Stability in Transition: Insights on Church Succession from Drake Farmer

Thanks for joining in for the unSeminary podcast. Today I’m looking forward to talking with Drake Farmer, the Executive Pastor of Ministries from Beulah Alliance Church in Alberta, Canada.

Are you curious about how churches manage leadership transitions smoothly? Learn about the strategic and intentional planning behind the leadership transition as Daniel Im (interviewed here) succeeded Keith Taylor as Beulah’s lead pastor. Tune in as Drake highlights the critical role of proactive succession planning, building trust, and maintaining a mission-focused mindset to ensure successful transitions.

• Get ready ahead of time. // Keith Taylor initiated the succession conversation at Beulah Alliance six years before Daniel Im stepped into the role. This foresight and intentionality were crucial in preparing the church for a smooth transition. Think not only about the immediate future, but about the next 30 years of leadership for the church. Start preparing five to ten years before the lead pastor might be ready to leave. Be intentional about talking about succession in your church’s growth stage in order to set it up for future success.
• Remember the mission and plan. // Focus on the mission during this time of preparation and searching for a new pastor. Remember it’s not about the departing pastor’s accolades or personal legacy, it’s about Jesus, the church and spreading the gospel. Have a plan in place and foster trust so that when the time comes you won’t be scrambling to get through it. Cultivate a mindset of readiness, always being prepared for the possibility of being called to a different role.
• Gradual transition. // There was a strategic overlap between Keith Taylor and Daniel Im, allowing for a gradual handover of responsibilities. Clear communication and collaboration between the outgoing and incoming leaders were essential in building trust and ensuring a smooth transition. If possible, identify when various responsibilities of the previous lead pastor will be transitioned during the succession process.
• Strategically roll out the announcement. // Daniel had previously worked at Beulah in adult ministry, but when he returned as the Senior Associate, the succession process wasn’t immediately revealed. Because the transition between Keith and Daniel was a 24-month process, Beulah’s leadership had to discern when to make the announcement. Strategically invite your staff, your key leaders, and your congregation into the transition at the right time so they can process the change without the runway being too long.
• Role clarity. // Clearly defining roles and responsibilities during leadership transitions is crucial. Key areas such as preaching, staff leadership, and strategic vision need to be addressed to ensure a smooth handover. Identify who is leading the meetings. Who is laying out the org charts and who is reporting to whom? Role clarity behind the scenes aids in a seamless leadership transition.
• Don’t be afraid to ask. // As you consider pastoral succession, who would you like to see step into that transitioning role? Don’t assume “no” from a person before asking. Identify who would be at the top of your list. Don’t be afraid to approach them and ask if they would consider coming to your church and leading. Finally, churches may benefit from partnering with organizations that specialize in consulting and coaching for succession planning. External support can provide valuable guidance and resources during transitions.

Visit drakefarmer.com to learn about Beulah Alliance Church, The Unstuck Group and connect with Drake.

NEXT STEPS // Are you navigating a leadership transition in your church?

Download our 2-Year Succession Timeline Template, inspired by insights from the episode Stability in Transition: Insights on Church Succession from Drake Farmer. This free resource offers a step-by-step guide to planning a smooth, strategic transition over 24 months. With clear phases, actionable steps, and tips directly from Drake’s experience, this template is perfect for church leaders looking to make their next leadership handover stress-free and successful. Get your copy today and ensure a confident path forward for your church!

Thank You for Tuning In!

There are a lot of podcasts you could be tuning into today, but you chose unSeminary, and I’m grateful for that. If you enjoyed today’s show, please share it by using the social media buttons you see at the left hand side of this page. Also, kindly consider taking the 60-seconds it takes to leave an honest review and rating for the podcast on iTunes, they’re extremely helpful when it comes to the ranking of the show and you can bet that I read every single one of them personally!

Lastly, don’t forget to subscribe to the podcast on iTunes, to get automatic updates every time a new episode goes live!

Thank You to This Episode’s Sponsor: Risepointe

Do you feel like your church’s facility could be preventing growth, and are you frustrated or maybe even overwhelmed at the thought of a complicated or costly building project? Are the limitations of your church building becoming obstacles in the path of expanding your ministry? Have you ever felt that your church could reach more people if only the facility was better suited to the community’s needs?

Well, the team over at Risepointe has been there. As former ministry staff and church leaders, they understand how to prioritize and help lead your church to a place where the building is a ministry multiplier. Licensed all over North America, their team of architects, interior designers and project managers have the professional experience to help move YOUR mission forward.

Check them out at Risepointe.com/unseminary and while you’re there get their FREE resource “10 Things to Get Right Before You Build”.

Episode Transcript

Rich Birch — Hey friends, welcome to the unSeminary Podcast. Man, I am so looking forward to today’s conversation. This is one of those conversations that I know that there are leaders in the midst of this situation that we’re talking about, or on the brink of this situation that we’re talking about that are gonna lean in and get so much value out of this, not only because the leader that we’re having on today is is ah has living through this, is working through this, but he’s a repeat guest, which you know when we have repeat guests, that means I think they’re great.

Rich Birch — And so super excited to have Drake Farmer with us. ah Drake is at a church called Beulah Alliance Church. It’s a multi-site church with three locations as well as a Spanish campus in Alberta, Canada, was founded in 1907 in the growing city of Edmonton, has become a multi-ethnic and multi-generational church experienced rapid growth in these last few years. Drake sits in the seat of executive pastor of ministries. ah Plus, he’s also a friend. He’s a great guy. Super excited to have you on the show today, Drake. Thanks for being here.

Drake Farmer — Awesome, I’m happy to be here.

Rich Birch — Yeah, the other Canadian Drake. That’s what I like to say. You know, there’s there are two in Canada that that we know of. You’re one of them.

Drake Farmer — Yeah, but before nobody would ever get my name right when I introduced, but now, cause you know, Drake the rep.

Rich Birch — ah Just kidding. Oh, really? That’s hilarious.

Drake Farmer — Oh, Greg, Craig, Frank, I got truck once. That was a, yep, yep.

Rich Birch — That’s great. I love it. No, that’s that’s great. Well, yeah, that’s an upside for sure of of Drake. So why don’t you fill in the picture? Kind of tell us a little bit more about Beulah. Give us, you know, if people were to come this weekend, what would they experience? That sort of stuff.

Drake Farmer — Yeah, like you said, we’re a multi-site. We’ve got, what’s interesting is we’ve got, as you said, three locations, but four campuses. So there’s an English campus and a Spanish campus in one of our locations.

Drake Farmer — And so we’re in, our our vision statement is to awaken greater Edmonton to King Jesus. And so even even through COVID, even understanding, we have a ah quite a ah large online presence, but our focus isn’t to have necessarily an online campus because really, you know, and it’s been true of the church the last 103 years as Greater Edmonton, it’s kind of grown up with the city um in that sense. And so we’re really focused on that incarnational, how are you how is that, you know the you know, now the screen door is, you know, online church. And so being intentional there, but then wanting really to drive people in.

Drake Farmer — And so, um again, it would just it would depend a lot on the campus that you’re you’re at. So with with real estate and what you have and the buildings you can get, we would say, you know