| Duties by Area of Responsibility |

Main Missions
COM’s main missions are to build positive relationships between churches and pastors, and strengthen the strong bond of trust within the presbytery, along with solid policies for providing fair and equitable compensation and benefits to pastors.

Building Relationships and Trust
The Committee sponsors two retreats for pastors each year to promote fellowship, a sense of really belonging to the presbytery, and to provide different perspectives on topics of interest. COM, also, provides training for church leaders during the year, and a strong program of group mentoring during the first year after a pastor’s ordination. Events such as these result from a solid commitment to move the ministry of the churches of the Presbytery of East Iowa forward through equipping leaders and strengthening relationships.

Pastors who are new to a presbytery often find it energy intensive and time consuming to learn about both his or her church and the processes of the presbytery. In order to make this early period more productive for pastors, COM sponsors an orientation session for all pastors entering the presbytery. In addition there is an effective mentoring and coaching program led by two experienced pastors. This program is for pastors who have just been ordained. They meet as a group once a month for the first twelve months after ordination. The objective is to provide participants with both practical “how to” information on a wide variety of topics and a setting for consistent professional support during the transition to ordained ministry.

The Committee maintains an emergency fund to aid pastors who have a temporary, but urgent, need for assistance. The effectiveness of this fund can be substantially enhanced through shared grants from the Board of Pensions and individual churches. Several pastors have received financial help through COM.

Churches can find the period of transition between pastors to be daunting. Pastors can, also, find this period particularly challenging. COM maintains a guiding presence throughout the process for both the churches and pastors. The ultimate goal is a successful match of a church and pastor. For more information on this process click How to Seek a Pastor

Equitable and Fair Compensation and Benefits
COM focuses on compensation and benefits for our pastors. COM makes every effort to be supportive of pastors in their personal as well as their professional lives. As professionals, pastors are deserving of adequate compensation. Additionally, we believe that it is important for a pastor to have adequate compensation so that he/she is not distracted from the responsibilities of ministry by concerns about personal finances. To assure that pastors and their families can live comfortably, COM works both to maintain a competitive compensation structure in the presbytery and to help churches find creative ways to be in compliance with that structure. COM also strives to maintain equity in compensation throughout the presbytery through the Pastor Compensation and Benefits Policy (Adobe Acrobat Reader required.) 

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DUTIES BY AREA OF RESPONSIBILITY

The Committee on Ministry (COM) is a presbytery committee mandated by the Book of Order section G-11.0500. It has several important responsibilities in different areas of presbytery life. COM reports all actions taken on behalf of presbytery at the next stated meeting of the presbytery.

Churches in Transition
COM works directly with churches to guide them through the process of transition from one pastor to the next. The main responsibilities related to churches and pastors in transition are listed below in the approximate order in which they may occur:

• Dissolve pastoral relationships when pastor and congregation concur, and facilitate resolution of conflicts when church and pastor don’t concur on dissolution of relationship;

• Dismiss ministers to other presbyteries and/or approve the retirement of a pastor;

• Appoint a minister of this Presbytery as Moderator of session(s)

• Approve contracts with temporary supply, stated supply, interim and student pastors;

• Approve a church forming a Pastor Nominating Committee to seek a pastor;

• Approve and examine ministers transferring from other Presbyteries;

• Approve and present calls to ministers of word and sacrament;

• Approve calls with permanent and designated pastors;

• Transfer ministers into or out of the Presbytery;

• Approve administrative commissions for the purpose of installing ordained ministers and for the purpose of ordaining candidates following examination;

• Develop and maintain the forms to call or contract with a permanent, temporary or designated pastor or CLP. To view and download one of these forms (Click Here).

• Grant ministers permission to labor outside or within the bounds of this Presbytery;

Commissioned Lay Pastors
COM also has responsibilities for Commissioned Lay Pastors (CLPs). These responsibilities are mainly carried out though a committee of COM and more information can be found separately on this site. The main COM responsibilities are to:

• Provide for training of CLPs;

• Approve placement and responsibilities in churches of CLPs;

• Supervise CLPs;

To view more detail on the CLP program (Click Here).

Compensation and Benefits
COM has responsibility for the “Pastor Compensation Policy,” the “Pastor Benefits Policy” and the “CLP Compensation and Benefits Policy.” These policies are written in a single manual. The manual is published and distributed to pastors and churches each fall with any policy changes including adjustment in the compensation ranges resulting from cost of living and/or market changes. A copy may also be obtained from the presbytery office. COM responsibilities are to:

• Develop these Policies and any changes, and recommending them to presbytery for approval;

• Analyze the level of cash compensation pastors receive in churches in the north central region of the United States, compare those levels with our presbytery compensation ranges and recommend appropriate increases to maintain fair levels of compensation for pastors in the Presbytery of East Iowa;

• Approving changes in the terms of call;

• Consulting with churches and pastors where the compensation and/or benefits levels are not in accord with presbytery policy.

Orientation and Mentoring of New Pastors
COM provides for orientation to the presbytery for all pastors when they enter the Presbytery of East Iowa. Monthly meetings are also provided newly ordained pastors for coaching related to the practical aspects of ministry as a successful pastor.

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