The author’s purpose for writing this book is to help young ministers who are seeking to pastor their first church. There are many young ministers who don’t know the procedures for accepting a church.

Therefore, the author has penned those procedures from the Called into the Ministry to the First two years of the Pastorate.

There are many books for the young minister that address what to do once the church calls a pastor, but there are very few books that give instructions on what to do in order to acquire a church.

This book not only focuses on the young ministers, but also may be helpful for the veteran preachers who have been in the ministry for some period of time never pastoring a church. The author covers eight chapters in this book:

I. The Call To The Ministry
1)The pastoral ministry is a calling
2)What is meant by the called

II. Pray For Spiritual Guidance
1)The aspiration to pastor
2)Personality acceptance
3)The importance of mentoring

III. Submitting A Resume/Philosophy Of Ministry/Be Professional
1)The letter of intention
2)Things to submit to the pastoral search committee
3)Example of a complete (pastor’s) resume
4)A concept of leadership
5)The visionary/philosophy of ministry statement

IV. The Pastoral Interview
1)How to dress/what to do in an interview
2)The two types of interviews
3)The personal application
4)Questions for pastoral search committee

V. The Invitation To Preach
1)You have made it pass the interview process
2)What to preach
3)How should you dress
4)Who will accompany you to the church

VI. The Pastor’s Compensation
1)Negotiating the pastor’s salary

VII. The Letter Of Acceptance
1)I will accept the position of pastor
2)Sample letter of acceptance

VIII.The First Two Years At Your New Church
1)The honeymoon years
2)The do’s and don’ts of the new pastor
3)The installation service
4)Sample of a pastoral installation service
5)Can you produce
6)Ministering to the needs of the people
7)The new pastor relating to his board of directors
8)How do you handle troublemakers
9)Preaching that get results
10)The pastor compared to another pastor
11)The days of trouble for the pastor
12)The pastor being an example to his congregation
13)The pastor and funerals
14)The counseling ministry of the pastor
15)The counseling rules for the pastor
16)How to properly resign a church
17)Sample letter of resignation
18)The final rewards for the pastor

It is the author’s prayer that those who read this book will gain some knowledge about how to accept a church. May the blessing of the Lord Jesus Christ be with you!

Grace, Love, and Peace,

Roy Wade, Sr., D.Min.