Our church has been in the middle of a transition. Our previous pastor and his wife retired at the end of March. Pastor Dean and Ruth have been awesome and we will miss them. There isn’t anyone that can fill their shoes. But I wonder if we should be looking for someone to fill their shows. The reason I say that is that we need to look for a pastor that fits in his own shoes and one that Christ has sent our way. We should find someone who is an individual and someone who is will be respected for being who he is and our church has found that person.
Last weekend we had the opportunity to meet our next pastor and his wife. It had to be a whirlwind of a time for them though. Our church hires the pastor. We choose who would best fit our congregation with the help of Transformation Ministries. The new pastor was looking for a church that is Bible based and not one that is conforming to the world. I would have to say our congregation is very much Bible based and it is very loving. You won’t find many where you don’t feel like there are clicks and such.
What got me thinking about our new pastor and his wife is the process all applicants have to go through when hiring a pastor. We bring in the pastor that the search committee has found. Then they are called to come and get to know the people of our church, preach and all the things that go with meeting and greeting. I can’t begin to understand the pressure the interviewing pastor must feel at this time. He has to literally interview, have questions ask and put on the spot during this time. They aren’t just interviewing with a few, but the congregation at large.
Thankfully the pastor and his wife both got voted in unanimously and they will be an awesome fit. I’m sure they breathed a sigh of relief when all was said and done and the vote came back in their favor. The search committee had to make sure to pray and follow Gods lead when it came to who we would consider. It’s a tough job being on the search committee.
Thankfully we have been having this awesome young man named Andrew doing our sermons. He would fill in when Pastor Dean and Ruth would be on vacation, so this made it easy for him to step in and help. Hopefully our church will still use Andrew on Thursdays and such. He has become a member and friend of our church. I don’t know if he is literally a member, but he is there and he is part of the family of God.
October 1st is when our new pastor and his wife is due to begin their life here in St. George. I pray that they feel as blessed as we feel we are blessed. It’s a new chapter in the life of St. George Community Church. They have some wonderful ideas and gifts. I’m excited to see how things go for the church.
I promised the new pastor I wouldn’t mention his name or anything until after he has put in his notice at his church. It has to be hard for him since he is leaving his denomination and moving to Utah. They could probably use your prayers and thoughts as they transfer to our church and leave their church family that they have come to love.
One last note and I will add a picture of this soon. When the final vote came in and it was read aloud, you could feel the joy from the new pastor and his wife. What a huge relief this has got to be for them. They were met with hugs, tears and over joyed members of St. George Community Church. It took a while to find the right pastor for our church. But we had to be sure he was a man after Gods own heart and not rush into things. I think we made the right choice and our search committee did an awesome job.
Senseless Ramblings of the Mindless 