Should you interview with a church that isn't an obvious great fit?

For ministers in the search & call process, there are times when you look at a prospective church’s profile or job description and think, “Can this search team see inside my brain?” The responsibilities align with your gifts, the congregation professes values similar to yours, and the salary range is exactly what you’re looking for. When the search team representative contacts you to set up an interview, it’s the start of an exciting possibility.

You will likely not feel so clear or enthusiastic about every initial interaction with a search team. This is normal! If it’s obvious that this is not the role or place for you, graciously withdraw from consideration. After all, your focus is better spent elsewhere, and search teams are made up of volunteers who are giving a lot of time and energy to looking for a leader. If, on the other hand, you are intrigued by what you read or hear but have a lot of questions, or if the position or context sounds great but seems like a stretch for your experience, don’t prematurely end the conversation. The Holy Spirit might be up to something.

That something might not turn out to be a great fit. But a search is about more than a minister finding a job and a congregation finding its next pastor. When you talk with search teams, you are changed - hopefully most often in positive ways. You meet new people who might end up playing a surprising role in your journey. You receive feedback that helps you grow. You practice showing up as a pastor in interviews.

Search teams are shaped as well by their interactions with you. It could be that you nudge the search team to make its process more hospitable, both for yourself and for others. Perhaps you ask a question that pushes the search team to face a reality or that challenges them to think bigger or that sends them back to the congregation for more discussion about identity or direction. Maybe your very presence, particularly as a “first” of some sort, cracks the door wider for someone else to serve this church on down the line. You might never know the results of your interactions with congregations that don’t immediately jump out as your dream scenario. This willingness to engage, though, is part of what it means not just to be surrounded by a cloud of witnesses but to be part of that community of the faithful across time.

So yes, absolutely look for that best fit and negotiate for what you are worth. And, along the way, remember that you are in ministry to churches through the way that you search, not just in the position to which you are ultimately called.

Photo by Ana Municio on Unsplash.