Leadership Handoff Quick Card — April 2026

Note (April 2026): The "Ministry Coach" role referenced in earlier drafts of this document was not approved. References have been removed. Open question for elders / Servants Council: who owns leader development for ministry team leaders at Mayflower? Until decided, the Senior Pastor (with the elders) fills that function. Update this document once a permanent answer is set.

MAYFLOWER CHURCH

Leadership Handoff — Quick Card

A one-page reference. See the full Leadership Handoff Guidelines (April 2026) for detail.

FIVE GUIDING PRINCIPLES

Stewardship

The team belongs to Christ. Hand it back in good order.

Team First

Measure success by how the ministry continues.

Notice Is a Gift

60–90 days where life allows. Bylaws govern officer terms.

Document It

Write it down before you need to. Don’t leave knowledge in your head.

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 Senior Pastor or a designated elder.

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.