Choosing an Interim Pastor

As soon as a church loses its pastor, there is usually a high level of anxiety and concern in the congregation. They are worried about who will lead them in worship in the days ahead. Many times they are concerned about who will provide the congregation with pastoral care as well as other needs they may have.

Naturally, the leaders of the church immediately turn their attention to finding an interim to serve them until a new pastor can be called. And well they should. However, finding the right interim pastor is not always easy. Sometimes the appropriate leaders of a church contact CBF of North Carolina to help them. We welcome this!

In order to serve our churches better during the interim period, we are creating an Interim Ministry Network. We have divided North Carolina, by counties, into twelve areas with a volunteer minister serving as a facilitator in each of these regions.

The responsibilities of these facilitators will be to develop a list of possible interim pastors in each of the areas. They will also make themselves available to the churches seeking an interim to assist them in any way they can. This may involve helping them to determine whether they need a part time, full time or intentional interim pastor. The facilitator then may help them locate an interim pastor that will be appropriate to their needs.

Ministers who desire to serve as an interim pastor may contact the facilitator in his or her area. Likewise, churches may call on the facilitator in their area to assist them in determining the kind of interim they need and then to give them the names of ministers who are available to serve as an interim.

For further questions, contact Jack Causey at JCausey@cbfnc.org or 888-822-1944.

The counties of each area, along with the contact information for each of the eight regional facilitators, is listed below:

Region 1 – Western: Gail Coulter – 828.698.2385

Avery, Buncombe, Cherokee, Clay, Graham, Haywood, Henderson, Jackson, Macon, Madison, McDowell, Mitchell, Polk, Rutherford, Swain, Transylvania, Yancey

Region 2 – Foothills: David Smith – 828.758.8428

Alexander, Burke, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Catawba, Cleveland, Gaston, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Rowan

Region 3 – Triad: Bill Leathers – 336.774.3975

Alleghany, Ashe, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Watauga, Wilkes, Yadkin

Region 4 – South Central: Drag Kimrey – 910.276.8865

Anson, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Randolph, Richmond, Scotland, Stanly, Union

Region 5 – North Central: Virginia Taylor – 919.824.7890

Alamance, Caswell, Chatham, Durham, Orange, Person

Region 6 – Capital: Mack Thompson – 919.781.2229

Franklin, Granville, Johnston, Vance, Wake, Warren

Region 7 – Southeast: Mike Johnson – 910.422.3387

Bladen, Brunswick, Carteret, Columbus, Cumberland, Duplin, Harnett, Jones, New Hanover, Onslow, Pender, Robeson, Sampson, Wayne

Region 8 – Northeast: Jesse Croom – 252.482.3908

Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Craven, Currituck, Dare, Edgecombe, Gates, Greene, Halifax, Hertford, Martin, Nash, Northampton, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Pitt, Tyrrell, Washington, Wilson