Include a Picture With Your Ministry Resume

When pastor search committees are reviewing resumes, they are not just looking for the facts about the candidates but they want to discovery their personality. They want to discover the heart of the person. This is not an easy thing to do when simply reading a resume. One of the windows into a candidate can be through a picture. When I review resumes, I am immediately drawn to those that include a picture of themselves and/or their family. First, it takes the resume beyond just the text and I get visual glimpse of who they are. Second, it tells me the candidate wants me to know them and their family. In fact, I tend to view a resume with more legitimacy when the candidate includes a picture.

For Senior/Lead Pastor positions it is not uncommon for a church to receive over a hundred resumes. Many of these resumes can begin to blur together in the minds of those reading. When you are trying to distinguish yourself from others, providing a picture of yourself can begin to help you stand out and be remembered. It gives the search team a visual reference when they are discussing you.

Not only do they now have a visual reference of you, but they get to learn information that might not be revealed in a written resume. They can get to meet your spouse (even if it is just through a photo). If you have children, they can get a glimpse into who your family is. Do you have older kids or younger kids. Do you have two kids or six kids. A search team is beginning the process of building a relationship with you. They are going to move forward with those they have a connection with and a picture can help build that connection.

When a church is hiring a future pastor or staff member they are not just hiring an employee, they are hiring a someone to become a part of their church family. This hire his incredible personally. A picture (or pictures) help make your resume personal. If you haven’t already included a picture with your resume, I highly recommend you do so. A picture paints a thousands words. Those additional thousands words on your resume can be very valuable for the search committee as they discern who to move forward with in the process.