What Is a Candidating Weekend and How Do You Plan One?

The candidating weekend is one of the most important moments in an entire pastor search — and most churches significantly underuse it. A poorly planned candidate weekend feels like a long job interview with meals. A well-planned one gives your congregation a genuine sense of the candidate, gives the candidate a genuine sense of the church, and gives your committee the information it needs to move forward with confidence.

Here is how to plan a candidating weekend that actually does what it is supposed to do.

When to Bring a Candidate In

The candidating weekend should come after your committee has done substantial evaluation work — not as an early step in the process. By the time a candidate comes for a candidating weekend, you should already have a strong sense of his theology, character, preaching, references, and background. The weekend is for confirmation and chemistry, not for initial evaluation.

Include the Spouse and Family

A pastor's spouse is not a co-candidate, and her role should not be evaluated or tested as if she were. But she is a full partner in the decision about whether to come to your church, and her experience of the weekend matters enormously. Make sure someone on your team is caring for her specifically — showing her the community, answering her questions about schools and neighborhoods, introducing her to women in the congregation who she might connect with. The weekend should feel welcoming to the whole family, not just to the pastor.

The Sunday Morning Sermon

The sermon the candidate preaches on Sunday morning is the most public moment of the weekend. Your congregation deserves to see the candidate at his best — which means giving him a normal Sunday morning setting, not a special performance context. Let him preach the way he normally preaches. Do not give him a specific text unless that is your church's normal practice. Afterward, give congregation members a structured opportunity to respond — not an open forum that can become a problem, but a guided feedback process.

The Congregational Q&A

A congregational Q&A — usually held on Sunday afternoon or evening — gives the broader congregation a chance to interact with the candidate and ask questions. This session needs to be facilitated carefully. Designate someone to moderate, establish ground rules in advance, and have a way to handle questions that are inappropriate or that reveal congregational conflict. A well-run Q&A builds congregational ownership of the process. A poorly run one damages it.

Give the Candidate Time to See the Community

Do not fill every hour of the weekend with church activities. Give the candidate and his family time to drive around the community, see the neighborhoods, visit a school, eat at a local restaurant. His family needs to be able to picture their life there — not just his ministry life, but their whole life. This unstructured time often produces some of the most important conversations.

After the Weekend: A Clear Process

Before the candidate leaves, tell him clearly what happens next and when he can expect to hear from you. A candidate who has just invested a full weekend in your church deserves the respect of a clear and timely process. Radio silence after a candidating weekend is both unkind and unprofessional.