Fractional Executive Pastor
Executive leadership your church can actually afford. You get decades of experience without the decades of salary. A seasoned executive pastor on your team for the hours you actually need.
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A real partner, not just a consultant.
This isn't someone who gives advice and leaves. As your fractional executive, we're part of your team, invested in your success and accountable for results. We bring the same commitment as a full-time executive, scaled to fit your context and budget.
Let's build the foundations and frameworks that let your church scale without breaking.
- Guide organizational direction and major decisions
- Build, train, and empower your ministry teams
- Create sustainable processes that scale with growth
Built on the CORE Philosophy
Your Fractional Executive Pastor is more than a task-manager. They build and install organizational foundations and leadership frameworks across your whole staff team.
CORE is the philosophy we bring and what your team learns to live:
- Collaboration: Working alongside each other, not over each other. Open communication, shared decision-making, and trust across every level of the team.
- Organization: Clarity around roles, systems, and structure. Everyone knows what they own, who they report to, and how decisions get made.
- Rhythm: Sustainable patterns that fit real ministry life. Weekly meetings, monthly 1:1s, seasonal goals, and annual planning that actually stick.
- Execution: Turning big ideas into consistent action and shared ownership. Goals become tasks, tasks get tracked, and progress is visible to all.
Get the right help at the right time
How A Fractional Executive Pastor Helps Your Church Move Forward
Build a sustainable future by investing in both organizational effectiveness and your next Executive Pastor.
This 12-month engagement is our highest level of involvement, designed not just to fill a leadership gap, but to create a sustainable, long-term organizational solution.
We leverage external expertise to build foundational frameworks while actively mentoring your church's next Executive Pastor.
Every engagement is a partnership built on the CORE philosophy and includes access to the CORE dashboard app.
START COACHINGDedicated Internal Leader Development
Active mentoring and capacity-building of a high-potential internal leader who is identified as the future Executive Pastor.
Four On-Site Engagements
Includes a Discovery Weekend plus three additional on-site workshops and integration sessions throughout the year.
Monthly Coaching
Dedicated monthly coaching for both the Senior Pastor and the identified internal successor.
Full CORE Support
Direct support across all foundations and frameworks, with access to the CORE dashboard app.
Active Succession Planning
We act as the external Executive Pastor, transferring systems and authority to your internal leader throughout the year.
What Your Fractional Executive Delivers
Leadership outcomes
Strategic focus
Keep your team aligned and your church moving forward. Lead meetings, facilitate planning, and bring clarity to priorities and structure.
Team development
Build a culture of health and accountability. Supervise staff, establish rhythms, clarify roles, and develop emerging leaders.
Operational strength
Bring order to the chaos. Streamline communication, oversee budgets, support hiring, and ensure systems are actually working.
Pastoral support
Give your senior pastor margin to lead well. Offload operational pressure so they can focus on preaching, shepherding, and vision.
Trusted counsel
A sounding board and strategic partner. Handle hard conversations with clarity and care, and provide confidential leadership counsel.
Growing a church is exciting.
Multiplication is hard.
Clearway helps pastors and church teams build foundations and frameworks for sustained, healthy growth.
START COACHINGIs This Right For You?
Perfect for churches that...
- Are between 250-1000 in attendance
- Have 10-20 people on staff
- Need executive leadership but can't afford full-time
- Are in transition between executive pastors
- Want to test the role before hiring full-time
- Need specialized expertise for a season
"A committed, insightful, results-oriented, transformational leader. I deeply appreciated Chris' tenacity and can-do attitude as we worked to bring about positive cultural change in a fast-paced church environment."
Common Questions
Fractional leadership FAQ
What is a fractional executive pastor?
A fractional executive pastor is a seasoned leader who integrates into your team for a 12-month engagement to provide executive-level leadership, strategic thinking, and operational oversight. The focus is on building frameworks and preparing your next internal leader for the role, providing the required capacity without the overhead of a standard full-time hire.
How is the workload or commitment defined?
The scope of work is defined by the deliverables of the 12-month Succession Pathway, not by a fixed number of hours. Your commitment is focused on achieving key outcomes, participating in the Four On-Site Engagements, and maintaining dedicated monthly coaching sessions.
Is this just consulting by another name?
No. Consultants advise and leave. As your fractional executive partner, we are deeply embedded in your team: attending staff meetings, making decisions, supervising staff, and being accountable for results. We are a strategic partner leading the succession process, not a vendor.
What if we are ready to hire full-time sooner than 12 months?
The primary goal of this service is successful succession. The 12-month timeline is designed to ensure the internal leader is fully prepared and systems are stable. If the transition happens sooner, we will work with you to hand off the remaining elements of the plan to the internal successor and leadership team.
How does this compare financially to hiring a full-time executive pastor?
A seasoned, full-time Executive Pastor often requires an annual compensation package of $150,000 or more. Our Succession Pathway model is designed to maximize this strategic investment, allowing you to fund both a top-tier external consultant and the internal development of your future Executive Pastor within a strategic budget.
Who needs to be involved in the Succession Pathway engagement?
The three core parties are the Senior Pastor, the Clearway Fractional Executive Partner, and the identified Internal Successor (e.g., Ops Director, Admin Director). This three-way partnership ensures mentorship, knowledge transfer, and full alignment on the future organizational structure.
1:1 Coaching
Monthly coaching for lead pastors, executive pastors, and board chairs who need a thinking partner.
Team Workshops
Facilitated sessions that surface tensions, build trust, and get everyone moving in the same direction.
360 Reviews
See what you can't see. Multi-rater feedback with a debrief and action plan to grow where it matters most.
Strategic Planning
Plans that actually get executed. We help you build a roadmap your team will follow, not one that sits in a drawer.