Staff Part 1
One of the biggest elements of our church transition is our leadership and staff. At the beginning of the year, the Session appointed the pastoral staff to find a director or pastor of worship and youth. Through examination and much prayer, Scott Dillon was nominated and accepted by the Session to be called. However, as you may already know, the Dillons have found difficulty in receiving visas for their two adoptive children and are still waiting to receive them. In the meantime, Pastors Kenny and Joshua, as well as the staff and volunteers, have gone above and beyond to fill in for the needs of the many areas of ministries once led by Pastors Jeff, Rick, and David Kim.
With so much to do, why are we only hiring one pastor? The reason we are hiring one pastor instead of three is that the Session determined that it would be better for the church to have fewer pastoral staff, but more part-time lay staff. As a result, members of the church have stepped up to help in different ministries. John Haller was hired as the youth ministries coordinator, Sue Brown was hired to assist with administrative tasks and communications, and Wes Crocker was hired to oversee technology and sound. Although not paid, the finance committee was given more responsibilities and Tom Kauth was made the committee’s chair.
Along with hiring more part-time staff, many of Grace’s members have also stepped up and have committed more time to serve in various ministries. With so many vital ministries at Grace, our prayer is that more members will volunteer their time to support and continue these ministries. In doing so, much burden can be taken off of the staff and pastors, and we will also be able to share together in the work that God is doing at our church.
In the weeks to come, we will highlight specific areas of ministry for you to pray for and learn how to get involved with to support. This is certainly an exciting time for Grace as we pray and watch eagerly to see what the Lord is doing for his glory and our good.
Next week’s focus: Staff Part 2 – Scott Dillon.