Report from The Pastor Nominating Committee

Greetings, fellow members of First Presbyterian Church!

The Pastor Nominating Committee (PNC), elected by the congregation in late January to recommend the person to serve as our next Senior Pastor, has been meeting weekly. We have discussed the report from the Holy Cow! congregational survey conducted last year. This report has served us well in identifying congregational priorities for the next Pastor. We have completed the Mission Information Form (MIF), an essential step in opening the search within the denominational process for matching potential pastoral candidates. The MIF includes a position description for the Senior Pastor and a narrative of our church and community.

The PNC is now in the process of hearing from interested candidates. We are reviewing credentials, checking biographical information, and watching sermons and worship services. One positive result of the pandemic is that almost all pastoral candidates have a readily accessible body of work online! As we seek to develop a strong pool of candidates, we are reaching out to seminary presidents, deans, and other church “influencers” including pastors with strong denominational connections. As the process moves forward, we intend to narrow the field of possible candidates and will begin visiting churches, as they reopen, to witness these pastors in their congregational setting.

We have created an official webpage for the Pastoral Search on the First Presbyterian website. You may check it out at fpcspartanburg.org/pnc. You will find a copy of the Mission Information Form (MIF) as well as a “map” of the search process developed by our Presbytery. There is a link on this page to email the PNC directly, and we invite your input and communication with us. We are especially interested in having members of our congregation suggest potential candidates’ names to the committee. We are a well-traveled and well-connected congregation. Many of you know a broad variety of outstanding Presbyterian ministers whom we should consider for this position. “Word of mouth” will be crucially important in the development of a strong pool of candidates and in identifying our next Senior Pastor.

The work of the PNC is and must remain highly confidential. We ask that you respect this need for confidentiality. Patience is required by all for this process to work over the months ahead. We are grateful for the many messages that you have sent to us reporting that the PNC is prominent in your daily prayers; we covet the continuation of that prayer relationship. We thank you for the opportunity to serve our church in this way. We ask that you engage in the current life of the church and support Pastor Lewis and our excellent pastoral team during this interim period. May God help us all to discern the best way forward for First Presbyterian Church!

First Presbyterian Church Pastor Nominating Committee
David Beacham, Chair
Bert Barre
Randall Chambers
Molly Colbath
Suzy Cole
Harriet Ike
Whit Kennedy
Craig Kocisko
Carter Smith

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First Presbyterian Church
393 E Main St, Spartanburg, SC 29302
864/583-4531
www.fpcspartanburg.org