Resources for the Church Council

Child Safety Policies

Dove’s Nest works to empower and equip churches to keep children and youth safe in their homes, neighborhoods, and communities. See their website for information and resources for the prevention of child abuse and neglect. Dove’s Nest provides resources to help churches write and implement child and youth protection policies. They have a checklist, and sample policies from other Mennonite churches on their website: http://www.dovesnest.net/policies

For the Church Treasurer

Click here for special information for church treasurers.

For the Search Committee

Click here for comprehensive information for Search Committees.

Misconduct Policy & Procedure

The Pastoral Leadership Committee of Central Plains Mennonite Conference takes seriously any ethical misconduct on the part of its credentialed leader, or any other leader in the congregation.  Mennonite Church USA has developed policies and procedures for dealing with such misconduct, to which Central Plains also subscribes.  All allegations of such misconduct should be directed to one of the Conference Ministers or to the Chair of the Pastoral Leadership Committee.

Copies of the policy and procedure can be found here in English or downloaded as .pdf files in Spanish below.
Normas y Procedimientos Indice
NORMAS y Procedimiento texto
HACIENDO JUSTICIA

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Mennonite Church USA Resources

Click here for Mennonite USA congregation/pastor packets on a range of issues and situations.

Central Plains Conference Documents

Click here for a list of useful documents.

Church-wide Statements & Resolutions

Mennonite Church USA statements and resolutions.

Working with Pastors

Salary Guidelines & Help

The Pastoral Leadership Committee recommends that congregations use the Salary Guidelines formulated each year by Mennonite Church USA.  Find free software here to calculate a salary based on the guidelines.​

Samples of Pastor Job Descriptions

Congregation B
Congregation C
Congregation D

Ordination standards

The Pastoral Leadership Committee adopted a minimum set of educational/formation standards for persons ordained in Central Plains.   To see those standards, click on the document below. 
Minimum education requirements for ordination

Pastor/Congregation Evaluations
​​Pastor/Congregation evaluations are a natural and essential part of effective ministry.  When done well they can help the pastor and congregation be more effective in ministry.  When done poorly, evaluations can create pain for the pastor, the pastor's family and the congregation.  For this reason, it is important that those responsible for leading evaluations plan the process with the conference minister.  Contact Susan Janzen at susanjanzen@centralplainsmc.org to start the planning process.  Also check out these free, downloadable resources for doing evaluations well.