Local Church Resources

Local church members provide invaluable leadership within United Church of Christ congregations through time and prayer, committee work, worship leadership, vision discernment, financial stewardship, visitation, and more!

Leadership and organizational resources for local church leaders

• A Sure Foundation: Resources for the Relationship Between Pastors and Congregations includes best practices for social media boundaries, ethical departures, annual reviews/assessment of ministry, Pastoral Relations Committees, sabbatical leave, as well as ethical codes for pastors and congregations.
• The Leaders Box, a timeless resource for local church leaders to consult for wisdom on committee structure, staff positions, constitutional revisions, church membership, and much more.
• Film Discussion Guide for “Spotlight”
• Called to Care: A Resource for Lay Caregivers is available for purchase through UCC Resources
• Liturgy of Departure for Military Service Members

Congregations searching for ministerial leadership

• Guide to Pastoral Search & Call for Local Churches offers best practices for navigating the search for pastoral leadership.
• Additional resources for the search process include a checklist poster, the “Sailing on Faith” DVD, and more.
• Dictionary of Pastoral Positions, also available in Spanish and Samoan
• Sample Call Agreement
• Sample Three-Way and Four-Way Covenants
• Departure Ethics and Social Media Boundaries for authorized ministers

• Congregations considering ministry in the UCC should contact their local Association and Conference staff to explore entering into a mutual covenant.
• Congregations considering partnership with other congregations for the purpose of sharing staff, space, programs, and/or ministry should study GEMS (for congregations of different denominations) and Getting Together (describing five models of shared ministry)