The journey to find the next Lead Pastor for New Life Church (Updated 4/4/24)
New Life has helped many people experience the transforming work of Jesus Christ and we want to see that continue for decades to come! Our focus is on advancing the Kingdom of God and being driven by the Gospel in all that we do, including our search to find our next Lead Pastor.
As we navigate this process we will provide progress updates here. We want everyone to be well-informed because we know you also love New Life Church. Our goal is to have information available for everyone, so explore the timeline, prayer requests, and FAQs below. If there are questions beyond what is provided, feel free to reach out to Alan Budd at with questions.
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Pastor Steve begins contemplating the next decades at New Life and sees a need for change.
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Covid hits and Pastor Steve recognizes that this is not a good time for a leadership change to begin.
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Pastor Steve informs the Elder Team of his desire to transition his role within a few years.
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Pastor Steve gives the Elder Team a date by which he believes his role transition needs to occur.
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The Elder Team commissions a Research Team to explore search/consulting agencies with expertise in Lead Pastor transitions.
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The Research Team interviews five agencies and settles on Chemistry Staffing to conduct the candidate search and coach New Life through the process.
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At their annual Fall Retreat, New Life’s Ministry Leadership Team explores the proposed role transition and its potential impact.
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Pastor Steve sends out a church-wide communication about his proposed role transition. Read the letter here (PDF)
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The Chemistry Staffing representative visits New Life, interviews members of the Leadership Team, and lays out the plan for the candidate search.
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A lengthy Church & Candidate Profile is created to aid potential candidates in understanding New Life’s mission, values, and goals.
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New Life launches a special prayer campaign and urges the congregation to begin praying specifically for Jesus ’Choice for their next Lead Pastor
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The Lead Pastor Search goes live online and Chemistry Staffing begins garnering applicants.
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Candidates are matched then interviewed three times by the agency and references/school qualifications are verified.
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New Life has received multiple qualified candidates, who are going through our extensive interview process.
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Top candidate visited New Life over Palm Weekend after which the Elder Team unanimously recommended him to be presented to New Life.
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Candidate details will be shared with New Life (in enews and Celebrations), including intro videos, bio, and sermon examples!
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Final candidate will be presented to Ministry Partners, the selection of which shall be approved by a three-fourths vote.
We need to pray!
We truly want JESUS, the Head of the Church, to oversee and guide the entire process, and ultimately bring us HIS CHOICE for our next Lead Pastor. 2024 will be an important year of transition for New Life Church and we need to ask the Lord for His guidance and blessing. Will you please join our Elders and Leadership Team in praying about this?
Key Prayer Items:
- Help us to trust God with the entire process
- Bring to us a Lead Pastor that would be the best fit
- Prepare the next Lead Pastor and his family for their transition here
- Guide New Life Leadership and Chemistry Staffing
- Let this transition catalyze a new wave of ministry for years to come
FAQ
Does our church Constitution dictate how we find our next Lead Pastor?
How does someone apply for the position?
How does Chemistry Staffing match candidates to New Life?
Who is on the New Life search team?
Once the consulting agency recommends a candidate, what happens next?