Welcome to Church Leadership Connection (CLC), the PC(USA)'s web-based computer matching and referral system. We have provided below step-by-step instructions for on-line completion of the CIF for a lay church educator position.

If you do not have access to the Internet, you may obtain a copy of the CIF from your presbytery office or by calling us toll free at (888) 728-7228, x8550. We are happy to enter the CIF online for you if you prefer to submit it by email, paper copy, or disk. The CIF can be emailed, faxed to (502) 569-5870, or mailed to us at Office of Call Referral Services, 100 Witherspoon Street-Mezzanine, Louisville KY 40202-1396. Please review the "helpful hints" for completing the CIF below under Section II. Write the CIF.

If you prefer to enter the CIF online yourself, please follow the instructions below.

Overview

The four major steps to completing a CIF for a lay educator position detailed below are:

1. Print a Working Copy of the CIF
2. Write the CIF
3. Obtain a Login ID and Password
4. Enter the CIF Online

I. Print a Working Copy of the CIF

It is important that your CIF be complete before beginning to enter data into the online CIF. Writing or editing the CIF online can cause the CIF version number to change and can require re-approvals from your Clerk of Session and COM. Also, the number of changes you can make to a CIF are limited, and you may use up all your available "versions" before actually completing the CIF. Therefore, we recommend you print a paper copy or download the CIF to your hard drive to use to write the CIF before beginning to enter it online. To do this, follow the instructions below:

1. Access the CLC web page, http://www.pcusa.org/clc.
2. Click on Printable Forms.
3. Click on the format you want to use to download or print the form (MS Word, PDF, or HTML). A blank copy of the form is shown.
4. To print Part I of the form, click your browser's File menu and select the Print option.
5. You may also save the form to your hard drive by clicking on File then Save As. Indicate the directory and file name.
6. Repeat steps 3-4 clicking on and printing or saving Part II.
7. If you will be submitting a paper or disk copy of the CIF to our office for CLC staff to enter for you, or if your Clerk of Session or COM does not have email, click on and print the "CIF Approval by the COM" and/or "CIF Approval by the Session Clerk."

II. Write the CIF

When you have a printed copy of the CIF, you can begin to gather the information necessary to fill it out. You will be able to complete the working copy of the form using your word processing program if you have saved the forms to your hard drive. However, only the narrative sections of the form can be "copy and pasted" into the online CIF. Other data fields, such as "fill in the blank" and "select from a pull down list" will have to be completed online. The narrative sections of the CIF will not accept most formatting techniques such as bolding, italics, and bullets. Spacing and numbering lists can be used to present your information more clearly.

The following helpful hints are for specific items in the CIF Part II:

1. Position to be Filled: Use "Church Educator (non-ordained)" as the position type.
2. Experience Desired: Click on the down arrow next to the text box to access the list. Select the lowest level of experience your committee is willing to consider by clicking on the appropriate item. Your CIF will be matched with all persons who have this level of experience and above.
3. All Narrative Sections: For educator positions, all the narrative sections may be left empty except for the 2 sections of the Position Description. Many Search Committees do elect to include at least the "Mission Statement". You are welcome to include the other narrative responses if you choose.
4. Compensation and Housing: Numerical figures must be entered into the boxes for both minimum and maximum salary. Do not type in "negotiable." This section is for cash salary only; do not include housing allowance or other benefits. Please remember that the minimum salary will be displayed on the Opportunities Search; the maximum salary is not displayed but is used for matching purposes only. Select N/A for the "Housing" section.
5. Deadline Date: This section generally should be left blank, and is used primarily for designated pastor, interim, or executive positions. If you use a deadline date and need to extend your search beyond that deadline, you must revise the date before the deadline or your CIF will be purged from the system and you will have to re-enter the CIF to continue your search.
6. Equal Employment Opportunity: All CIFs must answer both questions in the affirmative for the CIF to be included in the Church Leadership Connection system. For lay educator positions, these questions must also be answered in the affirmative to indicate willingness to comply with PC(USA) EEO policies.
7. Telephone Number: In all areas for phone numbers (except References), type in the 10-digit number with no punctuation.

III. Obtain a Login ID and Password

Once your CIF has been written, obtain a login ID and initial password from your presbytery Committee on Ministry or Executive Presbyter. This will give you access to the online CIF where you can type in and submit your CIF.

IV. Enter the CIF Online

1. Access the CLC web page, http://www.pcusa.org/clc.
2. Click User Login.
3. Fill in the login ID and password that has been assigned to you, and press Submit.
4. You are shown a list of tasks. Click on "View/Update CIF (Part I)." Some of the data will already be entered for you from OGA records. Update the information that is out of date and fill in any missing information. Your CIF will require approval from your Clerk of Session. If your Clerk of Session has access to the internet, please include their email address. When you submit your CIF, the CLC system will generate an email to the Clerk of Session advising them to login to CLC and approve the CIF. Your Clerk of Session may prefer to submit by mail or fax a paper copy of their approval. An approval form can be printed from the web site (see above) or the "signature page" from the paper copy of the CIF can be signed and submitted to CLC by mail or fax.
5. The next screen tells you the form was saved and allows you to access Part II of the CIF. Click on Fill a New CIF (Part II) to enter data for your position. A blank CIF form (Part II) is provided. Using your working copy of the CIF, complete the form online.
6. When you have completed the CIF Part II, click "Submit New Church Information Form." The Reset button erases all data you have entered if for any reason you wish to start over.
7. When the form has been completed and submitted, a message tells you that the CIF has been saved, and gives you the CIF ID. The CIF ID number is made up of your 5-digit church/organization PIN (which is your church/organization ID number) plus an extension identifying the position (AA, AB, AC, etc.) and the version (0, 1, 2, etc.). Save the CIF ID - you will use it if you need to update or view your CIF.
   Do not hit the Back button to review your CIF. Doing so will erase the data that was entered. Instead, to review your CIF, click the box View CIF Part II Details.

Your CIF is sent to a holding area to await the appropriate signatures. After obtaining the required signatures either through the web site, by fax or by mail, CLC staff review the CIF for completeness and EEO consistency, then the CIF is submitted to the CLC matching database. The system will generate an email to you to notify you that the CIF has been submitted to the data base.

As soon as the CIF is in the database, it is available for matching and available on the Opportunity Search. Some presbyteries have elected to do their own matching; if your presbytery has not chosen to do their own matching CLC staff will perform the first match. Additional matches are not done automatically-they must be requested as needed.

If you have any questions or need further assistance, you can call us toll free at (888) 728-7228 , x8550.