November 01, 2017

Associate Pastor Nominating Committee Update

November 1, 2017

Dear Members and Friends of Fourth Presbyterian Church,

I am writing to give you an update on the work of our Associate Pastor Nominating Committee (APNC).

You’ll recall that on the last Sunday of August, the congregation elected an OUTSTANDING group of men and women to serve as Fourth’s APNC to search for the person God is calling to serve as Fourth’s next Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Mission. The people you elected are

            Connie Carson

            Rob Cole

            Rebecca Ellefson

            Robert Farry

            Jeanette Goldsmith

            Lynn Mitchell

            Eric Thomas

You see what I mean? Those of you who know these folks will recognize this APNC as an outstanding group! But as great as they are, they know that they cannot accomplish their task without God’s help. So please pray for them and their work, and pray for them often! Pray for their prayer life, for their insights, for their energy, for their communications, for their discernment of what the Spirit is saying to the church. They are doing their work on your behalf, and they need your investment of spiritual energy through prayer!

What has happened so far?

•    Your APNC’s first meeting was with Gordon Raynal, the Stated Clerk of Foothills Presbytery, who walked them through a very thorough orientation to the Presbyterian call process. We can all be thankful for the “decency and order” and wisdom of this process, and that your APNC is not walking through uncharted territory. There is clear guidance for them, each step of the way.

•    Next, your APNC elected Connie Carson to serve as Chair, and Jeanette Goldsmith to serve as Secretary. Every member of the team will be deeply involved and have a role, but a big thanks to these two very capable women for stepping up to these key roles.

•    The position description for our Associate Pastor for Discipleship and Mission is already well tested. This is the same position in which Jennifer Fouse-Sheorn served as Stated Supply, and in which Leslie Lang is now serving as Interim. However, the position description has to be converted into an official “Ministry Information Form” (MIF) which will be circulated within the PC(USA) call system, known as Church Leadership Connection. Lots of lingo, I know, but your APNC is getting a quick handle on things and is moving right along. The goal is to have the MIF approved by Session and Presbytery and into the system by the first of December.

What will happen next?

•    Once the MIF is in the system, then the real fun begins! Candidates begin to see that Fourth Presbyterian Church is searching for an Associate Pastor, and they begin submitting their Personal Information Forms (PIF), as well as being referred through the matching process in the system and by people who know Fourth and the candidates.

•    The APNC will read through these many PIFs, prayerfully listening to the Spirit’s leading, and will discern together which of these candidates they are being led to pursue. Gordon Raynal will also give guidance based on knowledge he may have through his church-wide connections.

•    Given the timing of our search, we are perfectly poised to consider seminary students who will be graduating in May of 2018. Our hope would be to hold interviews throughout the Winter and Spring, and finally extend an offer to a candidate sometime in the first half of 2018. When your APNC has agreed that they have found the person they believe God is calling to serve as Fourth’s next Associate Pastor, they will ask the Session to call a congregational meeting to present this candidate for your vote.

So, as you can see, your APNC needs your prayers! They are working diligently and enthusiastically at the task to which God has called them. Your role is to pray, and to trust the process to unfold in God’s time.

By the way, I am also part of the search by virtue of my role as Pastor. I’ve been involved to offer guidance about the process as well as the nature of the position. I’ll be more involved once the APNC has narrowed the field. So I too will be praying and trusting the process, right along with you.

God has always provided for Fourth Presbyterian Church the right leaders for the time. God is at work in us and through us, and I am excited to see what God has in store for this next leg of our journey. It is an honor to be with you in this shared endeavor of mission and ministry in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Your servant in Christ,

Mike

Rev. Dr. Michael Hoyt