Rate Sheet for Services

Interim Ministry Partners (IMP) facilitates working relationships between a congregation going through significant transition (usually related to a change in their pulpit minister) and an experienced, skilled interim minister in order to inspire a more effective and impactful future for the church. This “working relationship” usually involves three areas: 

  1. A consistent pulpit presence intended to keep congregational morale high and ensuring that the vital work of preaching and teaching continues in the interim. 
  2. A consulting relationship with the church’s leaders to foster congregational health and effectiveness.
  3. Coaching the Search Committee to conduct a successful search for a new minister who can provide inspiring leadership during the next season of a church’s life.

The importance of the interim season is so vital for the health and future of a congregation that we advise churches to make whatever commitment and investment is necessary to take full advantage of the interim period. However, because churches have a variety of needs and resources, IMP offers two levels of service to assist churches in transition. 

  1. The “Full Service” relationship puts an IMP representative “on the ground” with your church three-out-of-four (or four-out-of-five) weekends a month, allowing the full range of our resources and experience to focus on a particular congregation for an extended period of time.
  2. The “Search Consulting” relationship puts an IMP representative “on the ground” with your church once a month and (necessarily) involves a more narrow focus—on the search process and finding the right person with the best “fit” to provide pulpit leadership for your congregation.

Expect the interim season to last anywhere from 9-18 months. It takes time to process the loss of the former minister, especially when that minister has enjoyed a long tenure. It takes time to ask important questions: Who are we? Where are we going? Where is God calling us? What mission are we meant to accomplish? Who are our neighbors and how can we reach them? And it takes time to identify the kind of person you should be looking for, who possesses the leadership and ministry skills required for the next season of the church’s life. 

The rates outlined below indicate the IMP costs your church can anticipate. (Some rates vary with weekly attendance—as noted.) In the end, the costs of IMP’s services (including expenses) are usually less than or equal to what a church pays in salary and benefits for a pulpit minister.

 

Regular Services

(services and fees basic and necessary to the conduct of interim ministry … your church should anticipate the following services and costs): 

Normal Consulting/Preaching Weekend

    • $1600 (churches < 500) (plus expenses*)
    • $1850 (churches > 500) (plus expenses*)

“Preaching weekends” involve traveling to your site on Saturday morning, meeting with the shepherds, Search Committee, and/or other church leaders through Saturday afternoon/evening (to address specific leadership issues such as vision, mission, planning, leadership development, assessment results, minister search process, etc..), teaching class and preaching on Sunday morning, and engaging in such other meetings as permitted (by travel schedule) that afternoon before traveling home. This is the normal schedule and fee for churches using IMP’s “full service” option. 

Tech Fee

    • $250 per quarter (due at signing of Working Agreement and Extensions) 

The IMP process depends heavily on technological tools to keep churches organized and on task, to help committees communicate, and to manage the many details of a search process. With this fee, churches gain access to Trello, SurveyMonkey, Zoom, and other online tools that permit assessment, video conferencing, and project management. 

 

Introductory Services 

Interim Season Seminar

    • $2150 (for churches < 500) (plus expenses*)
    • $2400 (for churches > 500) (plus expenses*)

The “introduction” to interim ministry at your congregation is provided in an “Interim Season Seminar” conducted by an IMP representative. This seminar provides a rationale for interim ministry, educates church members about what they should expect in the near term, states the goals we hope to achieve together, prepares potential Search Committee members, and analyzes the particular needs and data-trends of your congregation. A “weekend” is defined here as a Friday/Saturday/Sunday and assumes that we will be able to travel to your location on Friday, hold a first session on Friday evening, conduct seminar sessions Saturday morning and afternoon, teach and preach that Sunday morning, and then return home Sunday afternoon. 

 

Optional Services

(services available—at the church’s request—to churches working with IMP in interim ministry and consulting relationships): 

Video/Phone Conferencing

    • $150 per hour

Although most meetings between an IMP representative and church leaders or the Search Committee occur on the weekends the IMP representative is on-site, there are occasions when elders or the Search Committee need to consult with their representative mid-week. This service/fee covers this eventuality.

Writing/Special Projects

    • $75 per hour

Sometimes churches ask us to develop unique and tailored material for their use in planning, publication, training, or teaching. Often churches want our help in writing up vision statements, mission strategies, etc. We are happy to partner with churches in this way. The rate per hour for this service is $75. 

Assessment Reports

    • $300 per report 

One of the most important facets of IMP’s work with a congregation is assessment. Often churches request that we do the analysis and written reports on those assessments. (These reports could include one or all of the following—at the church’s discretion: congregational demographics, members’ spiritual health, member perceptions of the church/leadership, ministerial preferences, qualitative analysis of comments to open-ended questions, community analysis, and local kingdom assessment. Samples of each report can be provided.) 

Midweek Consulting

    • $1000 per day (churches < 500) (plus expenses*)
    • $1250 per day (churches > 500) (plus expenses*)

These optional, on-site visits involve meeting with the shepherds and/or other church leaders to address issues such as vision, mission, planning, leadership development, conflict resolution, minister search process, etc.. The visit will occur on a Monday-Friday. A “day” is calculated on the basis of actual time at your site. This assumes that we will be able to travel to your location one day, meet late afternoon/evening of that same day, then meet the next morning before traveling home. 

Optional Seminar/Retreat Weekend

    • $1750 (for churches < 500) (plus expenses*)
    • $2000 (for churches > 500) (plus expenses*)

“Seminar weekends” (optional and at the request of church leaders) involve a longer period of time than a normal weekend (Friday/Saturday/Sunday), include a wider audience (the congregation, not just the leadership), and focus on topics requested by church leaders (i.e., workshops on church unity, how to discuss difficult issues, spiritual gifts, Beatitudes, evaluating church staff, developing worship philosophy, etc.) A “weekend” is defined here as a Friday/Saturday/Sunday and assumes that we will be able to travel to your location on Friday, hold a first session on Friday evening, conduct seminar sessions Saturday morning and afternoon, teach and preach that Sunday morning, and then return home Sunday afternoon. 

Books/Teaching Materials

    • Available at discounted rates

When we have a consulting relationship with a church, it is often helpful for select members of that congregation to read books we have written or use educational/training materials we have developed. These materials are made available to such churches at a discounted rate, depending on the quantity ordered.

Assessments 

Should your congregation choose to utilize IMP resources for team or individual assessment via various assessment tools (e.g., DiSC Personality Profile, I-Opt Assessment, etc.), costs of services and tools will be discussed in advance and formally agreed upon prior to execution. 

* “Expenses” include costs of flights, hotel, rental car, and meals (as needed).