The day you sit down in your desk chair for the first time, plotting how you will arrange your vast theological library and hang your credentials, is an exciting one. It can also be an incapacitating one. What do I do first? Who are these people? How do they operate? Why in the world do they operate that way?

Listening to staff and the people in the pews is an important step toward answering these questions. You don’t have to wait for cottage meetings or scheduled conversations with influencers to start putting your ear to the ground, however. You can ask for the following information before you even show up the first day. These documents will help you pick up on patterns, pinpoint whom to contact first, and refine your questions so that you can get off to the quickest possible start.

• Most recent church directory

• Staff list and position descriptions

• Pastoral care list (including homebound, critically ill, and anniversaries of deaths)

• Church calendar

• Budget for the past three years

• Constitution and by-laws

• Board/committee information (including chair, chair’s contact information, meeting schedule and location, and recent meeting notes)

• Special events and traditions (including when they occur, contact person, and the history of the event or tradition)

• Locations of hospitals and other key places

• Names and contact information for partner churches and organizations

• Judicatory calendar

• Notes left by previous or interim minister (if applicable)

Not every church will have all of this information at the ready. (What information is available and how current it is might, in itself, be telling.) But the documents you can get your hands on will give you a better sense of the church’s immediate needs and your pastoral priorities.

What else would you add to this list?

I recently wrote a post with some thoughts about starting a new ministry position well. Though I didn’t name preaching specifically, a thoughtfully-considered first sermon is an important piece of a fast start for pulpit ministers.

I heard an example of a great first sermon a couple of weeks ago. (Brag alert: it was delivered by my husband in his new appointment.) Matt started by outlining the different schools of thought about how to approach a first sermon, then told a humorous anecdote about each of his previous first sermons. These stories humanized him and gave his new congregation a sense of his growth as a preacher. They also showed his parishioners that they are meeting up with him mid-ministry. Matt then pointed out that he is joining this church’s narrative – already in progress – and that together they are all locating themselves along the arc of God’s relationship with humankind. Matt gave his hearers the charge to grab different threads of the story of God’s work among us and weave them more tightly into the trajectory of the kingdom, making the fabric stronger and more functional in the process. It was a great way to acknowledge the linking of a pastor’s ministry and a congregation’s mission while honoring all the history that each side brings to the relationship. This kind of sermon takes experience and a strong pastoral identity to preach, and it struck me as very effective.

I’m not often a good (traditional) pastor’s wife, but I certainly was a proud one that day!

You jingle your new keys as you look for the one that fits the lock. You open your office door and find (ideally) a clean desk and a few neatly-arranged office supplies. You adjust the height on your desk chair and turn on your computer.

Now what?

It’s your first day in your new ministry. There are only possibilities before you, and there are no crises yet to direct your day. So…where do you begin?

Maybe the better question is not now what, but now who? Ministry is relational work, so whom do you need to reach out to first? Consider not just formal church and community leadership, but also other influencers (e.g., “gatekeepers”). Find out about these folks and their passions. Tell them yours. Let them fill you in about potential landmines and unwritten expectations the church has of you.

What preparations and processes is the church actively engaged in? Is your congregation getting ready for Vacation Bible School? Hitting the lull after the initial excitement of a capital campaign? Dealing with a difficult staff departure? It’s important to know your role in these situations, if any.

How will you build a relationship with the congregation as a whole? How will you use your public forum and individual interactions to know and be known by your people? It’s easier to work toward a shared mission with people you know.

What expectations do you want to set? What will your weekly work pattern be? What boundaries will you be instituting regarding personal/family time? How will you handle complaints? The easiest time to set expectations is at the beginning of your tenure. Communicate them well and maintain them as consistently as possible.

What would be some good early wins, and how will you go about getting them? What gift has the last minister left you in terms of a quick victory? Take advantage – doing so will bank some goodwill and extend your honeymoon period.

What support or resources do you need? You don’t have to do it all on your own time and dime. You may be the leader, but you and your congregation are all in this ministry together.

And…don’t forget to have fun in your new role! Ministry is a serious calling, but the work of the ministry doesn’t always have to be serious – and neither does the minister.