Phase 6: Finalizing the Offer

Part of The Settled Ministry Search Handbook

April 3, 2026

The fingertips of a black person holding a small glass hourglass, whose black sand grains are trickling through.

At this point, your search team has made an offer and your candidate minister has accepted it! But there are few essential tasks before the offer is finalized and the candidate is announced to the wider congregation:

Finalizing the contract
Criminal Background Check

This where the search team’s role shifts from their own discernment to being facilitators of the discernment for the rest of the congregation. They also need to exercise patience, letting the rest of the process take its own time. If they’ve had a good process up to this point, they have already set the pattern for a good process going forward.

In This Section

Calendar and FAQs
From LeaderLab

Overview of tasks needed to be completed before the announcement of the candidate to the congregation.
Final Contract Negotiations
From LeaderLab

As soon as the candidate minister accepts the verbal offer on offer day, the candidate may be turned over to the full negotiating team for confidential talks.
Criminal Background Check
From LeaderLab

All congregations should do a criminal background check on their candidates, if for no other reason than consistency in hiring practices and the ability to honestly report they have done their due diligence. Receiving the report can take anywhere from one to four weeks. The background check only
Announcing the Candidate
From LeaderLab

The announcement of the candidate’s name can be made when all four conditions are met, contract finalization, background check initialized, former congregation informed, consent to make the announcement.