The SDB Center on Ministry has resources to help local SDB Churches as they seek Pastoral leadership. For further details on any of the opportunities below, contact the Director of Pastoral Services.
Pastoral Search
The search for a pastor is never easy. Materials to help the church evaluate itself and the surrounding community, as well as information about current SDB Pastors, are available from the COM office upon request.
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Ordination/Accreditation of Pastors
Assistance is available for churches in the process of either ordination or accreditation for their pastor.
To read more about Ordination in PDF format, click here. (opens in a new window). For more information about Accreditation, click here. (opens in a new window). These are the appropriate pages extracted from A Manual of Procedures for Seventh Day Baptist Churches, which is available from The American Sabbath Tract and Communications Council or directly from the online store at www.seventhdaybaptist.org.
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Pastor Appreciation
October each year is Pastor Appreciation Month. As you consider how to show your appreciation you may want to know how long your pastor has served as a pastor, your pastor's ordination date or year of accreditation. Contact the Center on Ministry for these and other ideas about showing your appreciation for your pastor.
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Suggested Salary Guidelines for Pastors
Each year the Committee on Support and Retirement (COSAR) publishes suggested salary guidelines for pastors. There are two separate guidelines given. The first is the Base Salary Guidelines which COSAR considers to be a minimum salary. This is based on the national average starting teachers' salaries with a B.A. degree. The second guideline is the Salary Goal which is what churches should seek to pay their pastor. This Salary Goal is based on the Base Salary plus factors for education and experience. These suggestions are sent to each church treasurer annually. It is important to note that these are only suggested guidelines, and each church may or may not be in a position to pay the pastor according to these suggestions. Click here to see guidelines for 2008 based on national average for starting teacher's salaries (opens in new window).
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Conflict Resolution
Conflict Resolution services are also available. Contact the Director of Pastoral Services.
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Ministry Staff Development Program.
The purpose of the Ministry Staff Development Program is to provide long-term mentored opportunities in Seventh Day Baptist (SDB) churches for the development of pastoral leaders and assist churches in developing their ministry opportunities and potential.
This program is intended to result in some permanent change, either by establishing a new or substantially reorganized ministry that will continue in the church, or by training the ministry assistant in skills that will prepare him or her for continuing service as a pastor, assistant pastor or youth pastor. A successful application for assistance under this program will include a clear identification of such goals and indicate the intention of the church and/or ministry assistant to pursue them according to a workable plan. The mentoring of the ministry assistant is an important component of the program, and must be accomplished according to a plan that will further the goals that have been identified. The Director of Pastoral Services is available to assist churches and potential ministry assistants in thinking through the implementation of a plan that will fulfill the purposes of this program.
For a brief overview of this program in PDF format, click here (opens in a new window). For a more thorough explanation of the program, click here (opens in a new window). For more information and an application for the program, contact the Director of Pastoral Services.
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Summer Internships
Funds also are available on a matching basis to place a college student looking toward seminary in a church for a summer internship of up to 15 weeks. A similar program is available for seminary students. These internships provide real world experience in ministry and a mentoring relationship with the Pastor of the church while helping a church with the often busy summer programs. These funds are grants from the SDB Memorial Fund.
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