Congregational Update
Pastoral Search Process
September 26, 2024
“And the Lord who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love God, who have been called according to God’s purpose.”
Romans 8:27-28
This week, we celebrate two critical milestones in our pastoral search process
First, on Sunday, September 22, the congregation elected a talented, committed team of disciples to serve as your Pastor Nominating Committee. We are grateful to the following individuals for answering God’s call to serve and to do this critical work together. You can read more about each of them here. They are:
| Kimbo Bohannon | Alyssa Johnson | Tovi Martin |
| Crystal Marie McDaniels | Quentin McGill | Nancy Nance |
| Ben Snyder | Jim Thompson | Julie Westhofen |
This team will work together over the coming months with the goal of nominating a minister to the congregation to serve as either co-pastor or associate pastor. These efforts generally take a year or more. While the team will provide periodic, general reports on their progress, the work is highly confidential. The PNC may provide general updates periodically but we should not expect to receive detailed updates until a candidate is presented for election. The church entrusts this team and its work to the guidance of God in the Holy Spirit and we can start (or continue) to pray for them individually and as a group. More details on the specific work of this committee can be found in July’s congregational update.
Second, on Tuesday night, September 24, the Thriving Congregations team presented a summary of their pastoral search listening efforts to the Session. Over the past five months, Thriving Congregations met with more than 100 Caldwell members, listening to their hopes and dreams for our congregation and the type of pastoral leadership we need going forward. Three themes that rose to the top through these sessions were the need for diversity in pastoral leadership, dynamic preaching, and commitment to continuity and stability in leadership, both now and after John retires (in about five years). The Session had a meaningful initial discussion about the report, and will meet for an in depth session on October 12 to further delve into the findings and develop guidance for the Pastor Nomination Committee as they start their work. The session will relay to the PNC its decision about whether to seek a co-pastor or an associate pastor along with specific input for a job description, all drawn from the congregational input. We are deeply grateful to the entire Thriving Congregations team for their thorough, thoughtful process, ensuring that every Caldwell member had an opportunity to be heard.
We also celebrate Rev. Dot Killian’s continued commitment to Caldwell
Dot’s ministry is focused on helping congregations through transitions from one pastor to another. As we shared earlier this week, Dot has agreed to continue serving Caldwell until our next pastor is called. She and Linda bring such richness to our congregation, and we are thrilled to know that this will continue throughout the next year.
As a reminder, you can visit this webpage to review past updates on our pastoral search journey as well as a visual of the process for easy reference. If you have any questions, please contact Rev. John Cleghorn (jcleghorn@caldwellpresby.org).
Thank you for your commitment to and prayers for our beloved Caldwell community!