Vanderbloemen Search Group

Off-Limit Interview Questions

Recently we came across a great article on what not to ask during the interview process. Whether you’re interviewing for a job or you’re the person hiring, it’s important to know what questions are off the table – legally speaking. Regardless of how casual a job interview may be, certain questions can get employers in trouble. And if you’re being interviewed, it’s important to know what questions you don’t have to answer.

Federal law doesn’t allow job discrimination based on someone’s gender, race, religion, ethnicity, disability or marital status, meaning anything that comes up in an interview in regard to those topics can’t be discussed. Only in rare cases – typically involving religion – are there limited exceptions. For example, a job qualification of a priest is to be a professing Christian, so a church would be within its legal limits to check. However, any non-pastoral position, from secretaries to janitors to administrators, cannot be discriminated against because of a candidate’s religion, or lack of.

New Partnership with Charles Jenkins

The Vanderbloemen Search group is very excited to announce our newest team member Charles Jenkins.

Charles Jenkins is a leader respected and revered for his innovative thinking, contemporary leadership, business savvy and holistic approach to social change and large-scale community development. While Jenkins is widely known as the senior pastor of an 8,000-member church, the legendary Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church, he is also a visionary, a trailblazer, a connector, a community leader, an advisor, a Grammy Award-winning songwriter, an author and dynamic communicator.

I am thrilled to have Charles Jenkins join our team. He is a first class leader, and his ability to connect people and opportunities is beyond compare. When we first did work for Charles’ church, I knew we had found a winner. I never imagined it would lead to a future partnership, and am so glad it has. The future just got brighter for our firm because of Charles Jenkins.

-William Vanderbloemen

New Lead Pastor Search for Contemporary Kansas City Area Church

The Vanderbloemen Search Group is pleased to announce we have partnered with Lee’s Summit Community Church in Lee’s Summit, Missouri, to assist in filling the position of Lead Pastor.

After 23 years of faithful service, the Lead Pastor is transitioning to the role of teaching pastor and opportunities to minister in Asia. Lee’s Summit Community Church (LSCC) is searching for a candidate to follow him in a seamless transition in becoming the new Lead Pastor. LSCC is a growing and externally-focused church in the Kansas City with a track record for reaching the unchurched, creating disciples, and furthering the Kingdom by planting churches and intentionally caring for their community. LSCC sits on 10 beautiful acres and over 1800 people attend services each weekend.

How to Better Connect With People

by Justin Lathrop

Becoming an Indispensable Staff Pastor

by Justin Lathrop

I’ve spent 12 years serving as a staff pastor at two different churches. Both experiences have been unique, positive, and challenging. I don’t plan on ever being a lead pastor, so I’ll spend my entire career serving on a staff rather than leading one.

If you are a staff pastor, no job is ever 100% secure. Things happen, economy has its ups and downs but there are four strategic things you can do to make yourself an indispensable staff pastor.

1. Find the most important objective your pastor wants to accomplish and put yourself in the middle of it.

—Volunteer to lead a task force to accomplish the objective.

—Be a good listener. For instance, if you hear frustration from him on why the church has a low retention rate for visitors, make note of it and take initiative to help craft a solution.

2. Make strategic connections for your pastor.

—Make sure these relationships are life-giving and not things that give him more work.

—Make sure they are strategic and contribute to accomplishing his present objectives or future dreams.

Opportunity for Engaging the World – Missions Pastor Opening in Northwest Georgia

The Vanderbloemen Search Group is pleased to announce we have partnered with Rock Bridge Community Church in Dalton, Georgia, to assist in filling the position of a Missions Pastor.

Rock Bridge Community Church is a fast growing, contemporary church serving Northwest Georgia. This ten-year-old church is known for reaching and equipping individuals and families in the Dalton area with relevant, biblical truth. Currently, 2800 people attend this multi-site church each weekend. With the explosive growth Rock Bridge has experienced, the need has surfaced for a pastor to deepen the church’s ministry to the local community, region and world.

Can Google Help You Find a Job?

As the job market continues to rapidly change, people are using the internet to search for career opportunities. But can the internet provide candidates with more than “Apply Now” links? Recently we came across a great article in the Chicago Tribune that shares some great tips on how job seekers can improve their chances at landing that perfect job. Using search engines such as Google to research everything from resume design to a company’s financial profile provides candidates with indispensable tools in their quest.  Below are some tips to help get your resume on the top of the pile.

Background Check Potential Employers

Whether you want to work for a publicly traded company or a non-profit, you can use Google to investigate the financial status of many organizations. For stock prices and trends, use Google Finance to see and compare stock prices. Many companies post their annual reports on their websites, so accessing that information is as easy as searching for it.

Revamp your Resume

You have a list of contacts to send your resume to, but you’re wondering if it may need some touching up before you move forward. Inspiration is only a few clicks away. By using Google’s “Image Search,” you can easily peruse resume designs for ideas. Focus in on your area of expertise (you probably wouldn’t want to use a graphic artist’s resume design if you’re looking for work as an assistant). A tip for keeping it safe: Change your Google Image “SafeSearch” setting to “strict” to avoid accidentally stumbling on inappropriate content. This feature is under advanced settings.

Dave Ramsey and Vanderbloemen

As you may have picked up on by now, we are huge advocates of the folks over at Dave Ramsey and the Lampo Group. Dave and his team continue to be a top resource for individual finances as well as the leading financial resource for churches. Earlier this year, we had the chance to sit down and talk with Dave about some of the financial trends he is seeing in the Kingdom, along with one of his new efforts to assist churches, The Great Recovery was a huge success! Last week on October 7 we were lucky enough to be featured on Dave’s daily Radio Show, we would love for you to take a listen:

VSG on the Dave Ramsey Show

the full audio for the show is available on Dave’s Site.

What If Steve Jobs Had Taken a Normal Job?

For this week’s Friday illustration, William asks the question, “What if Steve Jobs had been normal?”

We’re sure there are going to be countless references to Steve this week in churches everywhere. We hope that our question can help your thoughts as you prepare messages to help people step into their God given destiny.

Have a great weekend!

Measuring The Profit Margin Of Your Church

by William Vanderbloemen

Over the years, I’ve been blessed to know a bunch of older, wiser church leaders, and to count them as close friends. Maybe it’s my rather unique collection of friends that makes me have so much fun doing executive search.

Last week, I read a great post from my friend Tony last week that called one of my long time friends to mind. I’ll never forget what my great Houston colleague Ed Young told me about measuring the effectiveness of programs.

Over a long lunch in his office, Ed said, “William, never forget that the church is a non-profit but it has a profit margin. Our profit margin is life change.”

“William, never forget that the church is a non-profit but it has a profit margin. Our profit margin is life change.” – Ed Young

Now that’s money.

Friday Illustration: The Best Eulogy Ever

While we spend our day doing search, nearly everyone in our firm has been on a church staff.

And we know that Friday isn’t about looking for a job.

It’s about scrambling for the weekend.

Particularly, it’s about preachers scrambling for illustrations.

Is Your Pastor Getting Paid Enough?

Our friends over at Church Law Group are the experts when it comes to the ins and outs of the legal system in the world of the Church.

In addition to providing churches legal council, our firm regularly partners with the Church Law Group in compensation studies that provide churches with a professional analysis of pay scales, so that churches can determine what they should pay their top staff in a way that is equitable and sound based on the criteria set by the IRS.

Campus Pastor Search for a Large Multisite Church in Billings

The Vanderbloemen Search Group is pleased to announce we have been retained by Harvest Church in Billings, Montana, to assist in filling the role of Campus Pastor.

Harvest Church is committed to reaching those far from God. They are known for a welcoming spirit, undergirded by solid Biblical values in a contemporary setting that strives to be culturally relevant. The theology of Harvest can be described as Biblical, orthodox, and evangelical. They currently have four campuses reaching 2,500 people each weekend.

How To Get Hired When Nobody Is Hiring

by William Vanderbloemen

I’m often asked,

“How do I get hired when nobody is hiring?”

I cannot get you hired, but I can tell you how you can stand out among the crowds we see.

Every week, we comb through a growing number of resumes, usually of highly qualified people. What catches an employer’s eye?

Over the coming weeks, we will share a number of ideas. Here’s one to start:

Have a plan, and an open hand

When a candidate shows an employer that they are living and working with a purpose, that sticks. When people come to the table with a keen self awareness, a knowledge of how God has wired them and what He wants them to do, it separates them from the ordinary resume in a stack. Do you know your purpose? Can you state it well (without sounding proud)?

Search for an Innovative Megachurch Strategic Multisite Pastor

The Vanderbloemen Search Group is pleased to share we have been retained by Beulah Alliance Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, to assist in finding their new Multisite Pastor.

Beulah Alliance Church is thriving church of 2300. The desire is to be a reproducing church that creates multi-site venues throughout the city. Since its founding Beulah Alliance Church has experienced a God-inspired restlessness, a kind of uneasiness with the status quo. The very heart of Beulah is the commitment to reach, teach, and equip people to know, love, and serve Jesus Christ. Beulah Alliance Church is connected denominationally to The Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA), an evangelical Protestant denomination with an emphasis on global evangelism.

Two More Keys to “Beating the Monday Blues”

by William Vanderbloemen

Here’s a truth about preaching and doing ministry:

Monday is likely the hardest day of the week.

Our previous two articles on “Beating the Monday Blues” have garnered a lot more traffic than we ever expected. So as an encore, here’s one last article, with a couple of pieces of advice about beating the Monday blues.

1. Don’t believe anything or decide anything until Tuesday.

I’m not sure there are many professions that require the level of nakedness that preaching does. To step up and deliver a public speech about eternity is a big deal.

It’s been noted by a myriad of studies that public speaking is the number one phobia among people; – it’s feared even more than death. As Jerry Seinfeld once said, “Turns out most people would rather be the subject of a funeral than the speaker at one.”

In Memory of September 11, 2001

This week’s illustration is in memory of September 11, 2001.

We hope and pray that services at your church are meaningful, and if this illustration is helpful, then use it by all means!

Click below to read William’s illustration

The Flag Doesn’t Stop Flying

Senior Pastor for Established & Outreached-Focused California Church

The Vanderbloemen Search Group is pleased to share we have been retained Hillside Community Church in Alta Loma, CA, to assist in finding their new Senior Pastor.

Hillside Community Church is a growing, dynamic, externally-focused community church. After 35 years of faithful service, Hillside’s senior pastor is retiring and is searching for the candidate to follow him in a seamless and fruitful transition. Hillside is a church that offers something for everybody with seven-day-a-week classes, Bible studies and other ministry opportunities. The average attendance exceeds 2500 and has posted an annual positive growth rate for a majority of its years. It is well-positioned for continued growth in the coming years.

Teaching/Young Adults Pastor for Relational Northeast Church

The Vanderbloemen Search Group is pleased to share we have been retained by Grace Community Church in Fulton, Maryland to assist in finding a Teaching/Young Adults pastor.

Grace Community Church is a highly relational church between Baltimore, MD and Washington, DC. Because of the church’s emphasis on relationships, 103% of the people at Grace are connected to small groups (no, that’s not a typo!)

The Teaching Pastor will be relationally engaging. He is expected to teach at a quarter of weekend services as well as in other avenues. Also, the successful candidate will provide leadership to the Young Adult Ministry. He must have an excellent knowledge of Scripture, be tactical and organized, and be passionate about working with and equipping young adults. He must possess a seminary or Bible college degree with experience in young adult ministry preferred.

Fulton, MD, is in Howard County, which has been ranked nationally as the #2 Best Place to Live in America by Money Magazine. It’s known for its great educational opportunities, public safety, and the lowest unemployment rate in the state.  Howard County has a high percentage of unchurched people in the United States.

Interested applicants can directly apply for this position here: All correspondence is held in strict confidence.

The Vanderbloemen Search Group is a retained executive search firm that helps churches find their key staff. Searches for large, fast growing churches with a focus on reaching the un-churched has become an area of particular expertise for our firm. Should your church need assistance in this sort of search, feel free to contact us.

New Children’s Pastor Search in California

The Vanderbloemen Search Group is excited to announce that we have been retained to assist Visalia First Assembly to find their new Children’s Pastor.

Visalia First Assembly is a thriving congregation of over 3100 weekly attenders.

The heart of the church is to creatively present the gospel to those far from God. The church is well known within the area as a place that exists for the community.

Visalia is at the in the heart of California’s agricultural San Joaquin Valley and has almost 500,000 residents in it’s metroplex. Visalia is the third fastest growing city in California.

Visalia First Assembly is looking for a high capacity Children’s Pastor who can creatively reach the lost students of the area as well as build systems to address the growth and make disciples.

Interested applicants can directly apply for this position here: All correspondence is held in strict confidence.

The Vanderbloemen Search Group is a retained executive search firm that helps churches find their key staff. Searches for large, fast growing churches with a focus on reaching the un-churched has become an area of particular expertise for our firm. Should your church need assistance in this sort of search, feel free to contact us.