The Pastoral Nominating Committee (PNC) is grateful beyond words to the Grace congregation for the prayers and words of encouragement and support. We have sensed God’s presence and direction in our meetings and God’s Spirit has been at work in our discernment process.
At the annual congregational meeting in January, we observed that there are four stages in the process of calling a new pastor:
- Training of the PNC members
- Preparation: job description, needs of our congregation, and so on
- Interviewing and choosing
- Installation of new pastor
At that time, we reported that we were in the preparation stage, discerning the needs of our congregation and what traits and gifts we are looking for in a new pastor. We ended that stage in March by completing an online Ministry Discernment Profile (MDP) in the PC(USA)’s Church Leadership Connection (CLC). On 17 March the Session unanimously approved our MDP.
The PNC works with the support and supervision of the Committee on Ministry (COM) of the Presbytery of Northeast New Jersey. We sent our MDP to the COM after it was approved by the Session, and the COM approved it on 4 April. That allowed our profile to be published in the CLC so that potential candidates could see it and apply for the position.
The final spoonful of alphabet soup contains the letters PDP, for Personal Discernment Profile. A candidate seeking a church leadership position in the PC(USA) completes a PDP in the CLC, and when they find a position to which God might be calling them, they instruct the CLC to send their PDP to that organization. More than just a résumé or curriculum vitae, the PDP allows the candidate to relate their core beliefs, their sense of calling, and their passion and goals for ministry.
We are beginning to receive PDPs and, by the time you read this, we will have reviewed several and taken further steps to discern God’s direction for us in this vital task. Please continue to pray. God is at work, and we look forward to seeing where God leads us!