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What is AIPM?

 

It is a ministry designed to serve British churches. It was conceived in the Northern Baptist Association when it was realized that smaller churches without ministers could benefit from inviting an experienced American Minister or church leader to come for up to six months to preach and give pastoral leadership.  The Interim Ministers are mainly retired and seek to offer their time, energy and experience to a church that would otherwise not have such ministry.  AIPM and the church work with an immigration lawyer who specializes in immigration to ensure that all UK visa regulations are fully met.

Does it work?

Map AIPM 1 Sept AMap AIPM 1 Sept AShort-Term Pastors

With very few exceptions, yes, it does! The American Interim Ministers will come full of enthusiasm to share their faith in Jesus and make their time count for the Kingdom. They will be carefully briefed about British Baptist church life and service as an Interim Minister. The novelty of having an American delivering ministry has often proved to be a great stimulus to new ideas and forms of outreach. At the last count, Interim Ministers had baptized some 49 believers. Many churches have had more than one Interim Minister, and several grew their worship attendance and became stronger.

Thornaby's New Minister after 7 short-term pastors in 4-years

Here’s the testimony from one church chairperson:
“Thornaby Baptist Church was without a minister and unable to support one. We prayed and trusted God. We learned about volunteer short-term pastors from America. Initially, finding accommodation and transport seemed beyond our capabilities. But God met every need. What a wonderful experience we had. We journeyed with couples in love with God who sacrificed time away from family to work among us. They brought love, support, and encouragement and the blessings are still flowing. We discovered our gifts and how to use them for God’s glory. Today, we are strong in the Spirit and faithful to God’s calling and we are growing. God is so good. We will be forever grateful to Him and our American brothers and sisters.”

Here’s a testimony from one Regional Minister: Interim Ministers have been such a blessing to our churches. They have adjusted to different contexts and under God they have been the right people in the right places for the right time. In different places they have brought new vision, encouragement, renewed commitment to mission, healing of hurts, and spiritual renewal. They have proved to be adaptable and hardworking and always leaving a deep impression of warm fellowship where they have served.

And from one American Interim Minister: Our lives have been deeply impacted by our five assignments as Interim Minister and spouse in England. We are grateful to each of those churches for the privilege of serving alongside them. We’ve been blessed by the wonderful friendships in each church and varied experiences from leading one into their new building and helping them grow stronger and increase worship attendance. It was such a joy to lead in the study and application of God’s precious word and invest in the lives of members. Our greatest encouragement came as we welcomed new members and witnessed spiritual growth in others.

How are short-term pastors appointed?

Volunteers learn of AIPM from direct contacts, referrals and/or AIPM’s website. They then contact Chuck McComb for information. For those with an evangelical track record and who would also go down well in a British context, he arranges screening interviews, collects CV’s, character references, police checks and videos of a sermon and an interview. UK churches considering an American short-term pastor receive the available information, make shortlists, and are encouraged to conduct Zoom interviews. AIPM does not appoint short-term pastors to churches – the decision whether to call someone is entirely in the hands of the church.

What about Cost?

Like most, your church may not have huge financial resources! The financial and practical arrangements for hosting an AIPM pastor are not burdensome, but here is a simple checklist that should help you work out how costs are distributed and whether having a short-term pastor is within your reach.

Costs to the Church

1. UK immigration regulations require a salary or stipend be paid to Ministers of Religion. AIPM’s standard assignments are short-term (25 weeks) and are based on a 35-hour work week. The cost to the church would be approximately £12,000.

2. In addition to the stipend, the church must get a sponsor’s licence. This allows the church to issue a certificate of sponsorship which is required for the visa application. The license can be used to sponsor more than one applicant, and the fee is £611.

3. The church must issue a certificate of sponsorship for the Interim Minister. The fee for the certificate is £535. The spouse gets a dependant’s visa which does not require a certificate.

4. To ensure that applications and the operation of the Sponsorship Management System are done correctly, an immigration lawyer who specializes in immigration will be retained. The fee will be based on the kind of help needed. AIPM will pay half the lawyer’s fees.

Costs to the short-term pastor

1. The Interim Minister must pay for the return airfares to/from the UK airport agreed with the church; local transportation (via bus, rental car or purchase/resale of a pre-owned car); accommodation; attendance at conferences; UK/USA income taxes and visa application fees.

2. The Interim Minister must pay the Immigration Health Surcharge, currently £1035 per person per year if required for example for a longer appointment.

3. The Interim Minister must pay for all everyday expenses, including food and other general living expenses.


      About

      AIPM’s Board of Directors

      Our ministry began in April 2000 when Middlesbrough Baptist Church in Cambridge Road, Middlesbrough invited us to serve while they searched for a British pastor. The ministry was seen to be of value, and we were invited to serve at Thornaby Baptist Church in 2001. We sensed that God was calling us to continue the ministry and American Interim Pastors Ministries, Inc, incorporated as a 501c3 organization in 2003. Our initial Board of Directors were all members of Sagemont Baptist Church in Houston, TX.

      From our Board, we have had 3 directors go to their rewards in heaven already. They are Dr. Labib Habashy, George Miller and Cecil Williams. Also, the full-time ministry workload of one director, Rev. John Wills, increased to the point that he had to resign. That has left us with 3 directors, Sharon Briley, Ken Bugh and Chuck McComb. Our small number notwithstanding, we feel that we are taking good care of God’s ministry and pray that it is so.

      Chuck McComb

      President

      Chuck served Middlesbrough Baptist Church in 2000 where the idea of AIPM was conceived. He and Ken Bugh co-founded AIPM, Inc. in 2003. Chuck also served 2 assignments of 6-months each at Thornaby Baptist Church. Currently, he is caregiver for his wife, Pat, and actively working on AIPM issues.

      Ken Bugh

      Vice President

      Ken served Thornaby Baptist Church in a 6-months assignment in 2002. He worked with Chuck doing the paperwork to get AIPM recognized as a 501c3 non-profit/tax exempt corporation. Ken has been pastor of Carriage Inn Church (non-denominational) at an assisted living facility in Huntsville, TX for 17-years.

      Sharon Briley

      Secretary/Treasurer

      Sharon initially began helping AIPM as Assistant Treasurer. This led to her becoming Treasurer when Cecil Williams passed away. With the passing of George Miller, Sharon has undertaken the additional work of Corporate Secretary.

      Real-life results

      We generate results for U.K. Churches

      “Thornaby Baptist Church was without a minister and unable to support one. We prayed and trusted God. We learned about volunteer short-term pastors from America. Initially, finding accommodation and transport seemed beyond our capabilities. But God met every need. What a wonderful experience we had. We journeyed with couples in love with God who sacrificed time away from family to work among us. They brought love, support, and encouragement and the blessings are still flowing. We discovered our gifts and how to use them for God’s glory. Today, we are strong in the Spirit and faithful to God’s calling and we are growing. God is so good. We will be forever grateful to Him and our American brothers and sisters.”

      Maxine Wright, Church Chairperson

      “I would like to write a brief word of commendation for the work of AIPM. I know that a number of churches in the East Midlands Association have benefited hugely from partnership with AIPM in the past, and I am really pleased that following the Corona pandemic and new regulations following Brexit, this exciting ministry is once again up and running. I very much hope to see more of our churches taking advantage of this opportunity in the future.”

      Rev. Mark Clay, East Midlands Baptist Assoc.

      “Short-term pastors and youth workers have been such a blessing to our churches. They have adjusted to different contexts, and under God, they have been the right people in the right places at the right time. In different places, they have brought new vision, encouragement, renewed commitment to mission, healing of hurts, and spiritual renewal. They have proved to be adaptable and hardworking, always leaving a deep impression of warm fellowship where they have served.”

      Rev. Dr. John Claydon, NBA Regional Minister 2002 to 2021

      A Layman’s View of the Imminent Baby Boomer Retirement Era

      Baby Boomers are both an opportunity and a challenge for churches. I’ll let others address the challenge. I want to speak about the opportunity. The opportunity is that baby boomers potentially make up a very large resource pool for church work. My wife, Jan, and I were born at the leading edge of the baby boomer period, and we are keenly interested in seeing the church thrive. We would like to tell our story.

      I had a 31-year career in the chemical industry and served my church as deacon, children’s Sunday school teacher, minister to widows, and director of our boys’ missions organization. After early retirement, I went back to work for several years as a contractor, engineering capital improvements in chemical plants. It occurred to me that I could keep working and putting money in the bank, or I could be more actively involved in the Lord’s work. I chose the latter. I left the best-paying job I ever had to volunteer for the Lord, and we have not looked back.

      A few years after retirement, Jan and I learned about American Interim Pastor Ministries’ volunteer work in small British Baptist churches. We learned that AIPM were looking for both retired pastors and God-called lay people. I felt that the church work that I had done during my industrial career might prepare me to serve as a volunteer short-term pastor.

      John & Jan Ward, Lake Jackson, TX

      Jan’s work over those same years as a teacher of children and later as a paid church Children’s Minister also prepared her for our new venture.

      As I served as short-term pastor in 4 UK churches for 6-months each and served 1 of those churches twice for a total of 5 assignments, Jan and I got to stretch ourselves in ways we could never have imagined. I went from the engineer’s world of numbers, chemicals and machinery to the responsibility and joy of being a pastor. A highpoint of our ministry was a baptismal service in St. Paul’s Baptist church in Skegness. Jan got to use her experience with children in our assignments. We were pleased to learn that forty years of teaching and serving had prepared us well.

      Jan and I were very well received and blessed by our British church families! We made life-long friends and we stay in touch with a good number of those dear people. This has been one of the most fulfilling and rewarding periods in our lives.