Sorry it has been a few weeks since our last update. We have been meeting weekly; diligently working through our process, and we have a few updates:
1) We were officially complete with the "organizational" phase of our search about the first week of September. This phase usually takes committees approximately 2-3 months to work through. Our first meeing was June 23, so this phase took us about 2 1/2 months. This phase is a very important phase in the search as the committee develops a profile of the senior minister, defines who they are as a church, and begins to formulate the search process. Although we were not engaging candidates during this phase, we were building the important, necessary foundation to begin engaging candidates.
2) As part of our organizational phase, we developed a "Friends of HPC" list. As we mentioned in Update #4, the list is comprised of key individuals, mainly in our denomination, who may have some knowledge about our church and knowledge of candidates searching for a church. This may include current pastors in the PCA, members of our presbytery, people associated with seminaries, etc. We are planning on heavily leaning on this "Friends" list to help provide us with names of potential candidates.
3) We have contacted most everyone on our "Friends" list. A large percentage of the candidates we are visiting with have been provided by members of the "Friends" list.
4) Approximately a month ago, we entered into the phase of actually engaging candidates. This currently involves reviewing candidates' resumes, listening to sermons, and visiting with them via video conference.
Our next meetings are scheduled for October 15, October 21, and October 27.
Prayer Requests:
1) Please pray for God to lead and direct this search. Please pray that the committee would use His wisdom as we engage the candidates. Please pray that God would clearly reveal who the next pastor of HPC is.
2) Please pray for the committee members and their families during this search. As I indicated, we are meeting weekly and spending time during the week evaluating the candidates. It is a blessing to do this work. Please pray for God to strengthen our families during this time and give us the time we need to dedicate to this important task God has laid before us.
Blessings!
HPC Pastor Search Committee
