Interim Pastor Parameters And Contract For Brian Thorstad And (name of church)
1. It is understood that Pastor Thorstad will not, under any circumstances, be a candidate for the position of long-term pastor of the church. This is because the ability of the intentional interim pastor to fulfill his unique type of ministry is dependant upon the understanding, on both sides, of the short-term nature of his stay.
2. Pastor Thorstad’s term with the church will be for at least one year from the date of the beginning of his ministry with the church and may be extended on a month-by-month basis at the discretion of both the church and Pastor Thorstad. In most cases, intentional interim pastors remain with the church until a long-term pastor is called. (Pastor Brian’s first three interims have been 13, 15 and – approximately - 25 months in length.) If the church elects to end Brian’s ministry with the church before the end of the one year period, he shall be given 30 days severance pay. Should Brian choose to end his ministry before the end of the six month period, he shall give the church 30 days notice of his departure.
3. Pastor Thorstad will give himself to the work of taking the church through its interim time and will not hold any outside employment while he is with the church. He will work at least forty hours per week. He may engage in writing projects, district leadership ministries or the coaching or training of interim pastors “on his own time.”
4. Pastor Thorstad will dialogue with the church’s leadership team regarding the existing senior or solo pastor’s written ministry description, if the church has one. He will labor in prayer, give pastoral care, preach, teach and manage ministries as necessary. His leadership efforts will be focused on the nine developmental tasks which a church needs to go through during the interim time and the training of leaders to equip the church for its future. He will seek to be very proactive and intentional in his work. The specific goals of his interim ministry – which can vary greatly from church to church - will be worked out with the church’s leadership team after several weeks of information gathering.
5. Pastor Brian will receive the salary and benefits (or an equivalent amount of compensation) which were received by the previous long-term pastor.
6. The Thorstad’s moving expenses to your area will be paid by the church. This will usually include truck rental (not a moving service) gas, meals and motel stays. The Thorstads try to keep these expenses as low as possible.
7. Depending on the day of the week on which the Thorstads arrive in your community, Brian may ask to be allowed to devote himself to “settling in” during his first week in your community.
8. Donna Thorstad will not be considered an employee of the church, but will be allowed to use her gifts as God leads her.
9. Pastor Thorstad requests one month of paid vacation per one year of service, to be pro-rated accordingly if his ministry with the church is longer or shorter than one year. (Six months of ministry would equate to two weeks of paid vacation; eighteen months of ministry would equate to six weeks of paid vacation.) Because of the intensive nature of interventionist interim ministry, he may elect to take one or two weeks after the first six months with your church. He may take some or all of his vacation time at the end of his term with the church, so the Thorstad’s can get moved to and mentally rested for their next ministry.
10. In most cases, Pastor Thorstad will take Fridays off and requests that the church honor this need, as much as possible, emergencies excepted. In most cases, Brian will use Monday as his “serious study day” and will not interrupt his sermon preparation on these days to return phone calls, etc. As he will normally work for the church six days per week, he may request some days off if out-of-town guests are with the Thorstad’s.
11. It is understood that the liability insurance policy held by the church currently will apply to Pastor Thorstad’s ministry with the church.
12. Pastor Thorstad will offer as much help as is wanted by the church’s Pastoral Search Committee. (He usually serves in a “coaching” capacity.) He will not be present when a candidate for the long-term pastorate preaches at the church or is voted on.
13. Pastor Thorstad will be allowed and expected to attend Evangelical Free Church functions such as local “cluster group” or “healthy church network” meetings of pastors. He also asks that he be allowed to travel for bi-monthly or quarterly meetings with the District Superintendent and that he and Donna be allowed to attend annual or semi-annual District Conferences. He will use expense account funds for these functions if possible.
14. He also asks to be reimbursed for mileage at the current IRS rate for extended trips needed for the church, such as hospital visitation outside the local area.
We have read, understood and agree to these parameters on this day of
______, 200_
Signed: (Church board/leadership team members)
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