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 twelve regional facilitators, is listed below:

Far Western Area: Gail Coulter - 828.698.2385
Cherokee, Clay, Macon, Swain, Jackson, Transylvania, Buncombe, Henderson, Haywood, Graham, Madison

High Country Area: Bob Shepherd - 828.584.8797
Yancey, Mitchell, Avery, Caldwell, Alexander, Wautauga, Ashe, Alleghany, Wilkes, Iredell

Foothills Area: Billy Honeycutt - 828.286.9278
McDowell, Rutherfordton, Polk, Burke, Cleveland, Catawba, Lincoln

Greater Charlotte Area: Harry Poovey - 704.289.1144
Gaston, Mecklenburg, Cabarrus, Union, Rowan

Triad Area: Harry Smith - 336.623.8389
Surry, Stokes, Rockingham, Yadkin, Forsyth, Guilford, Davidson, Davie

Central Area: Bruce League - 704.888.5850
Stanley, Anson, Montgomery, Richmond, Randolph

Sand Hills Area: Drag Kimrey - 910.276.8865
Chatham, Lee, Moore, Harnett, Cumberland, Scotland, Hoke

Durham / Chapel Hill Area: Marion Lark - 252.492.6488
Caswell, Alamance, Orange, Durham, Person

Raleigh / Cary Area: Charles Allard - 919.363.4020
Granville, Warren, Wake, Johnston, Vance, Franklin

Northeast Area: Jesse Croom - 252.482.3908
Nash, Wilson, Edgecombe, Halifax, Northampton, Gates, Martin, Washington, Chowan, Dare, Tyrell, Hertford, Camden, Currituck, Pasquotank, Perquimans

East Central Area: Hugh Burlington - 252.756.1413
Wayne, Greene, Lenore, Pitt, Craven, Jones, Onslow, Pamlico, Beaufort, Neuse

Southeast Area: David Stratton - 910.232.8282
Robeson, Bladen, Columbus, Brunswick, New Hanover, Pender, Duplin, Sampson