The best questions to ask when interviewing a pastor

There’s lots of obvious questions to ask in an interview. You already know those questions. Below are a several less than obvious questions that I think will engage in deeper conversation between a candidate and an interview committee.

What do you want to accomplish with your life?

Ask this before you ask them what they will accomplish in church. Leaders always lead from passions. If they have no vision for their life they will have no vision for your church.

What are you reading and/or listening to?

You want a learner as your leader. Learning what books and podcasts they are into tells you a lot about what they are learning.

What have you done?

Use these precise words. Church growth research has shown that churches grow when they have a transformational pastor not a transactional pastor. In other words, pastors that get things done grow churches. Always hire doers over thinkers.

What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail?

This question will lead you into a conversation about the grander vision they are dreaming about.

What do you think needs to change about “the church?”

This is an especially important question if you are looking for a pastor who is a disrupter or one who maintains the statue quo. It also leads into a great conversation about vision.

What have been your greatest failures in ministry?

Success almost always comes after learning from failure. You want a leader that recognizes how they have failed and have grown from it. A Godly leader will welcome God’s discipline and learn from it. And, they will be able to tell you about those incidents with clarity.

What do you want to tell us that we have not asked you?

Make this your last question. It’s super likely that they have things they desire to tell you but you simply haven’t asked them a question that allowed them to do so.