Have you used a search firm before? Baptist Search Partners exists for a reason. Searches are challenging. They take time, a certain expertise, a strong network, interviewing and vetting skills, project management acumen, and a strategic approach. Our team offers all those things and more.

Hiring a search partner is also a significant investment, so we understand why some churches are hesitant to pull the trigger. If you are going to give your search “the old college try,” we want to give you a few pointers to ensure you find just the right leader for your organization and role.

1. Get it all in writing.
   • A thorough job description
   • Candidate requirements
   • Communication of decisions
   • Offer letter
   • Compensation details
   • Face-to-face visit plan
   • Negotiated arrangements
2. Identify networks.
   • Where will the candidates you want be found?
   • Who has been affiliated with your church or organization in the past who may be a candidate?
   • What affinity groups might the candidate you want be affiliated with?
   • One call leads to another. Often, a call to someone you know leads you to someone you don’t.
3. Interview effectively.
   • Identify the key questions that are tailored to your church’s unique culture.
   • Identify the key questions that are tailored to the needs of the role.
   • Decide what stakeholders need to be involved and at what step in the process.
   • At every stage do a check-in with the candidate to gauge their interest and invite their questions.
4. Check, double-check, and triple-check.
   • We recommend you conduct a national criminal, sex offender, motor vehicle, and financial credit check.
   • At the very least, review their and their spouse’s social media. Google them and go 5-10 pages deep. There are paid services that will do this for you as well. Doing this sooner rather than later helps you avoid potentially embarassing conversations.
   • Go beyond the references they give you. Confidentially talk to people who they didn’t list. You can find these people by asking their references to tell you one or two, by seeing what associations they have on their resume, and by checking mutual friends on social media. Be sure to…I say again…be sure to…maintain strict confidentiality during these conversations.

That’s just a start, and it’s a tall order for many pastors and search committees. For pastors, what will suffer while you spend 6-8 hours per week doing all of this? For search committees, do you really have the “reps” to effectively and efficiently manage a process like this? What if you spent more time praying and shepherding the flock and less time reviewing resumes and conducting first round interviews?

We can help you with that. Keeping the pointers above in mind, you might ask, “What value does BSP bring to this process?” Here are just a few:

• Our process is proven, replicable, and more thorough than you can imagine.
• Our team has hired more staff than most church leaders. They are skilled at candidate sourcing, interviewing, and vetting. We know how to get underneath a story, and we know how to ask the right questions, in the right way, at the right time.
• Our Search Consultants are more networked than any team in the business. We have relationships in virtually every corner of the SBC.
• When we interview candidates, we use our proprietary Candidate Requirements Scorecard so that our search becomes as objective as possible. You only get recommendations of candidates from us who we are convinced could do the job well. No outliers. No pushing your boundaries. No candidates thrown in “just for fun.” You know what you need. We listen and deliver.
• We check references. We talk to current and past supervisors. That’s the norm. However, because we are so networked, we often know people who know our candidates. That gives us the opportunity to do confidential “second level” references. The insight from these is priceless.

You can certainly go at it on your own. But if the complexities of hiring candidates seems overwhelming, we can help. Give us a shout!