Follow Up Process

I.               Guest completes Care Card.

II.              Sunday afternoon secretary sorts Care Cards into the following categories:

A.             First & Second time visitors

B.             Pastoral Follow-up

C.            New address

D.            Prayer requests/praise (on back)

E.             None of the above

III.            If the Card is for a First or Second time visitor, Pastor designates on each Card one of the following categories:

A.             Propsect (P) – A Propsect is an individual or family who may be interested in Grace Church and would require follow-up beyond a letter.

B.             Guest (G) – A Guest is an individual or family who is visiting Grace Church one time only, and would not require follow-up beyond a letter.

C.            Out-of-Town Guest (OT) – An Out-of-Town guest is an individual or family who lives outside of the Central Iowa area, and would not require follow-up beyond a letter.

IV.            Pastor designates on each Prospect Card the staff person responsible for follow-up

V.             Records Secretary receives Cards.

VI.            Records Secretary enters information from Cards into computer.

VII.          The following reports are generated:

A.             Follow-up letter from the pastor. (Text is dependant upon guest designation).

B.             A listing with name, address and telephone number of all visitors and prospects for the previous Sunday. Copies are distributed to the following:

1.             Pastor

2.             Ministries Coordinator

3.             Records Secretary

C.            A listing with name, member status, date of first visit, and assigned to for all visitors and prospects for the previous Sunday. Copies are distributed to the following:

1.             Pastor

2.             Ministries Coordinator

3.             Records Secretary

D.            A listing with name, member status, date of first visit, and assigned to for all visitors and prospects from the Sunday four weeks prior to that week. Copies are distributed to the following:

1.             Pastor

2.             Ministries Coordinator

E.             Visit Cards with detailed information to be completed by staff person making visit. These cards will be returned to the Records Secretary to update computer records and track status of each prospect.

VIII.         The Visit Cards and the original Care Cards will be returned to the pastor before the weekly staff meeting.

IX.            At the weekly staff meeting the pastor will distribute the Visit Cards and Care Cards to the designated staff member.

X.             The pastor will review with the staff the names from the listing of prospects from four weeks prior and determine which names should still be considered prospects.

XI.            Following their visits, each staff member is responsible for returning a completed Visit Card to the Records Secretary to update the computer file. The Records Secretary will file the Visit Cards for a period of one year. 

Procedure for Hiring New Ministry Staff Members

Grace Church 

Finance & Personnel Team

Procedure for Hiring New Ministry Staff Members

1. Elders approve need to fill a position.
2. Pastor (or his designee) will develop a job description for the new position.
3. Finance & Personnel Team will begin search for a person to fill the new position based on the needs and qualifications outlined in the job description.
4. Finance & Personnel Team will collect background information on each potential candidate, perform preliminary interviews and narrow the search to one man.
5. Finance & Personnel Team will present the potential candidate to the pastor (or his designee) for review.
6. If Pastor approves, candidate will be invited to Grace for an interview with the pastor and elders.
7. If the elders agree, the job will be offered to the candidate.

 Note: This procedure applies only to ministry positions; support staff positions will be filled as needed under the direction of the executive director.

Sr. Ministry Position Search Procedures

Purpose

To carryout the process of searching for God’s man to serve in a senior ministry position with Grace Church.

Definition of Senior Ministry Positions

Currently, the following positions are considered senior ministry positions within Grace Church: Senior Pastor; Executive Director; Praise & Worship Pastor; Adult Ministries Pastor; Children’s & Youth Pastor.

 Parameters of Search Committee’s Authority

1. Operate under the authority of the Elders
2. Only make recommendations to the Elders
3. The Senior Pastor will serve as chairman of the Search Team. (In the absence of a senior pastor the Elders will appoint a chairman of the Search Team.)

 Search Committee’s Make Up

1. The Search Committee shall be made up of 5-7 qualified men. Each man will currently serve as an elder or be spiritually qualified to serve as an elder.
2. The Chairman of the Search Committee will serve as Grace Church’s primary contact with all potential candidates.
3. The Chairman of the Search Committee will serve as spokesman to the Elders on behalf of the Search Committee.
4. The Chairman of the Search Committee will serve as spokesman to the congregation on behalf of the Elders and Search Committee.

The Search Committee’s Budget

The Search Committee will have at its disposal funds from the General Fund budget for the purpose of completing its task. These funds will be used for reimbursement of travel expenses incurred by Committee members in searching for a pastor and travel expenses to bring a candidate and his family to Des Moines as needed. 

Search Process

1. Senior Pastor (or his designee) will prepare a job description for the position.
2. Search Team will begin to search for a person to fill the position based on the needs and qualifications outlined in the job description.
3. Search Team will collect background information on each potential candidate, perform preliminary interviews and narrow the search to one man.
4. Search Team will be invite the potential candidate to Grace for an interview with the Elders.
5. If the Elders agree, the job will be offered to the candidate.