August 19, 2004
Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
On
Monday, August 9, representatives from the Pastor Search Team met with Council
and we would like to share some news about that meeting.
The
Pastor Search Team (PST) has been very busy during the last 12 months. There
have been regular communications with the Council and a few updates with the
congregation via the bulletin and Heartbeat, but until now, we were not yet at
a stage where it was appropriate to share specifics about any of our pastoral
candidates. For those of you new to the church, Calvary decided over a year ago
to have two full-time pastoral positions – a Pastor of Preaching and Teaching
(PP&T) and a Pastor of Congregational Care. We have been searching for the
man God has chosen to serve as our PP&T and are now at the stage where a
candidate has been recommended to council after many hours of work by the PST
and with God’s help and guidance.
The
Council has completed their review of the candidate and voted to continue on
with the process of evaluating this candidate for a possible call to the open
position of Pastor of Preaching and Teaching. Rev Jack Van Marion from Beamsville, Ontario, Canada will be
invited to Calvary Church in the near future for the purpose of further
interviews with the council, to preach the Word, and to meet the congregation.
Specific information about this visit will be shared as soon as it is
available.
The
search process has been both a challenge and blessing to all involved. We have
carried on through the joys and sorrows our church has experienced. Be assured,
that this search team, appointed by the Council, has proven to be a dedicated
and hard-working bunch. Both of us are very grateful for their efforts and we
would like to share some detail of the work they have done. The PST has:
·
Met more than forty times.
·
Reviewed learnings from past search teams and our
Strategic Ministries Task Force, in addition to Calvary’s Opening the Doors
ministry plan, survey feedback from the congregation, and various books and
articles.
·
Sent over 150 formal letters and emails to
potential candidates and sources of candidate recommendations.
·
Designed and built a Pastor Search website (with
Scott Ross’s able assistance – thanks!) to help interested parties learn more
about the Pastor of Preaching and Teaching (PP&T) position as well as
Calvary’s ministry plan, staff, facility, and community.
·
Reviewed over twenty profiles and resumes from
potential candidates.
·
Had over a dozen informal screening discussions
and two formal interviews with interested pastors.
·
Received training on evaluating sermons from Dr.
Hogan.
·
Interviewed eleven references and listened to
several sermon tapes from our most promising PP&T candidate.
·
Recently met personally with our leading pastor
candidate and his wife to discern God’s leading and further assess his fit with
our congregation.
I’m sure you are interested in learning more about our
candidate. He is an experienced and spiritually mature minister of a large
Canadian church. He has passion for preaching and teaching, and for the ideas
expressed in our Opening the Doors ministry plan. We believe he has the
gifts to serve Calvary well in this capacity and we look forward to providing
more information and formally introducing him to the congregation in the near
future.
Many thanks for your prayers, support and patience over the
last year. Please continue to pray for the PST, our candidate, and Calvary’s
Council and staff as we seek to do the Lord’s will in this endeavor.
In
Christ,
Tim Schmidt Ed
Attema
Chair, Pastor Search
Team President, Calvary Council
Please
take a moment to thank your Pastor Search Team members:
Dan Beckering, Steve Bosch, Marilyn DeVries, Karen Groen, Jim Kamp (Consistory liaison), Katie Ross, Sara Schrotenboer, Glenn Vander Top