Introducing Interim Pastor Ministries

• Interim Pastor Ministries desires to provide quality interim pastors for local churches and ministry opportunities for experienced pastors.
• We desire to assist in the development of healthy churches.
• We seek to support and serve with district and denominational leaders. We desire to be a resource for these leaders and the churches we serve.
• This ministry began in 1990, as a response to a need for highly qualified, experienced interim pastors.
• Our home office is in Walcott, Iowa.
• Our Executive Director, Arnold Conrad, and our Associate Director, Carl Backie, have over 70 years of continual pastoral experience.
• At the present time, we have over 120 pastors in our organization.
• We began by serving one church in 1990 and have grown to serving 75 churches in 2007.
• Our interim pastors have served in a variety of evangelical fellowships in various parts of the United States, as well as ministering in other parts of the world.
• All IPM pastors agree with our doctrinal statement and have been prescreened regarding ministry effectiveness.
• Many of our pastors have experience in multiple staff ministries and some have doctoral degrees.
• Our staff consists of men who can serve either as Transitional or Interventionist Interim Pastors.
• Our pastors bring experince, wisdom, maturity, and energy to the churches they serve.
• Our interim pastors are available to serve either part-time or full-time.
• We serve congregations of all sizes.
• None of our pastors are available to become the next regular pastor of any church served.
• Interim Pastors may serve as a bridge between the church planter and a church's first pastor or from one pastor to the next pastor.

Churches Using Interim Pastors Are Healthier as a Result
Seven Key Ways an Interim Pastor Can Help Your Church Become Healthier

The time between pastors can be one of the most effective periods in the life of a church. The interim pastor can help the church utilize this time to evaluate, refocus, heal, solve problems, and prepare for the calling of the next pastor.
Church attendance tends to remain higher when an interim pastor is serving the church. He brings continuity to the ministry, and this helps maintain positive growth with most (if not all) "fringe folk" remaining in the congregation.
Visitor retention can be higher when pastoral care is present. Without the stability of consistent pastoral ministry, newcomers may continue their search for a church home and fail to take a second look at your church.
Giving tends to remain higher. Giving is often generated by need. If the local church seeks to save money during the interim period, they may find it difficult to regain that income when it is needed to provide for the new pastor. When churches have a full-time interim pastor from the start of their pastoral vacancy, everyone knows that the budget needs are similar, and giving reductions usually do not happen.
The senior pastor's leadership position is strengthened. Some churches reassign a staff member to fill the senior pastor role during the interim. This may create some potential difficulty when the new pastor arrives and the staff person must return to their previous assignment.
The energy of church leaders remains higher and burnout is avoided. With the presence of an interim pastor, they are not carrying an increased load of ministry. As a result, when the permanent pastor arrives, they are energized to begin ministry together.
With an interim pastor present, the church can take the necessary time to prayerfully and diligently engage in the search process for a new pastor. It is extremely important for potential pastoral candidates and the church that the right "match" occur. Either, or both, can be hurt and the cause of Christ hindered by a careless or rushed search process.

The Values IPM Brings to a Local Church

Competence - We offer pastors who are members (who are employed by IPM) of the IPM network. This means they are credentialed, experienced, and mature with good references.
Caring - Our pastors are not only preachers, but also men who care for the needs of the people.
Intentional - We can design the ministry of the interim to meet the current needs of your church. Some churches only need regular pulpit supply, while others need serious crisis intervention.
Freedom - We want you to be able to search for your next permanent pastor without distraction.
Flexibility - Because of the age and circumstances of our members, we can offer a program that will work. We offer full-time, half-time, and weekend-time packages, and we can work with the current church financial condition.
Simplicity - The church sends us two checks each month, and that takes care of everything relative to your pastoral needs.
Consistency in the pulpit

Comments from Churches We Have Served

"We (Colby Berean Church) are very thankful for the ministry of Interim Pastor Ministries. We were without a senior pastor for approximately eighteen months. Our pastor from IPM provided several benefits to our church during his tenure with us: 1) faithful teaching of God's word, 2) continuity for our services each Sunday, 3) leadership and wisdom for a difficult situation that arose, 4) counsel for our church board and others, and 5) a positive model to help us more clearly define the characteristics and qualities that we were looking for in a senior pastor." (Tom Bethell, Board Chairman of Colby Berean Church, January 3, 2007)


"The Beartown Road Alliance Church had some very serious difficulties with their senior pastor that caused deep hurt and major difficulties in the congregation. People did not trust the pastor, the boards, and the members became very frustrated with what was happening to their church, with ongoing conflict. After the district completed its work, the church called IPM. With the wise council of Dr. Arnold Conrad, Rev. Tom Kimbrough was appointed interim pastor.

With his wisdom-filled preaching, mature leadership to the elected personnel, and solid, spirit-filled fatherly counsel, the church started to heal. The leadership and the church congregation started to trust each other. After many months of Tom's leadership, the church called their senior pastor. The new senior pastor has been there for 15 months. The ministry has been restarted, and many young couples have found the Lord in the restored ministry of the church. The ministry of Tom Kimbrough is deeply appreciated and respected.

Just a footnote: Tom was invited back to witness the blessings of the Lord. May God continue to bless IPM." (David J. Phillips, Beartown Road Alliance Church, June 14, 2007)


"At Hillside, we are very pleased with the Interim Pastor Ministries. The pastor that we received from this placement service is very knowledgeable. He takes initiative in his work, he anticipates needs and is diligent in the areas of responsibility. Pastor David also establishes appropriate goals, priorities, and implements effective courses of action for plans to be completed on time. He effectively adapts to unexpected situations and volunteers for ministry in situations that require extra assistance or leadership. Pastor also maintains a set schedule of activities to assure that a full workload is carried out efficiently and effectively in accordance with the church's priorities. We feel that we are very fortunate to have pastor David as an interim pastor. We couldn't ask for a better leader for our church during this time of transition." (Erwin Van Veldhuizen, Moderator, Hillside Baptist Church)


"I just want to say that having Dave at our church as an interim pastor was the best decision our church could make. He has helped us to get back on track and get focused on what the Lord would have us do as His church. I have appreciated and admired Dave's desire to serve Christ with all that he has. He is gifted in many ways, such as music, relational ministry, and reconciliation. He truly has a heart to see people come to Christ. Even after his stroke, while in the hospital, he never stopped trying to evangelize. He truly knows and loves God's Word.

He has recovered remarkably since his stroke. His speech and ability to communicate gets better every week. He works very hard at his therapy. He still is able to minister to people even though he can't communicate as well as he would like. I thank God for Dave and Carol, and pray that they can continue to minister to people, telling them the Good News of Jesus, coming along side them in their trials, and being their friend." (Alan L. Darling)


"Interim Pastor Ministries was a breath of fresh air. We were without a pastor for a total of two years. The first year, we had a different person speak every Sunday. We had several pastors come and speak once a month. The second year, we decided that our church needed consistency. We contacted Interim Pastor Ministries because of a recommendation from our district office. Having an interim pastor was so beneficial and stabilizing. Dr. Conrad provided a list of individuals, and we worked through that list. Our interim pastor was extremely helpful with guiding the leadership team, as well as providing the stability we so needed. God provided through this ministry, and we at Twin Valley Church are so grateful. Praise God!!!" (Rick Hall, Twin Valley EFC, Bellevue, NE, Jan. 2008)


"Before too much time passes, I wanted to send a note of thanks to IPM for the help at Calvary Bible Church.  I believe that without the unique gifts of pastor Jim Harness and Pastor Stan Conrad, we would not be experiencing the joy and excitement of having a new pastor here.

During the three and a half years we did not have a senior pastor, the church struggled with several major unresolved issues. Some of these were related to individual issues of discipline, but the more troubling problem was the unresolved conflict and lack of trust that was present in the congregation and leadership.

Pastor Jim Harness, during the months he was here, was able to settle the outstanding discipline issues. Not to say they disappeared as issues, but they were dealt with in a decisive manner and finality was brought at the leadership level and with the congregation where appropriate. This ended the constant debate and uncertainty and allowed the church to move on to deal with the larger issue of trust and conflict. His ministry also gave the church a much needed sense of stability and normalcy as we had recently dealt with a candidate declining our call and the assistant turned interim pastor resigning and leaving the area.

Pastor Stan's arrival followed shortly after the second failed attempt to bring in a pastor and the church and leadership were discouraged. He worked in such a way that encouraged the board to take ownership of the church and of the mistakes they had made in the past. As he became aware of the amount of distrust and conflict, he supported, but did not dominate, efforts to heal relationships and establish biblical patterns for relating to each other. He helped with this first for the leadership and then for the congregation as a whole.

If the health of the church was measured in attendance and giving, the three years we just went through would indicate serious disease. However, if health is measured in spiritual growth, I believe the last three years would be seen as a period of great increase in health for the congregation and especially for the leadership.

I strongly believe that had we found a new senior pastor without experiencing the benefits of both interim pastors, our path would have been much more difficult. Pastors Jim and Stan, with their many years of experience and no need to worry about their long term ministry here, were able to candidly and decisively deal with problems. This boldness and their combined years of ministry experience gave credibility to their leadership.

Another benefit is that we were able to see and work with the two very different pastors. The experience helped us to realize the diversity of methods and personality types God can use to shepherd a congregation. After 20+ years with a single senior pastor at CBC, this exposure to different ways to lead, "do church," visit, disciple, discipline, and teach was very helpful.

I would be remiss if I pretended either of these pastors would have been nearly as effective without their wives. Both Jan Harness and Joyce Conrad went above and beyond in becoming part of the congregation. The love for people they displayed ministered to us all in a very special way. The examples they modeled as couples was also quite powerful. Serving God by serving each other and ministering as a team is something special to see in action.

Finally, as I reflect on the last four years at CBC, I am thankful God brought Pastor Jim and Pastor Stan to this congregation. Over those years, my prayer was for a new senior pastor; my patience and faith were challenged by the wait and disappointments. I now realize that God's plan, though slower to develop, was far superior to mine. As we work together with our new pastor, I see daily the lessons we learned in the last years being put to use. I am confident, as we go forward, that we will once again be able to be used by God to spread the gospel and grow and mature the believers we have and those he will bring our way in the future." (Brad Hilbilink, Calvary Bible Church)


"I would highly recommend Interim Pastor Ministries to any church that has recently lost their pastor. They work with you to find the pastor that will fit in well with your church. We had Pastor Jonathan Smith, and he did a good job of preaching the Word of God on Sundays and delivering an excellent devotional before every Wednesday night prayer meeting. He also did a great job of keeping in contact with members and making visitations when they were needed. This group of men is truly a blessing, especially when they can come into a church and just do what they love, which is preach. This was my second time leading our pastor search committee , and it has been so much smoother not having to worry about filling the pulpit every Sunday." (Chris Armacost, PSC Chairman, Faith Bible Church, La Marque, TX, Feb. 2008)


"When Howard and Lois pulled into our driveway on the day before the Sunday he was to preach and they got out of their van, my first thoughts were, 'My, they're old. How are they ever going to keep up with US?' I now know the question should have been 'How or Can we keep up with them?' The only part about Howard and Lois being old is their birthdays. They have no lack of energy, vision, or ideas - especially ideas. We, as a church, have been very busy this past year, and much has happened. Howard prepared and taught the elder board. All the elders have really appreciated the study time with him. We know what we need to be about, and with God's help, we will be the elder board that God needs here at this time. Thank you, Howard and Lois, for your ministry here. You will never be forgotten, and those thoughts will always be loving memories." (Larry Jacobson, Elder Chairman, Clear Lake E. Free Church, March 2008)


"I would like to report on the experience we have had as a board of elders and as a church with the interim pastor that came to us through Interim Pastor Ministries.com.

"The vast wealth of knowledge and experience, and a heart to nurture the body of Christ, was very evident in our interim (Don Urey). Our church saw growth while the interim was here. The preaching was excellent. He counseled families. He also mentored and trained church leadership at their request. This has been a great experience; we feel ready to be effective change managers as our new senior pastor climbs into the saddle. (General Comments)

"Having Dr. Don Urey as interim pastor here has been an amazing growth experience for everyone, including him, I think. He has recently concluded a Biblical Leadership Training conference with SREFC elders and staff. With emphasis on purpose, objectives (task/process), and goals, we've looked at quality of leadership, delegation, administration, managing people, change and decision making, and evaluation. Through this, we've discovered better ways to organize and address needs in our church effectively.

"We've discovered we have been conditioned to a hands off, seat-of-the-pants kind of leadership style, which has not been the healthiest thing for this body. By 'conditioned,' I mean we struggle to make changes from that. Pastor Urey has strongly recommended we form a 'Deacon Board' of qualified individuals who will share the load of ministering to our church and community. He was careful to say we could call this group of people what ever we wanted, just to be sure we follow the scriptural guidelines of delegating to others some of the people things and building stuff. We have many people doing great and wonderful things now, but it's not organized in a way where the pastor, elders, or staff are necessarily 'in the loop.'

"Pastor Urey has been very busy preaching and doing personal counseling. He has also been a great mentor in helping the elders and staff visit with families and volunteers, especially conflict resolution and reconciliation. He has helped our Search Committee. Recently, he helped me organize a temporary steering committee for Women's Ministry, which is going well. He's also helped another elder organize ushers. Pastor Urey has made other good recommendations that we are considering or working on. There's a lot of things going on here, but I've tried to hit the highlights that would be relevant to your interest." (Matt Grosinger, Elder Board Chairman, Snowy Range Evangelical Free Church, July 2008)


"Our church has deeply appreciated 'Interim Pastor Ministry.' You sent us Pastor Abel Threeton, and he has been such a blessing to us this past year. Our church had just gone through some pretty tough times with several families leaving our small congregation. Well, Pastor Threeton was like 'oil on troubled waters.' He helped reestablish peace and tranquility within our church through God's help, and he will be deeply missed as he leaves us now.

"Thank you so much for your wonderful ministry of using these wise, experienced ministers to help churches like ours through tough times. We would definitely consider using your ministry again in the future! God bless you! (Mark Tombre, Governing Board Secretary, Savage, MT, June 2008)