Are You Moving? 9 Resources for Church Transitions

The Right Start: Beginning Ministry in a New Setting

This video-based training resource is for clergy preparing to begin ministry in a new setting; the Pastor’s Version is designed for individual use and self-study. The current version has been revised and enhanced with new material on the relational aspect of transition, such as how to handle social media and issues of concern to single clergy and associate pastors.

Your Best Move: Effective Leadership Transition for the Local Church by Robert Kaylor

Whether you are the pastor making the move or part of a congregation receiving a new pastor, this book will help pastors and congregations develop an intentional transition plan for those first critical months of ministry together.

Almost There: Searching for Home in a Life on the Move by Bekah DiFelice

DiFelice is a military wife who invites us to build a home that resides in the privacy of our hearts and to put roots down in a God who is unchangeable. United Methodist families can relate to this unpredictability of life.

After the Boxes Are Unpacked: Moving On After Moving In by Susan Miller

Miller helps recent movers focus on letting go of their past, starting over, and moving ahead while discerning God’s will for their family. This evergreen book has been a staple for movers for 20 years and has been extensively refreshed with additional content for today’s movers.

Leadership Directions from Moses: On the Way to a Promised Land by Olu Brown

United Methodist Pastor Olu Brown offers this helpful perspective on what to do when members and church leaders depart your congregation. Using principles from the story of Moses, Brown helps leaders keep their focus on where God is leading no matter what happens.

Next: Surviving a Leadership Transition by Marvin Anthony Moss

United Methodist Pastor Marvin Anthony Moss helped transform a small, dying congregation, and later transitioned into leadership at a nationally recognized, historic congregation. He draws from these experiences and biblical examples to focus on practical principles, empowering the new leader to build a solid foundation.

Part-Time is Plenty: Thriving without Full-Time Clergy by G. Jeffrey MacDonald

Is your church moving from a full-time to a part-time pastor? Are you moving to a part-time appointment? Learn to stop viewing part-time as a problem to be eradicated and to instead embrace it as a divine gift that facilitates a higher level of lay engagement, responsibility, playfulness, and creativity.

Leading from the Second Chair : Serving Your Church, Fulfilling Your Role, and Realizing Your Dreams by Mike Bonem and Roger Patterson

Are you moving to an associate or other subordinate position? This book raises awareness of the need for strong leaders in secondary positions. It will describe the value they can bring to their church and to primary leaders when they are serving at their full potential. It will reshape the way they view their role, with an emphasis on their own responsibility as leaders.

Nothing is Permanent Except Change: Learning to Manage Transition in Your Life by James E. Miller

This beautiful video uses evocative photography of autumn, winter and spring to illustrate the concept that all human transitions naturally go through a three-phase process. Specific suggestions are included for negotiating one’s way through each phase.