Leadership Handoff Quick Card — April 2026

Note (April 2026): Earlier drafts referenced a "Ministry Coach" role that was not approved. References have been removed. At Mayflower, ministry teams work with the board (elders, deacons, or trustees) that oversees their team or group; that board is the team leader's first call for supervision, succession, and leader development.
MAYFLOWER CHURCH
Leadership Handoff — Quick Card
A one-page reference. See the full Leadership Handoff Guidelines (April 2026) for detail.
FIVE GUIDING PRINCIPLES
1
Stewardship
The team belongs to Christ. Hand it back in good order.
2
Team First
Measure success by how the ministry continues.
3
Notice Is a Gift
60–90 days where life allows. Bylaws govern officer terms.
4
Document It
Write it down before you need to. Don’t leave knowledge in your head.
5
Bless and Release
Step back. Pray. No back-channels. Trust the Lord.
PLANNED HANDOFF — When you know it’s coming
1. Talk to your supervisor first. Senior Pastor, board chair, or Servants Council — before telling the team.
2. Name a target date. A handoff without a date drifts. Pick a realistic last day and work backward.
3. Identify a successor. Bylaws govern officer roles. For ministry teams, work with the board (elders, deacons, or trustees) that oversees your team.
4. Build a handoff document. Use the checklist below. One to three pages.
5. Run a transition window. Final 4–6 weeks: shadow → co-lead → watch them lead. Clean last day, not a slow fade.
6. Communicate. Coordinate with your supervisor on what gets said, when, and to whom.
UNPLANNED HANDOFF — When life intervenes
Prepare now (in normal seasons)
• Keep an up-to-date handoff document on a church-shared drive your supervisor can access without contacting you.
• Make sure at least one teammate knows the rhythms well enough to keep the lights on.
• Keep contacts and credentials list with the document, not in personal files.
In the moment
• Contact your supervisor as early as possible — Senior Pastor, deacon, board chair, or another elder.
• Authorize an interim point of contact (assistant leader, co-leader, or one named by elders/Servants Council).
• Where bylaws govern (officer seats, pastoral vacancy, treasurer succession), follow the bylaws.
• Care for the leader stepping back. They should not have to manage the handoff alone.
WHAT GOES IN THE HANDOFF DOCUMENT (1–3 PAGES)
□ Mission and scope. What this team does at Mayflower; what falls in and out of the role.
□ Annual rhythm. Predictable beats mapped to the church year (services, events, evaluations, budget).
□ Team roster. Members, gifts, seasons, pastoral notes a successor should know.
□ Recurring tasks. Weekly, monthly, quarterly, annual responsibilities — with how they’re actually done.
□ Tools and credentials. Systems, shared resources, who holds the keys. Note where passwords are kept — don’t paste them.
□ Key relationships. Vendors, partner ministries, denominational contacts, and any sensitive history.
□ Open items. Anything in flight that the successor will inherit.
□ Lessons learned. What’s working, what you’d change, what you’d warn the next leader about.
FIRST CALL → Talk to your supervising leader before anyone else. Senior Pastor, the relevant board chair, or the Servants Council — depending on your role. You do not have to walk this alone.