Come the new year, a Discernment/Transition Team will be formed to help Grace Presbyterian do the necessary work to seek its next pastor. This team will lead the church through some necessary exercises to gather the information necessary to write a Mission Study for the church. A Mission Study looks at the community surrounding the church. Who lives around the church? What are the needs of the community? What are the unmet needs of the community? How might the church be in ministry with them? The Mission Study also looks inward. Who is already a part of Grace Presbyterian Church? What are the gifts of the people? What are the passions? And combining this information, where do the needs of the community and the passions of the congregation intersect? Knowing this, the church can prayerfully discern how God is leading you to be in ministry to the community moving forward. You need to know this to find the person with the gifts and talents to help your realize God’s vision for Grace Presbyterian Church in the future. Every pastor has different gifts and talents, strengths, and weaknesses. You want to find someone who has passion for the things you feel called to.

Boiling this all down:

Step 1: Create a Discernment/Transition Team to lead congregational activities to write a Mission Study.

Step 2: Write the Mission Study.

Step 3: Have the presbytery approve the Mission Study.

Step 4: With the Mission Study approved, the presbytery gives permission to form a Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC).

Step 5: The PNC is approved by the congregation in a congregational meeting.

Step 6: The first task of the PNC is to write a Ministry Information Form (MIF) which tells potential pastors who you are, how you believe you are called to be in ministry — essentially, the church’s resume.

Step 7: The MIF needs to be approved by the Session. 

Step 8: Then it needs to be approved by the presbytery who will then input the MIF into the Church Leadership Connection (CLC) through which potential pastors will be matched with Grace Presbyterian Church.

All this takes time. The church needs to be ready to embrace the ministry of a new pastor, looking forward and not looking back. This is a prayerful time. Trust that God is already preparing the person who will be your pastor in the coming years.

It is my great honor to lead you through this process.

Pastor Robin Miller Currás