Pastoral succession planning
Healthy Pastoral Succession.Clearly Planned. Faithfully Passed.
Every pastor will hand off the baton someday. The only question is whether it gets dropped. BATON helps churches do it well.
What BATON does
The handoff nobody plans for
Pastoral succession is one of the biggest transitions a local church will ever go through. When it's done poorly, it can split a congregation and wound good leaders. When it's done well, it shows how healthy the body of Christ can be.
BATON is a planning tool for churches going through a lead-pastor succession: candidates, documents and timeline, built around the way churches actually work, not around generic project-management software.
Key features
Everything your leadership needs, in one place
A complete 10-step journey
It walks your leadership through a complete 10-step journey, from the first prayer to the first year of new leadership.
Six roles, one workspace
The outgoing pastor, incoming pastor, elder board, search committee, staff leadership and congregation each get their own workspace. One workspace gives every voice a place.
Candidate discernment
Private, structured candidate profiles with scores, notes and tools for prayerful assessment.
Covenant documents
Draft, review, sign and store the agreements behind a transition in one place.
Prayer & reflection
A place to record prayers, discernment notes and reflections, and that space carries through every step.
Milestones & timeline
Every step includes milestones and tasks, and they all sit on one visual timeline, so your team always knows what comes next.
Stay in step
An activity feed and notifications keep your team together. Every document and a workspace progress report can be shared as a PDF.
Shared team workspaces
Annual team plans include shared team workspaces with email invites, and your data syncs across your devices.
Private and secure
Your data is encrypted and never sold. Optional Face ID lock, and you can delete your account and its data from inside the app.
How it works
10 steps, one plan
Every step includes milestones and tasks, and they all sit on one visual timeline, so your team always knows what comes next.
- Prayer & Discernment
- Assess & Celebrate What God Has Done
- Clarify the Future and Roles
- Form the Transition Team
- Develop the Search Process
- Identify & Recruit Candidates
- Evaluate & Discern Together
- Discern, Decide & Extend the Call
- Execute the Transition & Onboard
- Launch, Evaluate & Support
Inside the app
See BATON on iPhone
Pricing
One price a year. Your whole team.
Each plan includes all 10 steps and a shared team workspace with email invites.
Annual
Up to 8 users
$350 / year
- All 10 succession steps
- Shared team workspace
- Email invites for up to 8 users
Annual · Most popular
Up to 12 users
$500 / year
- All 10 succession steps
- Shared team workspace
- Email invites for up to 12 users
Annual
Up to 20 users
$649 / year
- All 10 succession steps
- Shared team workspace
- Email invites for up to 20 users
You pay once a year with no monthly fees, and you can cancel anytime. Plans are App Store subscriptions.
FAQ
Questions church leaders ask
Can I try BATON before I subscribe?
Yes. The Live Demo needs no account. It is a fully working workspace loaded with sample data across all 10 steps, including tasks, milestones, candidate profiles, prayer logs and the timeline.
Where does the process start?
Step 1 is Prayer & Discernment, which takes 4 to 8 weeks. The elders and the outgoing pastor seek God together before any decisions are made.
Does BATON help after the new pastor arrives?
Yes. Step 10, Launch, Evaluate & Support, covers the full first year, with structured reviews at 30, 60, 90 and 180 days, ongoing support from the elders, and a complete plan for the new pastor's first year.
How does billing work?
BATON has three annual plans through App Store subscriptions. You pay once a year with no monthly fees, and you can cancel anytime. Restore Purchases and Manage Subscription are in More → Subscription.
Is our data private?
Your data is encrypted and never sold. You can turn on an optional Face ID lock, and you can delete your account and its data from inside the app.
Pass the baton faithfully.
Whether your transition is next year or ten years out, your church deserves to pass the baton faithfully. BATON gives you the plan, and you and your leaders carry it.
Download on theApp Store