To my dear Heritage Church,
I already know that one of the greatest honors of my life will be the privilege of serving as your Pastor for 15 wonderful years. A million memories have flashed through my mind over the past few months as I have wrestled with the decision to step down from this position. If you will allow me to reflect on some of those moments…
2000 was one of the best years of my life. I married the woman of my dreams, we welcomed our first of five children into the world, and I was invited to be part of a fairly new church in town called Heritage. I initially refused, feeling like I was too messed up to be part of a church family. But I was promised that Heritage was birthed to be a place where anyone and everyone could experience healing and restoration. The journey that followed would far surpass anything I could have ever hoped for.
Youth Ministry Years
For about five years, I served as Youth Pastor and oversaw countless special events, crazy stunts, an “Agent” leadership team who would become lifelong friends and a massive influx of teenagers into our lives. We would meet well into the night planning services and small group curriculum. We regularly pulled all-nighters to edit videos, write dramas, and build elaborate props. I will always look back on these years as some of my life’s most fun and rewarding moments.
Administration Years
Around 2005 I was asked to serve as the Executive Pastor at Heritage. It sparked a season of growth in brand-new areas. We worked tirelessly to create an infrastructure, budget, policies, and systems to support a rapidly growing church. We stepped out in faith and built a beautiful new campus that continues to serve as our Sunday gathering space. As our staff grew, we learned to work together in unity to care for the resources entrusted to us with vigilance and integrity. I am so proud of those formative years that helped shape our church (and me) for the ministry God prepared for us.
Lead Pastor Years
January 1, 2010, my season as Lead Pastor officially launched. I was young, nervous, and insecure, but I was full of passion and faith in God to change lives. I remember my first month sharing the dream to reach 52 baptisms that year - an average of one every week. We excitedly exceeded that goal! I never aspired to be known as a great leader - or known for anything, really.
I have always received the most fulfillment in watching others reach their potential in Christ. As I shared in my very first message, I would rather be a great spiritual father than a great leader, and a father celebrates when his children succeed. Some of the milestones I am so proud to be part of include:
• Watching a small church-wide yard sale turn into one of the greatest mission organizations I’ve ever seen (The Storehouse)
• Seeing the burden of a young mother with a daughter with special needs birth a ministry that would not only lead to regional impact but ultimately birth a non-profit that helps churches all over the country form their own special needs ministries (Breathe)
• Years of sacrifice to pay off our almost $1.5 million church debt
• Moving to two services to enable us to reach more people and raise the value of multiplying leaders and serving together every week, fanning the flame on special events that would impact hundreds or possibly thousands - Mega Impact, Respite Events, Remembrance Sunday, Women’s One Night, Blessing Sunday, Small Group Launches, countless conferences & retreats, etc.
• Raising millions of dollars for local, national, and global mission efforts and placing special emphasis on our HGMs (Homegrown Missionaries)
• Leading the charge of a community-wide “Experiencing God” study during one of the most unstable years of life and ministry (Covid) and seeing thousands of people in our community follow along in the pursuit of Christ
• Teaching the value and biblical principles for finishing well and hearing so many people express their desire to do so
But perhaps the most special moments to me are the ones that might have gone unnoticed. I am so humbled when I see someone in the crowd moved to worship or tears. I still cry remembering the day we baptized a deaf man days before his death, seeing him rise from the water to a room full of people cheering in sign language. My heart smiles every time I picture the faces of children cheering for people getting baptized. I love watching the expressions on the faces of brides and grooms as they vow to love each other unconditionally. My heart bursts every time someone who thought they were beyond hope finally realizes the depth of God’s love. I hold so many memories deep in my heart that I will treasure until my final days.
Reasons for Transition
For a pastor, it’s not a matter of if, but when. If I were basing it just on my love for you, I would serve in this role for the rest of my life. But a pastor’s first priority is to die to self - to sacrifice for the good of others. Regardless of personal preference, I must always do what I feel is best for the church.
Challenges
Most of you are aware that the past several years of my life, my wife and I have endured numerous painful circumstances.
• We cared for my dad for many years until he passed, leaving an enormous void in our family.
• We walked with our children through intense bullying, bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts, and all of the things that make adolescence so incredibly difficult. My kids have sacrificed a lot of time as I am often called away to minister to people in crisis, and my weekend responsibilities have always limited my availability.
• I have been at Heritage so long that this stopped feeling like a job long ago - you are my family. When a church member dies, it is like losing a friend. I have lost hundreds of friends over the years - to the point that I now often find myself spontaneously breaking down in tears over the losses and heartbreaking situations.
• Jesus was perfect, and yet He was misunderstood, slandered, and rejected. He promises us the same experiences, and ministry is certainly no exception. Leadership naturally comes with pushback and criticism. It can be especially painful when you have put every ounce of your heart and soul into something. God has always given me a sincere love for those who criticize me, but after 30 years of ministry, it would be dishonest to say it doesn’t have a cumulative effect.
• A little over a year ago came the first life-altering injury to my neck. Months later, my Achilles required surgery. I now face another major Achilles surgery and, once healed, I just learned I will need to have a knee replacement. I have lost the ability to do so many things I have loved and enjoyed for most of my life, and I recognize the toll it is having on my body, mind, and emotions.
• When I was growing up, there was never a time that my parents didn’t have someone living with us whom they were caring for until their death - grandparents, an aunt, and an elderly cousin stricken with a tragic illness. It was a costly sacrifice, but I honor them for that. So when my mother, who now faces the cruel disease of Alzheimer’s as a widow after more than 60 years of marriage, asked if she could please live her final years with us, Michelle and I knew it was absolutely the right thing to do. Michelle is a total saint who lives her life in sacrificial devotion to my mom who so often forgets all that she does for her.
Difficulties are a part of life, but the role of Lead Pastor requires an enormous amount of physical, emotional, and spiritual stamina, and I have to be honest with the fact that my wife and I simply need to step back for an extended time of rest and recovery.
Opportunities
Yes, life and ministry have been challenging - but I am not ending this season in sadness. As a matter of fact, the positive reasons for this transition far outweigh the negative.
• Over the years we have built a dream team staff. I am so proud of our team’s unity and loyalty and most of our staff members have served together for my entire tenure - some even since the early days of Heritage.
• It is a time for Heritage to take new ground, and I have the utmost belief and confidence in the leadership our Staff will continue to provide.
• We are a healthy church - spiritually, structurally, financially, and relationally. There is nothing stopping us from having a tremendous impact in our community and world.
• Our leadership is incredibly gifted, in love with Jesus, and serves with honorable dedication. You can have peace knowing you are being covered and cared for by some of the most faithful people on earth.
• Heritage continues to be known for its love. We are still a place where I believe anyone can come and encounter God. We continue to live with a passion for the Lord and an unending desire to see lost and hurting people find hope and salvation in Him.
• I see a fresh crop of eager leaders emerging in our midst. We are doing well in passing the faith on to the next generation.
• The value of finishing well has resulted in more and more of our seasoned veterans being intentional to serve, lead, mentor, and pastor.
• We are poised for growth, revival, big dreams, and I know our best days are still to come.
For all of those reasons and many, many more, I can lay down my title as an offering to God and thank Him for the opportunity. I haven’t always done everything right, but I can say that I gave it my all and the Lord was faithful - especially in my weaknesses.
The fact that I have been able to play just a small part in the Heritage story is beyond humbling. I am so incredibly grateful. I love each and every one of you and always will.
Next Steps
Our Leadership Team has been incredibly gracious to me and my family and they recognize both our need for healing but also the potential for impactful ministry on the other side of it. They have a beautiful plan for restructuring our team to offer stronger leadership than ever. I will continue to serve as a pastor in our church, working in multiple areas that I am passionate about, such as outreach, counseling, writing, leader development, coaching, expansion, etc. I also look forward to returning to the preaching team in the future. Michelle will move from a full-time staff member involved in multiple ministries to part-time status serving close beside me in all of my areas of responsibility.
I am embracing the opportunity to experience a different pace of life, the opportunity to heal, and I am especially looking forward to having more time for deeper friendships with so many of you.
So thank you for loving me and my family, Heritage. You are truly one of the most
special churches I have ever seen.
2000 was one of the best years of my life. I married the woman of my dreams, we welcomed our first of five children into the world, and I was invited to be part of a fairly new church in town called Heritage. I initially refused, feeling like I was too messed up to be part of a church family. But I was promised that Heritage was birthed to be a place where anyone and everyone could experience healing and restoration. The journey that followed would far surpass anything I could have ever hoped for.
Youth Ministry Years
For about five years, I served as Youth Pastor and oversaw countless special events, crazy stunts, an “Agent” leadership team who would become lifelong friends and a massive influx of teenagers into our lives. We would meet well into the night planning services and small group curriculum. We regularly pulled all-nighters to edit videos, write dramas, and build elaborate props. I will always look back on these years as some of my life’s most fun and rewarding moments.
Administration Years
Around 2005 I was asked to serve as the Executive Pastor at Heritage. It sparked a season of growth in brand-new areas. We worked tirelessly to create an infrastructure, budget, policies, and systems to support a rapidly growing church. We stepped out in faith and built a beautiful new campus that continues to serve as our Sunday gathering space. As our staff grew, we learned to work together in unity to care for the resources entrusted to us with vigilance and integrity. I am so proud of those formative years that helped shape our church (and me) for the ministry God prepared for us.
Lead Pastor Years
January 1, 2010, my season as Lead Pastor officially launched. I was young, nervous, and insecure, but I was full of passion and faith in God to change lives. I remember my first month sharing the dream to reach 52 baptisms that year - an average of one every week. We excitedly exceeded that goal! I never aspired to be known as a great leader - or known for anything, really.
I have always received the most fulfillment in watching others reach their potential in Christ. As I shared in my very first message, I would rather be a great spiritual father than a great leader, and a father celebrates when his children succeed. Some of the milestones I am so proud to be part of include:
• Watching a small church-wide yard sale turn into one of the greatest mission organizations I’ve ever seen (The Storehouse)
• Seeing the burden of a young mother with a daughter with special needs birth a ministry that would not only lead to regional impact but ultimately birth a non-profit that helps churches all over the country form their own special needs ministries (Breathe)
• Years of sacrifice to pay off our almost $1.5 million church debt
• Moving to two services to enable us to reach more people and raise the value of multiplying leaders and serving together every week, fanning the flame on special events that would impact hundreds or possibly thousands - Mega Impact, Respite Events, Remembrance Sunday, Women’s One Night, Blessing Sunday, Small Group Launches, countless conferences & retreats, etc.
• Raising millions of dollars for local, national, and global mission efforts and placing special emphasis on our HGMs (Homegrown Missionaries)
• Leading the charge of a community-wide “Experiencing God” study during one of the most unstable years of life and ministry (Covid) and seeing thousands of people in our community follow along in the pursuit of Christ
• Teaching the value and biblical principles for finishing well and hearing so many people express their desire to do so
But perhaps the most special moments to me are the ones that might have gone unnoticed. I am so humbled when I see someone in the crowd moved to worship or tears. I still cry remembering the day we baptized a deaf man days before his death, seeing him rise from the water to a room full of people cheering in sign language. My heart smiles every time I picture the faces of children cheering for people getting baptized. I love watching the expressions on the faces of brides and grooms as they vow to love each other unconditionally. My heart bursts every time someone who thought they were beyond hope finally realizes the depth of God’s love. I hold so many memories deep in my heart that I will treasure until my final days.
Reasons for Transition
For a pastor, it’s not a matter of if, but when. If I were basing it just on my love for you, I would serve in this role for the rest of my life. But a pastor’s first priority is to die to self - to sacrifice for the good of others. Regardless of personal preference, I must always do what I feel is best for the church.
Challenges
Most of you are aware that the past several years of my life, my wife and I have endured numerous painful circumstances.
• We cared for my dad for many years until he passed, leaving an enormous void in our family.
• We walked with our children through intense bullying, bouts of depression and suicidal thoughts, and all of the things that make adolescence so incredibly difficult. My kids have sacrificed a lot of time as I am often called away to minister to people in crisis, and my weekend responsibilities have always limited my availability.
• I have been at Heritage so long that this stopped feeling like a job long ago - you are my family. When a church member dies, it is like losing a friend. I have lost hundreds of friends over the years - to the point that I now often find myself spontaneously breaking down in tears over the losses and heartbreaking situations.
• Jesus was perfect, and yet He was misunderstood, slandered, and rejected. He promises us the same experiences, and ministry is certainly no exception. Leadership naturally comes with pushback and criticism. It can be especially painful when you have put every ounce of your heart and soul into something. God has always given me a sincere love for those who criticize me, but after 30 years of ministry, it would be dishonest to say it doesn’t have a cumulative effect.
• A little over a year ago came the first life-altering injury to my neck. Months later, my Achilles required surgery. I now face another major Achilles surgery and, once healed, I just learned I will need to have a knee replacement. I have lost the ability to do so many things I have loved and enjoyed for most of my life, and I recognize the toll it is having on my body, mind, and emotions.
• When I was growing up, there was never a time that my parents didn’t have someone living with us whom they were caring for until their death - grandparents, an aunt, and an elderly cousin stricken with a tragic illness. It was a costly sacrifice, but I honor them for that. So when my mother, who now faces the cruel disease of Alzheimer’s as a widow after more than 60 years of marriage, asked if she could please live her final years with us, Michelle and I knew it was absolutely the right thing to do. Michelle is a total saint who lives her life in sacrificial devotion to my mom who so often forgets all that she does for her.
Difficulties are a part of life, but the role of Lead Pastor requires an enormous amount of physical, emotional, and spiritual stamina, and I have to be honest with the fact that my wife and I simply need to step back for an extended time of rest and recovery.
Opportunities
Yes, life and ministry have been challenging - but I am not ending this season in sadness. As a matter of fact, the positive reasons for this transition far outweigh the negative.
• Over the years we have built a dream team staff. I am so proud of our team’s unity and loyalty and most of our staff members have served together for my entire tenure - some even since the early days of Heritage.
• It is a time for Heritage to take new ground, and I have the utmost belief and confidence in the leadership our Staff will continue to provide.
• We are a healthy church - spiritually, structurally, financially, and relationally. There is nothing stopping us from having a tremendous impact in our community and world.
• Our leadership is incredibly gifted, in love with Jesus, and serves with honorable dedication. You can have peace knowing you are being covered and cared for by some of the most faithful people on earth.
• Heritage continues to be known for its love. We are still a place where I believe anyone can come and encounter God. We continue to live with a passion for the Lord and an unending desire to see lost and hurting people find hope and salvation in Him.
• I see a fresh crop of eager leaders emerging in our midst. We are doing well in passing the faith on to the next generation.
• The value of finishing well has resulted in more and more of our seasoned veterans being intentional to serve, lead, mentor, and pastor.
• We are poised for growth, revival, big dreams, and I know our best days are still to come.
For all of those reasons and many, many more, I can lay down my title as an offering to God and thank Him for the opportunity. I haven’t always done everything right, but I can say that I gave it my all and the Lord was faithful - especially in my weaknesses.
The fact that I have been able to play just a small part in the Heritage story is beyond humbling. I am so incredibly grateful. I love each and every one of you and always will.
Next Steps
Our Leadership Team has been incredibly gracious to me and my family and they recognize both our need for healing but also the potential for impactful ministry on the other side of it. They have a beautiful plan for restructuring our team to offer stronger leadership than ever. I will continue to serve as a pastor in our church, working in multiple areas that I am passionate about, such as outreach, counseling, writing, leader development, coaching, expansion, etc. I also look forward to returning to the preaching team in the future. Michelle will move from a full-time staff member involved in multiple ministries to part-time status serving close beside me in all of my areas of responsibility.
I am embracing the opportunity to experience a different pace of life, the opportunity to heal, and I am especially looking forward to having more time for deeper friendships with so many of you.
So thank you for loving me and my family, Heritage. You are truly one of the most
special churches I have ever seen.
With peace, gratitude, hope, and a smile on my face,
Brad
Heritage Church Transition
And now, here's a bit more information on what's next for Heritage Church during this time of transition. This information was given at our family meeting by two of the members of our Leadership Team, Roy Reeves and Jon Forehand.
Roy Reeves
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!
It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing, life forever.”
Psalm 133
For almost 30 years, that has been the theme verse for Heritage Church Leadership.
From the beginning, God called HC to be a unique place. One of those unique callings was the desire to build a church that “looked like the community.” It has been said that the most segregated hour in America is on Sunday mornings. Us church people separate ourselves according to theology, socioeconomics, and race. That dream of 30 years ago has largely become a reality and we have done it while consistently maintaining unity.
Another unique foundation of Heritage is that we started without a pastor.
The original Leadership Team functioned together as the Pastor for some time, each member serving and leading in the areas of their giftedness. It was an early example of the “plurality of elders,” which is a church leadership style increasingly on the rise in the present day. In those early days, Paul Johanson, a mentor to the Leadership Team, gave us a word from Acts 2:14: “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them.” Paul said the team was functioning like Peter as “the first among equals.” I served as Chair of the Leadership Team as “the first among equals.” That has continued to be the model of the Leadership Team to the present day, with me serving for 29 years, and now Jon Forehand serving in that role.
Out of those early days, a team from within the church staff gave leadership to the operations and ministry of the church. Under Brad’s leadership, this was formalized as the Executive Staff Team (EST) and was written into the church By-Laws. Even though, we sought to share the leadership of the church among a team, our model of leadership has largely been “the Lead Pastor model” with two Lead Pastors in our 30-year history. However, the role of leading a large, diverse, and somewhat complex church like Heritage, along with the responsibility of preparing to preach most Sundays, and then delivering the messages has proven to be weighty.
That background brings us to the present. After faithfully serving as Lead Pastor for many years, as he has shared, Brad desires to assume a different role at Heritage. In recent months, he has also called our leadership to consider the original “DNA” of our church and make sure we are staying true to our founding principles. Brad’s decision has brought on months of deliberations and prayer.
Out of those months of deliberations and prayer, the Leadership Team believes that God is once again leading us to do something different than the norm and true to our foundations. We want to redefine the traditional role of lead pastor by calling on our Executive Staff Team (EST) to function as a “Plurality of Leaders” and for the lead pastor to be “the first among equals”. During the months of deliberations, the EST members have identified areas where more leadership is needed, and they also have identified where they are most productive/fruitful and most passionate. We desire to have EST members serve and lead where their passions and fruitfulness meet. To that end, new roles will be created on the EST and areas of responsibility among the EST members will be redistributed.
What main responsibility is attributed to the Lead Pastor? Preparing to preach and then preaching most Sunday mornings. In reality, most of the responsibility of being lead pastor at Heritage takes place “behind the scenes”, what most of us do not see, and then preaching seen by everyone on Sundays. To help redefine the Lead Pastor role, a preaching team will be created to implement a yearly preaching plan developed by the EST.
The preaching team will be composed of Mark, Stephen, and will include Brad, after he has a season away from this responsibility. We hope these changes will make the lead pastor role more realistic and life giving to the person leading from that position.
It is like the precious oil upon the head, coming down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard, Coming down upon the edge of his robes. It is like the dew of Hermon, coming down upon the mountains of Zion; For there the Lord commanded the blessing, life forever.”
Psalm 133
For almost 30 years, that has been the theme verse for Heritage Church Leadership.
From the beginning, God called HC to be a unique place. One of those unique callings was the desire to build a church that “looked like the community.” It has been said that the most segregated hour in America is on Sunday mornings. Us church people separate ourselves according to theology, socioeconomics, and race. That dream of 30 years ago has largely become a reality and we have done it while consistently maintaining unity.
Another unique foundation of Heritage is that we started without a pastor.
The original Leadership Team functioned together as the Pastor for some time, each member serving and leading in the areas of their giftedness. It was an early example of the “plurality of elders,” which is a church leadership style increasingly on the rise in the present day. In those early days, Paul Johanson, a mentor to the Leadership Team, gave us a word from Acts 2:14: “But Peter, standing with the eleven, lifted up his voice and addressed them.” Paul said the team was functioning like Peter as “the first among equals.” I served as Chair of the Leadership Team as “the first among equals.” That has continued to be the model of the Leadership Team to the present day, with me serving for 29 years, and now Jon Forehand serving in that role.
Out of those early days, a team from within the church staff gave leadership to the operations and ministry of the church. Under Brad’s leadership, this was formalized as the Executive Staff Team (EST) and was written into the church By-Laws. Even though, we sought to share the leadership of the church among a team, our model of leadership has largely been “the Lead Pastor model” with two Lead Pastors in our 30-year history. However, the role of leading a large, diverse, and somewhat complex church like Heritage, along with the responsibility of preparing to preach most Sundays, and then delivering the messages has proven to be weighty.
That background brings us to the present. After faithfully serving as Lead Pastor for many years, as he has shared, Brad desires to assume a different role at Heritage. In recent months, he has also called our leadership to consider the original “DNA” of our church and make sure we are staying true to our founding principles. Brad’s decision has brought on months of deliberations and prayer.
Out of those months of deliberations and prayer, the Leadership Team believes that God is once again leading us to do something different than the norm and true to our foundations. We want to redefine the traditional role of lead pastor by calling on our Executive Staff Team (EST) to function as a “Plurality of Leaders” and for the lead pastor to be “the first among equals”. During the months of deliberations, the EST members have identified areas where more leadership is needed, and they also have identified where they are most productive/fruitful and most passionate. We desire to have EST members serve and lead where their passions and fruitfulness meet. To that end, new roles will be created on the EST and areas of responsibility among the EST members will be redistributed.
What main responsibility is attributed to the Lead Pastor? Preparing to preach and then preaching most Sunday mornings. In reality, most of the responsibility of being lead pastor at Heritage takes place “behind the scenes”, what most of us do not see, and then preaching seen by everyone on Sundays. To help redefine the Lead Pastor role, a preaching team will be created to implement a yearly preaching plan developed by the EST.
The preaching team will be composed of Mark, Stephen, and will include Brad, after he has a season away from this responsibility. We hope these changes will make the lead pastor role more realistic and life giving to the person leading from that position.
Jon Forehand
I would like to briefly outline the roles of shared leadership for the Executive Staff Team effective January 1st, 2025:
Mark Cunningham will serve as Lead Pastor. The first among equals. Mark will lead the Executive Staff Team and the staff team. Mark will be a part of the preaching team. He will continue to give primary leadership to Worship and the finances of our church. Mark will continue to be a member of the Leadership Team of the church.
Stephen Adcock has accepted the call to serve as Discipleship and Teaching Pastor. Stephen will lead the discipleship process of the church, which includes small groups. He will provide key leadership in promoting the preaching and teaching of foundational beliefs. Stephen will be a part of the preaching team. Stephen will also join the Leadership Team of the church.
This change will require new leadership for our Next Gen ministry and plans are being pursued for that transition, which will be announced soon.
Emily Hall will continue to serve as Missions Pastor, but that is just one dimension of what Emily does. She also gives leadership to the Store House, prayer, communications and Pastoral care.
The newest member of the EST is Jason Cox. Jason has graciously agreed to serve the church as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Jason will lead the administration of the church, except for the financial area, led by Mark. Jason will give leadership to Team Life. Jason will remain a member of the Leadership Team of the church.
Brad Bowen will transition to serve as a Pastor who will focus on Outreach and Coaching. In these roles, Brad will lead the evangelism ministry, coaching and mentoring leaders. After a time to establish the new EST roles, Brad will be a part of the preaching team. To honor Brad for his many years of faithful service as Lead Pastor, he will be awarded a Sabbatical as outlined in the policies of the church. The timing of the Sabbatical will be based on Brad’s recovery from upcoming surgery. Brad will rotate off the Leadership Team of the church.
Much discussion, deliberation, and asking the Father for clarity has gone into these decisions and they have been arrived in unity. Your leaders are grateful for the opportunity to serve, and we desire to be transparent, so if you have questions that have not been addressed today please reach out to a leadership team member or executive staff team member.
The truth of Proverbs 3:5 & 6 remains our foundation.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
We ask for your prayers and support. We believe the greatest days of making a significant impact on our families, community and the world for Christ are ahead of us!
Mark Cunningham will serve as Lead Pastor. The first among equals. Mark will lead the Executive Staff Team and the staff team. Mark will be a part of the preaching team. He will continue to give primary leadership to Worship and the finances of our church. Mark will continue to be a member of the Leadership Team of the church.
Stephen Adcock has accepted the call to serve as Discipleship and Teaching Pastor. Stephen will lead the discipleship process of the church, which includes small groups. He will provide key leadership in promoting the preaching and teaching of foundational beliefs. Stephen will be a part of the preaching team. Stephen will also join the Leadership Team of the church.
This change will require new leadership for our Next Gen ministry and plans are being pursued for that transition, which will be announced soon.
Emily Hall will continue to serve as Missions Pastor, but that is just one dimension of what Emily does. She also gives leadership to the Store House, prayer, communications and Pastoral care.
The newest member of the EST is Jason Cox. Jason has graciously agreed to serve the church as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Jason will lead the administration of the church, except for the financial area, led by Mark. Jason will give leadership to Team Life. Jason will remain a member of the Leadership Team of the church.
Brad Bowen will transition to serve as a Pastor who will focus on Outreach and Coaching. In these roles, Brad will lead the evangelism ministry, coaching and mentoring leaders. After a time to establish the new EST roles, Brad will be a part of the preaching team. To honor Brad for his many years of faithful service as Lead Pastor, he will be awarded a Sabbatical as outlined in the policies of the church. The timing of the Sabbatical will be based on Brad’s recovery from upcoming surgery. Brad will rotate off the Leadership Team of the church.
Much discussion, deliberation, and asking the Father for clarity has gone into these decisions and they have been arrived in unity. Your leaders are grateful for the opportunity to serve, and we desire to be transparent, so if you have questions that have not been addressed today please reach out to a leadership team member or executive staff team member.
The truth of Proverbs 3:5 & 6 remains our foundation.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight.
We ask for your prayers and support. We believe the greatest days of making a significant impact on our families, community and the world for Christ are ahead of us!