Return to Table of Contents

Sample Pastoral Staff Interview Questions

1. Describe your conversion experience.

2. Describe your call to ministry.

3. Why are you considering leaving your current ministry position?

4. What brings you the greatest joy in ministry?

5. What causes you the most frustration in your ministry?

6. Of all the things you have done in ministry, what is the one you hope to never be asked or required to do?

7. As a leader, are you more of a risk taker or do you play it a little close to your chest?

8. Describe your leadership style.

• Charismatic
• Relational
• Organizational

9. Would your peers describe you as a good recruiter? Why?

10. If one of the people from your current church, who is not a fan of yours, was sitting with us, what criticism would he/she have of you?

11. What is your approach to handling conflict and confrontation?

• Head on—assertive, fast, fix it
• Avoid, procrastinate, eventually get to it

12. When it comes to finances, are you more of a faith person or a facts person?

13. How do you handle pressure?

• Pull back—retreat—reflect
• Power up—get aggressive
• Align yourself with allies—find those who support you and smooth things over
• Ignore, procrastinate, and pray for God to intervene

14. Are you overworked or underworked in your current (or previous) church?

15. Have you ever experienced burnout in ministry? If yes, explain.

16. Describe a normal work week for you.

17. Are you a night person or a morning person?

18. Describe one of your greatest failures in ministry.

19. Describe one of the most difficult leadership decisions you have made.

20. Fill in the blank, I would be a better leader if _____________________________________.

21. Are you energized more internally or externally?

22. As a leader, why do people follow you?

23. If you have only 1 hour, which do you think is more important: (and why)

• Visiting a top leader in the church in the hospital
• Making and keeping an evangelism appointment
• Spending quality time in prayer?

24. If your supervisor gave you 9 assignments to complete in 1 week and you felt you could only accomplish 5 of them, how would you handle the situation?

25. What do volunteer leaders in your church compliment you on most?

26. What does your immediate supervisor compliment you on most?

27. What kinds of problems do people in your church ask you to help them solve?

28. Share a few names of people who are far from God that you are investing in relationally?

29. Is your marriage positive, fulfilling, and growing?

30. Is your wife/husband supportive of you and your ministry? If relocation is involved, how does your family feel about relocating?

31. Are there any difficulties in the home or anywhere in your family life? Finances, in-laws, children, etc.?

32. Is there anything in your past we have not discussed, that we should know about?

33. Describe your practice of prayer and devotional time with God.

34. What are you currently studying during your devotional time and what is God telling you? (How are you growing?)

35. Are there any biblical/theological/doctrinal issues or concerns?

36. What is your spiritual Achilles heel—your personal temptation?

37. What personal accomplishments (outside of ministry) do you feel most proud of?

38. If you joined the Crossroads team, why because of you, would we be a bigger, better and stronger church?

39. What draws you toward Crossroads Church?

40. If you were to join the team, what kind of financial compensation would you expect?

Cool facts of interest, plus personalized questions that come from the resume and from answers to the questions can be added.

—Dan M. Reiland, D.Min., Lawrenceville, Georgia.