Senior Pastor Selection Process

This past May, our Senior Pastor Robert Cunningham announced that he would be stepping down after nearly 11 years of faithful service in order to pursue a new calling. We are thankful for Robert and his leadership over the past decade, and we pray for God’s blessing on his new endeavor.

With this position vacant, we began the process of searching for and selecting a new senior pastor. Here’s where we are in that process:

✅ Receive & accept Robert Cunningham’s resignation

  • This step was completed during the October 16 congregational meeting.

☐ Form a Pulpit Committee

  • This step was scheduled to begin with nominations in September and a vote in October.

  • Before the nomination process began, discussions took place among the elders about changing the nomination process found in our constitution, and so the process was paused.

  • At the beginning of October, the Session voted to replace the language in our constitution with the language found in the PCA Book of Church Order (BCO).

    • The language in our constitution was very detailed and prescriptive about the number of people in the committee and how they were to be elected. The language of the BCO is more open-ended and allows a church to form a Pulpit Committee that best suits the size of their congregation and the unique situations they might find themselves in.

  • After announcing this to the congregation and receiving feedback, the Session voted again at the end of October to ratify this change.

  • NEXT STEP: The Session will determine how to select nominees for the Pulpit Committee. For example, they could choose the nominees, or ask the congregation to submit nominees, or a mixture of the two. No matter how the nominees are chosen, the congregation has the final say when they vote on the members of the Pulpit Committee at a Congregational Meeting (date TBD).

☐ Assess Candidates

  • Once the Pulpit Committee is formed, they will be tasked with collecting information about potential candidates, assessing their profiles, and conducting interviews.

☐ Pulpit Committee Recommendation

  • When they have landed on a finalist, the Pulpit Committee will submit a report and recommendation to the congregation.

☐ Vote at Congregational Meeting

  • A congregational meeting will be called to discuss the recommendation and hold a vote on receiving the finalist as the senior pastor.