The Pastorless Churches office provides various training sessions for interim pastors. Introduction to Interim Ministry is a stand-alone training to equip interim pastors for traditional interim settings. It also serves as a prerequisite for the specialist Intentional Interim Ministry training.
2025 Training Sessions
Introduction to Interim Ministry Topics Include
- Opening Conversations: The Need and Art of Dialogue
- Systems, Church Conflict, and Self
- Understanding the Work of an Interim Pastor
- Negotiating Covenants
- Equipping the Search Committee
- Entering and Leaving a Church
- Generational Differences
- Church Size Matters
- Analyzing Churches
- The After Pastor (post sexual misconduct)
- Denominational Connections
- IIM Introduction
This class allows for open enrollment of any who are interested. There are no prerequisites to enroll. The tuition cost for ministers/members of Texas Baptist churches is $350, a discount from the full price of $425 for all others. The in-person option also has a $100 expense fee for three lunches, snacks, and books.
Venues:
- March 28, April 4, April 11 (Three Fridays in a row) via ZOOM. Each day begins at 9:00 A.M. and goes to 3:30 P.M., with an hour break for lunch. You can join in from the comfort of your home or office or any PRIVATE and quiet place (please do NOT try and join from a coffee shop, while traveling, or other places with background interference). Before class starts, you’ll be given an electronic copy of the entire training notebook. Tuition is $350, which covers the three days of instruction and the training notebook. You’ll also need to purchase, read, and complete a brief assignment on the book, A Change of Pastors, by Loren Mead. You’ll select the ZOOM option on the registration page. That’s the first of three bubbles.
- May 28-30 (Wednesday through Friday) IN-PERSON. We’ll meet at Gambrell Street Baptist Church, 1616 W Gambrell St., Fort Worth, Texas, from 9:00 A.M. to 3:30 P.M. You’ll select the second bubble on the registration page. Note, when you select this option, an additional bubble will appear, notifying you of the $100 expense fee being added for food and books.
- [Session 1: 7/7-7/14; Session 2: 7/14-7/21; and Session 3:7/21-7/28]. The 3-week course allows students to complete the course by watching videos and responding to discussion questions in writing ON THEIR OWN TIME. There is no live class. Assignments will be emailed at the start of each session (video links and discussion questions). Access is available 24/7 for each session. There are 3-4 hours of videos each week, covering 5 or 6 topics, with a discussion question to respond to on each topic. This is NOT the Zoom option. Choose the third bubble on the registration page. An electronic training guide is included. Students also need to purchase their own copy of Loren Mead’s A Change of Pastors.
CLICK HERE to register today for the Introduction to Interim Ministry training using our secure online form. Please note:
- There are two pages to complete on the registration form. The form changes a little as you fill it out. Just follow the instructions as you go along.
- Begin by choosing BGCT vs. Non-BGCT member.
- Select which venue you are attending.
- Select your city from the list, and then your church from the list–OR check non-BGCT member and fill in your town and church name.
- Fill in your personal information and click “next page” at the bottom.
- Continue, noting that the page changes slightly as you select your method of payment.
- If you need assistance, please don’t hesitate to contact Karl Fickling, the interim ministry trainer, at karl.fickling@txb.org or 972-765-3362 (cell).
Intentional Interim Ministry (IIM) Training
This class requires having completed the Intro to Interim Ministry course AND an application (see below).
Date: TBD, Monday through Friday + Field Education [9:00 A.M. to 4:00 P.M. Central Time]
Place: Wayland Baptist University, San Antonio Campus
8300 Pat Booker Rd, Live Oak, TX 78233
Cost: The total tuition cost for this training is $900, but members of BGCT Cooperative Program supporting churches (defined as having given to the state CP within the calendar year) are discounted to $700 ($450 for the classroom and $250 for the field education experience that follows). In addition, there are expense charges of $150 per student to cover the cost of one textbook, the training notebook, four lunches (Monday through Thursday), and snacks.
Description: The class provides the classroom training to gain the expertise needed to serve as a bonafide IIM pastor. Topics include covenants, the Transition Team, and the Focus Points of the IIM process. Following the week of course work, participants will join together for Field Education. Field Ed consists of drafting reports on how to help an IIM church with one of the focus points, a single monthly Zoom meeting to provide peer reviews for those reports, and leadership of a single interactive event at a church.
CLICK HERE to APPLY today for the Intentional Interim Ministry training using our secure online form. IMPORTANT–You will choose one of three bubbles: 1) Full payment for members of supporting BGCT churches, 2) Full payment for non-BGCT church members, 3) Other Payment Amount–click this bubble and a new blank line will pop up for you to type in the partial payment/down payment amount of your choice. A down payment of at least the expense fee ($150) is required in order for the application to be submitted. The Intentional Interim Ministry training application is open only to seasoned ministers who have completed the Introduction to Interim Ministry course.
If you prefer to mail in your application, download the form here, and please call at 214.828.5111 to arrange payment.
Please contact us about your interest or with your questions. If you know of interested persons, please share this information with them, or let us know the email address and we’ll initiate the contact.
