Applying for full-time vocational ministry positions does not mean what you probably think it means. The days of dropping a hundred resumes in the mail (or e-mail) are gone. Most large churches have completely eliminated that option by keeping job openings out of public view. Mostly smaller, less-networked churches still post jobs publicly and depend heavily on paperwork.
In my role I've found that ministerial candidates who believe it is enough to have an MDiv, a resume, and a few sermon MP3s will continue to be frustrated and disappointed by the job application process. That process wasn’t all that effective 20 years ago, either, when it was more common before technological advances. A good resume and a nice sermon are helpful, but they fail to capture the deeper relational, emotional, and spiritual conditions of pastoral candidates. Consider the outcomes of traditional hiring practices: One recent analysis of 186 pastors and their ministerial history from the past 47 years showed a 54 percent turnover rate after four years or less. Of these, 65 percent turned over again after the same length of time. Read more
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