The Interim Ministry Network. The network has 25 years of ecumenical professional education experience. It is dedicated to the health and wellness of church congregations. The wellness of churches can be influenced by three kinds of learned leadership skills - prevention of unhealthy practices before they take root, the maintenance of congregational health during times of stress or change and skilled restorative care when it is required. IMN faculty have many years of experience as clergy in transitional situations, specific training in adult learning and access to state-of-the-art materials and texts.

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Class Schedule

The Transitional Ministry Course. It has been estimated that some 60 percent of all churches suffer from serious difficulties involving change that could affect their congregational health.

Transitional congregational issues may be divided into five areas:

1. They are disconnected from their history
2. They have not developed an identity that fits their current circumstances
3. There is a need for some shifts in church leadership
4. Their links to their denomination have been weakened
5. They have not made a commitment to a new future

The three-day, self-contained Fundamentals of Transitional Ministry course introduces the five concepts and devotes its class hours to the following process tasks in the congregational system.

Joining the System. The transitional leader must find quick and significant ways to connect with members of the organization. Without emotional contact, a relationship cannot grow.

Analyzing the System. After a transitional leader has begun joining the system, he or she must begin a more serious reflection on the nature of the system. Issues such as member anxiety, dependence versus independence, inherent strengths and weaknesses and the presence or absence of conflict help to form a realistic assessment of the status of the human system and the direction of change.

The Congregation and the Denomination. Times of transition call for rethinking the connection with the larger church. Regional and national offices may offer information and research data regarding history and community patterns. Resources beyond the capacity of the local congregation may be available. One of the significant goals of transition management is to restore healthy relationships and a sense of joint accomplishment within the denomination and the faith community.

Discerning Responsibility and Establishing Priorities. Once the organizational system is understood, issues and activities must be prioritized and an action plan produced. Self-empowerment of the members of the congregation is a significant key to success.

Evaluate and Adjust. There is a time when innovations become routine, then they become the new orthodoxy and then they become a barrier to the future. In many cases, the questions remain the same but the answers are different because circumstances are different. The art in the successful management of transitions is to develop a system that works when change is the only constant.

Who Should Attend?

• Senior or associate pastors wanting to gain skills in managing transitions
• Retired or partially retired pastors wanting to advance skills and understanding
• Experienced ministers considering a call to the professional specialty of intentional interim ministry. (Pre-requisite course for interims.)
• Current interim pastors trained more than five years ago
• Lay ministers with management responsibilities
• Denominational middle management
• Seminarians interested in change/conflict management specialization
• Lay leaders who are part of relevant congregational committees.
• Consultants interested in developing transition companion skills standards.

  Pre-Requisite Reading:
  
  Required All Participants:
  Beginning Ministry Together, By Roy M. Oswald 
  James M. Heath and Ann W. Heath 
  
  Interim/Supply Optional:
  A Change of Pastors, by Loren B. Mead 
  Temporary Shepherds, Edited by Roger S. Nicholson
  
  Settled Pastors Optional:
  Leading Change in the Congregation, By Gil Rendle
  
  All books can be order through Amazon.com,
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