Below are some of the learning opportunities available through the Center. To register or find out more about these events, click over to our Learning Opportunities section on our website.

Church Consultant and Facilitator Training

A team of experienced consultants has designed a two-tiered approach to consultant training. The basic level of training is focused on developing and enhancing skills for working with congregations. The second level of training involves a fieldwork experience in which the skills are practiced and refined.

The Residential Lab

The residential lab is a five-day training experience that serves as the foundation of consultant training. The lab will focus on the following:

• Learning consulting models
• Understanding and differentiating key roles in consultation
• Proposing consulting work
• Delivering consulting services
• Assessing consulting skills
• Developing leadership teams
• Facilitating strategic planning
• Facilitating staff development
• Managing conflict

The Fieldwork Experience

Those who wish to deepen their learning and be listed in the Interim Ministry Network’s consultancy database must also complete an additional fieldwork experience. During the fieldwork experience, participants will begin to practice the consulting skills they have learned and improve them through peer learning conferences. The fieldwork experience will consist of a series of group sessions conducted by telephone and facilitated by one of the Center’s staff. Each participant is responsible for presenting a case study at one of the sessions.

Dates: April 26-30, 2010 Glen Rose, TX

            October 4-8, 2010 Federal Way, WA

Interim Ministry for Today’s Church

This course is designed to prepare participants to be better able to serve congregations in the role of interim pastor. At the end of the course, participants will have learned how to:

• Prepare the church for the calling of a new pastor
• Develop a covenant with a congregation that clearly describes the responsibilities of the interim pastor and the congregation
• Enter a congregation in order to quickly join with the church and its ministries
• Study the health of a congregation and determine how an interim minister can provide assistance to the church
• Work with a Pastoral Search Committee in a way that is appropriate for an interim minister
• Provide a good model of closure for ministry, and help a congregation begin to celebrate a new chapter in their life

This seventeen-hour conference is designed to meet the needs of interim pastors. It also is the pre-requisite course for those who wish to apply for the advanced training as an Intentional Interim Ministry Specialist.

Dates: January 25-27, 2010 Atlanta, GA

            February 16-17, 2010 Paron, AR

            March 8-10, 2010 Cedar Hill, TX

            March 22-24, 2010 Thomasville, NC

Intentional Interim Ministry Training

What is the Purpose of Interim Training? The time between permanent pastors is a critical time for a church.  Members give tirelessly to keep the ministries operating at maximum capacity and make decisions about the future direction of the church.  Interim training equips a pastor to minister in the unique opportunities introduced by the transition from one pastor to another.

Training Design The Center for Congregational Health® has designed a two-part training program for interim pastors. The first course is entitled Interim Ministry for Today’s Church. It provides pastors an introduction to important issues related to traditional interim ministry, and their responsibilities during this time.

The second course is Intentional Interim Ministry Training. This course is designed to equip pastors to lead congregations through the five developmental tasks of Intentional Interim Ministry. Completion of Interim Ministry for Today’s Church is required to be eligible to apply for Intentional Interim Ministry Training.

Intentional Interim Ministry Training The goal of the Intentional Interim Ministry Training course is to equip a pastor to lead a congregation through the Intentional Interim Ministry process. This process provides a structure for congregations to use the interim time in a deliberate way to deal with issues or challenges that face the church. Some of the issues that motivate churches to engage in Intentional Interim Ministry include:

• The departure of a beloved pastor who served for many years
• Challenges presented to the church by changes in the church community or membership
• A loss of direction or meaning
• Misbehavior by a former pastor or staff
• Destructive conflict in the church or its staff over certain issues.

The training for Intentional Interim Ministry is designed on the assumptions that participants…

• completed Interim ministry for Today’s Church
• sense the call of God to work with congregations that want to use the interim time productively
• have ministerial experience in a local congregation
• possess essential skills in preaching, leading, teaching, counseling and administration as is appropriate to one or more styles and sizes of congregations,
• believe churches have an identity and mission that is distinct from the pastor.

This training begins with a five-day residential lab. Although participants spend time addressing systems thinking, considering the importance of healthy dialogue, and reviewing models for handling conflict, the training concentrates on two primary subjects: the Transition Team, and the Developmental Tasks.

The Transition Team is a group of trusted, spiritually mature members who are chosen by the congregation to lead the interim process. The interim pastor is very important to the formation, orientation and guidance of the Team. As the Team develops, it becomes responsible for the intentional interim process of the church.

The Developmental Tasks relate to five different points of focus that occur during the transition time. The Transition Team finds ways to help the congregation address: Coming to Terms with History, Examining Leadership and Decision-Making Concerns, Looking at Denominational and Other External Relationships, Clarifying the Congregation’s Identity, and Committing to New Clergy and the Future.

After completion of the residential lab, the remaining training is focused around fieldwork. Participants form Colleague Learning Groups that assist one another in designing ways to involve congregations in the Developmental Tasks. Participants work independently on a Field Project and then engage in a series of teleconferences to dialogue about their designs and reflect on the effectiveness of the designs. These calls are scheduled at approximately 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150-day intervals from the end of the residential lab. The fieldwork experience assists participants in learning how to convert the theoretical learnings from the classroom into a practical application for an interim congregation. Specific details and requirements concerning fieldwork are explained during the five-day lab.

At the end of this course the participant will have completed more that 85 hours of training in interim ministry, and receives a certificate of completion from both the Center for Congregational Health® and the Interim Ministry Network.

Dates:  March 1-5, 2010 Atlanta, GA

            April 19-23, 2010 Lynchburg, VA

            April 26-30, 2010 Paron, AR

            May 10-14, 2010 Cedar Hill, TX