Some churches use an instrument for a performance review of their pastor(s). Often times, those assessments focus on whether the pastor(s) has fulfilled specific job descriptions and expectations the church board has. However, are the job descriptions reflective of what God expects for a pastor? Further, why not include elders or other church leaders in the process? If they are functioning as leaders in ministry, especially as officials in the local church why would they not participate?
Attached is an evaluation. It is based on the biblical duties, responsibilities, and roles that the Bible sets forth regarding elders and pastors of a local church. To get a better understanding of what the Bible says, may I suggest consulting either Searching for the Perfect Pastor, Volume 3 or chapters 7 through 10 in The Perfect Pastor?
This non-scientific instrument is designed to be used as a self-check by an elder or a pastor. It can also be used as an evaluation of the pastoral team as a whole. The checklist is not a perfect measure to grade an elder, pastor, or team in the church. The aim is not to use this as a means to denigrate a fellow servant in Christ. Rather, it ought to function as a tool for the pastor(s) and elder(s) to discover more about how each one is doing in ministry. The goal would be to sharpen one’s own life and then to help edify another’s life by discovering areas of strengths and successes in growth as well as to highlight areas needing change or improvement.
It is recommended that you evaluate yourself first. Then, have other elders or pastors with whom you work do their own self-examination. After that, give the elders or pastors a copy to have them assess one another or the team as a whole. When the evaluations are completed, the next step would be to take turns and discuss how each person did or how the board or team is doing.
Permission is given to use these evaluations and make adjustments to fit your local church.
To get the PDF files, click below: