Shortly after the congregation elects the search team, the board should appoint a negotiating team, consisting of no more than three people, including one search team member (selected by the search team), one board member, and one other person (selected by the governing board).

The team’s purpose is to:

• develop for board approval a draft ministerial agreement that reflects the relationship the congregation hopes to have with the minister it will call
• negotiate that agreement with the ministerial candidate

The Draft Ministerial Agreement

The board may also ask the negotiating team to recommend compensation (salary, housing, benefits) to the board, though ultimately the governing board is responsible for setting compensation. There should be a clear understanding among all parties of the compensation amount set by the board and the plan for negotiating a final agreement.

The team should meet with the person in the congregation who administers benefits before filling out the compensation worksheet t o understand:

• how the congregation administers benefits
• what the congregation can offer

Instructions for completing the draft ministry agreement and compensation levels are included in the search profile instructions:

MinistrySearch: Creating Your Congregational RecordSearch Profile Instructions for Congregations in Search

From LeaderLab

Creating a congregational record is a key part of any ministerial search process, whether transitional or settled.

Create a Congregational Record

During the Search Process

Members of the negotiating team who are not on the search team should not meet with the precandidates. If there are significant differences over what the congregation is offering, or if there are potential “deal-breakers.” the search team, board, and negotiating team should all be informed (while keeping candidates names confidential) so they can work together to address the problem before the candidacy is offered.

The Negotiating Phase

Once the candidate accepts the verbal offer from the search team, the negotiating team and the candidate meet to finalize the contract and compensation. Once an agreement is reached, the contract may be signed by fax, electronically, or be signed at the end of candidating week. The contract may include the phrase, “upon successful congregational call vote” if signed before the candidating week vote.

The search team should not announce the candidate to the congregation until

• there is mutual agreement on the contract and compensation, and
• the candidate clears the search team to make the announcement (they may have to announce to their current congregation

Time Requirement

Schedule the pre-candidating weekends by early September, before the search team members’ calendars fill, often by the end of the summer or early fall. If your congregation tends to have a lot happening on Fridays and Saturdays, pre-reserve the whole campus, so you have a couple of options each weekend (e.g. Friday night and Saturday afternoon) to schedule the tour once you have chosen the precandidates.

Key Dates

• By late September, the board and search team form the Negotiating Team
• By the end of October: Negotiating team convenes to examine contract and compensation and make recommendations on both to the governing board. It is highly recommended the negotiating team meet with the person who administers benefits before sending it to the governing board for approval
• By November 15th, the search team will receive the board-approved draft contract from the negotiating team.
• Late January — Precandidating Weekends: The member of both the search team and the negotiating team will often act as the go between, anonymously sharing questions and concerns raised by applicants and pre-candidates.
• Offer Day 12:01 PM EDT until complete: negotiating team may begin contract and compensation negotiations with candidate—though the negotiating team is expected to keep the identity/name of the candidate confidential until it is publicly shared with the congregation by the search team.