Vanderbloemen Marks National Succession Planning Day With Free Resources for Churches, Schools, and Nonprofits

AESC accreditation and 200+ years of combined pastoral experience make Vanderbloemen the nation's top voice on succession planning for faith-based organizations

HOUSTON, TX, UNITED STATES, August 14, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- In observance of National Succession Planning Day, Vanderbloemen has released a free set of succession planning resources for churches, Christian schools, nonprofits, and values-based businesses preparing for leadership transitions. The tools are available now at vanderbloemen.com and are designed for organizations that know a transition is coming but have not yet built a plan for it.

Most Organizations Still Have No Succession Plan

The gap between intention and preparation remains wide. In a SHRM survey, only 21 percent of HR professionals said their organization had a formal succession plan in place, while 24 percent had an informal plan, and more than half (56 percent) reported no succession plan at all. The most commonly cited reason was a simple lack of time and resources to build one.

For mission-driven organizations, that gap carries added weight. A senior pastor, head of school, or executive director often holds relationships, institutional memory, and donor trust that no job description captures. When the transition arrives unplanned, the disruption reaches staff morale, giving, and enrollment at the same time.

Free Resources Available Now

Vanderbloemen's National Succession Planning Day resource collection gives leadership teams and boards a practical starting point for succession conversations, including guidance on identifying potential successors, building leadership pipelines, and mapping what a transition would actually require.

The resources are available at vanderbloemen.com/lp/national-succession-planning-day-2026.

"Succession planning isn't about predicting exactly when someone will leave," the firm notes in its resource introduction. "It's about being prepared."

Why Leadership Transitions Deserve a Plan, Not a Scramble

Leadership tenure in ministry settings makes the case on its own. Lifeway Research reports that the median pastoral tenure at one church is eight years, with burnout, conflict, and shifts in calling among the most common reasons pastors step away. Vanderbloemen's own research found that 24 percent of U.S. senior Protestant pastors have seriously considered leaving full-time ministry within the past year.

Boards that begin succession conversations early gain time to develop internal candidates, clarify governance, and communicate with their congregation or community on their own terms rather than under pressure.

Succession Planning Expertise Built Over 16 Years

Vanderbloemen has guided churches, schools, and nonprofits through pastoral succession planning and executive transitions for more than 16 years, with searches completed in all 50 states and 11 countries. Founder William Vanderbloemen co-authored Next: Pastoral Succession That Works, a text now used across seminaries nationwide, and the firm's consulting team brings more than 200 years of combined pastoral experience to succession and transition work.

Organizations can learn more about the firm's succession planning services at vanderbloemen.com/solutions/consulting/succession-planning-services.

About Vanderbloemen

Since 2009, Vanderbloemen has served as the nation's leading faith-based executive search and consulting firm, partnering with churches, Christian schools, nonprofits, and values-driven organizations to place transformational leaders in mission-critical roles. Recognized as the only Christian executive search firm accredited by AESC, Vanderbloemen combines more than 200 years of collective pastoral experience with a rigorous, mission-first search methodology designed to help organizations hire leaders who last.

Alex Boggs
Vanderbloemen Search Group
+1 (713) 300-9665
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