October 27, 2022
Dear CPC Family,
Thank you for your faithfulness and prayers as we enter into this new season of discerning God’s desires and direction for our church. We know that the Holy Spirit will bring unity, purpose and power as we seek to honor the Lord Jesus and continue putting all of our hope in him.
As promised last week, we want to provide you with an update on our work. The elders met on Tuesday night and approved four significant action steps that will help us begin this transition time.
First, we will seek a Transitional Pastor who will provide pastoral care, leadership and direction following the conclusion of Pastor Tim’s service on December 31. A Transitional Pastor will bring experience, training, and wisdom in working with churches in transition and will greatly assist us in preparing for the call of the next Senior Pastor.
Next, we approved and signed an agreement with ECO giving us access to ECO’s Certified Transitional Pastor Network. This will enable CPC to receive in-depth support and access to a large pool of Transitional Pastor candidates.
Additionally, we have approved extending consultant Mike Barris’s contract through the hiring of the new Transitional Pastor. Pastor Mike will continue his work with the elders and staff focusing on addressing a variety of leadership, structural, and ministry topics identified through his work with us. Our plan calls for a 30-day overlap of Mike’s work with the start of the Transitional Pastor’s contract to ensure continuity.
Lastly, your input is important to us and we have begun discussing ideas for additional ways to receive your feedback. We will be in touch with you once we have determined the best approaches to listening well. In the meantime, we want to receive any suggestions you have and provide answers to your questions so please email us at: session@carmelpres.org. As soon as we have responses, we will provide them.
As your elders, we are continuing to pray and meet to take next steps in moving forward and we are committed to providing timely updates as more is known. We covet your prayers for God’s direction and wisdom as we prayerfully discern his will for our church family.
As followers of Jesus, we do this work with great confidence. Together, let us wait upon the Lord, trusting in his unfailing love and care.
“But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The LORD is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him.’ ” Lam. 3:21-24 ESV
In Christ,
Matt Bell Dean Gray Hans Hess
Susan Kuhlman Jun Mabul Linda Masten
Greg Ogden Greg Quiring John Scherer
CPC Elders