Although each ministry is unique, there is a common shape to interim ministries that involve both the minister and the congregational leadership.

Getting Ready for the Interim Ministry

• If a minister has not served as an interim before, they receive training from the UUA and the Interim Ministry Network in the summer prior to or just after beginning their interim service. The congregation pays for this training as described in the agreement.
• “Learning congregations” that developed a shared understanding of their congregational dynamics and needs can have transformative interim ministries. Choose a common read that fits your needs:
  • In the Interim: Strategies for Interim Ministers and Congregations, 2nd ed., by Barbara Child & Keith Kron
  • The Spirit that Moves: Readings and Rituals for Times of Change and Transition, Barbara Childs, ed.

Once the Interim Ministry Begins

The new minister, leadership, and regional staff may plan for a new ministry start-up to help align expectations and begin the early stages of planning for the interim work ahead.

Interim work happens in partnership. Congregational leaders should be patient as interim ministers do the early work of getting to know the congregational system and building trust and relationships. The work is easier once a baseline of trust and care is established.

The Transition Team

Typically, the Committee on Ministry is disbanded by the board or goes on hiatus during the interim ministry and a transitions team (with different members) is formed.

Transition Team Selection

The best members for a Transition Team are knowledgeable, engaged congregants who bring to the work no baggage from previous membership on the Committee on Ministry. -from the chapter “A Different Country,” In the Interim

The incoming interim minister works with the governing board on the timing and the composition of the Transition Team. Typical interim tasks for the team include:

• Help facilitate and plan the minister’s first few weeks on site, including scheduling meetings with each individual board and staff member.
• Plan house meetings for the congregation to get the know the minister
• Create a “history wall” or other project that helps to surface congregational culture
• Facilitate small groups and gather other data for the Interim

Interim Progress Appraisals

Interim progress appraisals are a time for the board and leadership to reflect with the minister on the joint work of interim ministry:

• How well are the leadership and interim minister working on the tasks of interim ministry?
• What needed more work than expected?
• Where does work need to begin?
• Is the process moving along well?

The appraisals should be approached as a conversation between leaders and the interim, offering a valuable opportunity to reflect on the progress of the interim ministry as it unfolds. They offer insights into the congregation’s
readiness for settled ministry and to see how self-reflective and open the interim minister and congregation are as they move forward. (They are not meant as an evaluation of the interim minister.)

Appraisal Due Dates

• Interim appraisals must be completed independently by both the congregation and the interim minister and then shared when completed.
• Appraisals are required:
  • after the first six months of the start date.
  • after the first year (12 months) of a 2 year interim, and again after the second year (24 months) of a 3 year interim. (Beginning the church year with a reassessment is a helpful practice.)
  • at the conclusion of the interim ministry.

All appraisals should be completed and submitted within 45 days as an email attachment to transitions@uua.org.

Options at the End of the Interim Ministry

In most cases, in the last year of the interim ministry, the congregation conducts a settled ministry search.

Some congregations pivot to a developmental ministry search, if their leaders, UUA regional staff, the interim minister, and UUA Transitions Team see that the congregation has significant cultural and structural change work to do before beginning an open-ended ministry partnership.

Others may choose a contract ministry search as the best way forward.
See the relevant section of this handbook for guidance on these types of ministry search.