Churches often find themselves in between lead pastors. When will they find a new lead pastor? The answer is not always known.

But with or without a lead pastor, the church must move forward. Church operations do not cease with a vacant lead pastor position. This includes the church budget. How should a church manage their budget during times of pastoral transition? Here are five tips:

1. Avoid making any drastic changes.

One of the themes you will find in these tips is maintaining the status quo to get the church prepared for the next lead pastor. Of course, this assumes the church is not facing any significant financial strain that would lead to a major budgetary adjustment.

It is normally a mistake to have an interim leader present their own vision for the church, especially if the vision requires significant changes, including a new budget structure to facilitate the vision. This puts a new lead pastor in the difficult position of either going with a vision they’re not passionate about or discontinuing a relatively new shift the church has made. Likewise, this puts the new lead pastor in a similar position with the budget, either moving forward with a budget structure of which they are not a fan or dismantling a recently approved budget structure. Budgetarily, attempt to maintain the status quo.

2. Don’t reduce the personnel budget just because expenses are currently lower.

During interim periods, the personnel budget can decrease. Of course, the decrease is largely due the absence of a lead pastor, normally the largest salary on the church’s payroll. But the decline can also occur because other staff members have left the church, maybe with the prior lead pastor.

For those with a “saver” personality, they may view this as an opportunity to reduce the overall personnel budget moving forward. However, such a move can negatively impact the next lead pastor. Assuming the personnel expenses are already considered financially healthy, a reduction in the personnel budget limits the personnel options for the new lead pastor. Additionally, the lower budget may decrease the amount the church allocates toward the lead pastor’s salary, potentially limiting the pool of prospective pastors.

3. Include a line item for guest preachers.

While the first two tips were about not making any major adjustments, some smaller budgetary adjustments may be beneficial. The first is to include a line item for guest preachers or an interim pastor. If the line item already exists, an increase in the amount budgeted may be necessary.

For each guest preacher, consider covering travel, food, and hotel accommodations in addition to their honorarium. How much of an honorarium should a church provide a guest preacher? Consider basing the honorarium off the former pastor’s salary (including housing allowance).  This number likely includes the variables of church size, length and quality of sermon, and number of services, all of which are important considerations when inviting a guest preacher. Since these variables are already considered in the former lead pastor’s salary, use this salary as the starting point.

As an example, you could pay a guest preacher .5% of the former pastor’s salary per service. It would look like this:

• Pastor’s salary (including housing allowance): $60,000
• Number of services: 2
• Guest pastor’s honorarium: $60,000 x .5% = $300 x 2 services = $600

This approach allows a church to be generous without compromising their stewardship.

For churches with a part-time lead pastor, base the calculation on what you would pay a full-time lead pastor.

4. Consider setting aside money for hiring expenses.

Hiring expenses are another addition for the budget. Most of the time, these expenses are associated with the prospective pastor—travel, food, accommodations, moving expenses, and in some cases, a hiring bonus. These costs will increase with a geographically expanded search.

However, it is not just the prospective pastor’s expenses that must be covered. Many churches have some form of a search team. These men and women are tasked with the lead pastor search process. Depending on the expectations of this team, expenses for travel, food, and accommodations also should be included in the budget.

Finally, the church may determine to use an outside firm to help with the search process. If this is an anticipated part of the search process, be sure to include the expense in the budget.

5. Refrain from using excess funds on pet projects.

There may be a period when generosity is greater than expected, or a large gift is given without any directive on how to use the funds. It can be tempting for the staff or lay leaders to use these funds for a purpose they personally deem important. Some staff members or lay leaders may view it as an opportunity to fund a pet project they know would not be a key ministry strategy moving forward.

It is best to refrain from using excess funds on these types of pet projects. Ideally, the money would be set aside and used after the new lead pastor has articulated a vision for the church. These funds could be used to help fund that mission.

Of course, there may be some immediate necessities, like significant deferred facility maintenance the funds could cover. But in general, it is best to set aside these funds until the new lead pastor has been identified.

It is not uncommon for churches to go through periods without a lead pastor. During these times, it’s a good idea to attempt to maintain the budget’s status quo, preparing the church for the next lead pastor. While it is likely necessary to adjust for expenses related to guest preachers and the search process, most of the budget should remain relatively the same.