Well-equipped staff provide consistent, skilled, accountable leadership, which in turn builds capacity and ownership among the laity. We provide guidance on hiring, paying, supporting, and structuring your staff team while helping you ensure that your congregation is legally compliant, as well.

Along with completing your search profile in MinistrySearch, there are other considerations and tasks for search teams filling contract positions.

This evolving collection of articles and resources can help you determine a staffing configuration that works for your congregation.

When a familiar minister is interested in applying to an open parish minister position, the congregation must follow a particular process.

Is developmental ministry your calling? The search process for developmental ministers has a specific process and timing.

The search process leading up to calling or hiring a minister (or other program religious professional) sets the tone for the covenantal relationships vital to the congregation's ministry.

The task force summarizes the information from all of the small group and interview reports into the summary report.

Small group meetings are an essential element of the decision process to discuss the ministerial role and choice of the minister.

The congregation’s governing board appoints a special call process task force to coordinate the discernment and decision-making process.

The contract to call process gives both the congregation and the minister to reflect on their mission and what their vision of ministry is for the future.

When a congregation calls a minister and the minister accepts the call of this particular congregation, they enter into a covenantal relationship for an indefinite period of time.

When the short-term ministry search team receives applicants, they need to review and sort though information, check references, and do research.

This guide will help your search team to find a short-term minister.

Information needed by the church's governing board, other leaders, and potential search committee members.

The offer has been extended and accepted, the ministerial agreement has been tweaked and signed, now what?

The offer is contingent on a successful background check as well as coming to agreement on the specifics of the offer being made.

When the interim search team receives applicants, they need to review and sort though information, check references, and do research.

This guide will help your search team to find a contract minister.

The UUA has a couple of creative ways to support short-term ministry needs of congregations other than settled or transitional ministries.

Information needed by the church's governing board, other leaders, and potential search committee members.