How does one go about finding Pastoral openings in the age of information? Web searches, of course.

I’ve performed a number of searches on several seach engines. The most popular, I guess, are Google, Yahoo and Ask. Google and Yahoo are close to identical in their search results, and there are a number of Christian job sites paying for top rankings, so its no surprise that the main ones can be easily found. A search on Ask turned up a couple of extra sites, but I culled out one because there were so few pastoral openings on the site.

Shortcut: The list of Pastor Search Sites can be found here.

As I’ve been checking these sites regularly for the past year I’ve noticed a few things:

1) There seem to be a lot of pastoral openings in Illinois.

I wonder why? Personally, no place in Illinois holds the slightest bit of appeal for me. I’m sure there are a lot of nice people in the state, and some good opportunities for pastoral candidates. We (my wife and I) just don’t have any tug in our hearts toward the midwest, at all. We’re actually looking toward the East Coast - the Atlantic states from Maryland on down to Florida.

2) Some churches advertise their pastoral opening on two or three sites.

I imagine that’s good strategy. However, I wonder if they aren’t overwhelmed by the response they receive. I think I would try one site and guage the response, then venture out for one or two more. One church, though, has advertised on about 5 sites over a period of 6 months or so. I don’t think they ever advertised on multiple sites at once. They posted the opening on one, then on another later on, then on another, and so on. There was plenty of time between postings to receive applications, and I’m sure they received some. I wonder what they’re looking for that they’re not finding.

3) Some opportunities are open for a long time.

The position for First Assembly of God opening in Frankfort, Kentucky was open for months. (I’ve been to that part of the country, and it’s gorgeous.) They finally found their man, though. I wonder what he’s like, and why they decided to choose him above the others that applied.

Actually, in the months I’ve been checking these sites, I haven’t applied for any of the openings. I find some postings by “my kind of church”, but not in the section of the country I’d like to be. I find postings by churches in “my desired section of the country”, but after checking their web sites for statements of faith I figure I’m not what they think they’re looking for. There’s no need to place myself (and my wife) in the path of conflict when we’re sure there are people in “my desired section of the country” looking for a couple “just like us”.

I did send some applications out a few years ago… probably around 2001, or so. Our resume even floated to the top for a couple of churches, and we came in second in consideration at one. (The first place “winner” evidently impressed them so much with his first visit that we were never even invited for a visit.) But in the end, I really wasn’t ready to go back into the pastorate at that time. There’s been a lot of growth since then. I’m ready now. We just have to match something up.

Update, August 10, 2007: I’m seeing an increased number of hits from people searching for pastor job sites. This original article had the list of Pastoral Search sites here, near the bottom of the article.

To help you out, I’ve moved The List to it’s own, separate page.

The List can be found here.

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Matthew 7:7,8)