41 Questions To Ask a Potential Church
Colin Adams asked the elders at a potential pastorate the following questions before he accepted the call. These are great, although obviously particular to his locale.
A. Theological Questions
- What is the church’s statement of faith and how did the church devise it?
- What has been the most vexed theological question the church has faced? Has there ever been a church split over theology or practice? Why?
- On the wider scene, what theological trends and strands of false teaching would the elders at Ballymoney be particularly concerned about at the moment?
- What are the key functions/roles of an elder at Ballymoney?
- What is the elder’s relationship to the pastor? (For example, is the pastor an elder? Do the elders perceive themselves as, in some way, subordinate?)
- What would the church’s position be on the role of women?
- What is the church’s position on the function of charismatic gifts?
- Is there a different kind of membership for someone differing on secondary issues? Would it ever be considered?
- What kind of church government structure is practiced? How does it work out in practice?
B. Ministry-Philosophy Questions
- What is the process of being baptised and becoming a church member? How is baptism and membership encouraged?
- What are the expectations laid upon church members?
- How does the church practice church discipline? (What sort of discipline has been practiced in the past?)
- Do the elders have any plans for expansion of the building or church planting?
- What, if anything, would the elders want to see change or develop in the future? (each elder might want to answer individually!)
- Do the church members generally (and happily) follow the lead of the eldership?
- Can the elders give evidence of an openness to growing in their role? (by eg. reading resources on eldership, attending conferences, having a weekend away with pastor, etc)
- In what ways (if at all) do you think my young age might affect my reception both in the church and among the eldership?
- What would be the minimum and maximum expectations be of the frequency of the pastor’s preaching? (ie. is one Sunday evening off in preaching a month the minimum acceptable; on the other hand, would preaching every service without fail be deemed unhelpful)
- What items in the current services are non-negotiable? What other items are deemed acceptable and have been featured in the past? Is the pastor responsible for putting together all orders of service?
- Is the current practice of communion (format, timing, gap between service and communion) set in stone?
- What sorts of things do the Ballymoney elders feel the pastor should not be doing with his time?
- What are the congregational/eldership expectations (these two may be different) regarding pastoral visitation?
- How often are business meetings conducted? Does the pastor moderate this? Are they productive and generally positive? What is typically discussed?
- Does the church have a yearly budget and if so, how is it put together?
- What is the church’s attitude and approach to missionaries?
- Who is responsible for the website and library and how easy would it be for the pastor to make a significant input into each of these areas? (Note: I believe these resources would have some relation to my teaching function as a pastor)
- Has the church ever had Fellowship Groups? If so, what is the leadership’s feeling about their significance?
- What are the leadership’s views concerning counselling?
- How would you sum up the spiritual health of the congregation in qualitative terms (against measurements like prayer, heart for evangelism, love for one another)?
- What kind of impact have ‘the troubles’ and its aftermath had on the Ballymoney congregation?
- Pardoning the expression, are there any ‘sacred cows’ in the church?
- Would the congregation consider adding an additional paid staff member at any point?
C. Personal Questions
- Would the elders have any objection to the pastor working from a church office? (my preferred place for sermon prep)
- What is the view of the elders regarding the pastor resourcing himself? (conferences; the odd retreat to read & plan, etc)
- Are there any expenses for things?
- What is the rationale regarding days off and holidays?
- Is there any scope for ‘preaching away’ from Ballymoney? (Note: I would be very cautious about doing much of this, especially early on, however)
- Do you think it would be relatively easy for a young family to settle into the church/town? What challenges might Nicki and the children face?
- What role would the pastor’s wife be expected to have in the church?
- What are the schools like in Ballymoney?
- How easy might it be to buy an affordable house in the Ballymoney area?