in your pastoral search.
For the Candidate:
Pastor Information Form (PIF) - Pastors seeking a CCCC-member church should first submit a Pastor Information Form. This form will allow us to more accurately match the candidate with potential congregations with respect to doctrine, ministry practice and geographic location.
Pastoral Standing (Membership) – It is the CCCC’s policy not to recommend any pastor to our churches who does not have credentialed standing with us. For this reason, any pastor desiring to seek placement within the CCCC must first contact the placement office for instructions on obtaining CCCC membership. The CCCC accepts dual standing in many cases, meaning that a pastor may not need to give up current standing with another denomination or ordaining body.
Pastoral Ministry Assessment Profile – The CCCC highly recommends all pastors in transition request a Pastoral Ministry Assessment Profile. This profile looks at critical areas in personality, spiritual giftedness, calling, and leadership style to help the candidate identify a ministry where his or her ministry will flourish. This Assessment Profile is required for consideration in Church Planting and/or Church Redevelopment ministry within the Conference.
For more information about placement services, to seek credentials in the CCCC or if you have additional questions, please contact our Director of Placement, Dr. Ron Hamilton, at (651) 739-1474 or use the Contact Us feature at the top of the page.