What Happens Next?

It has now been more than two months since I officially became your Transitional Pastor. I am slowly putting names and faces together. I have visited with some of you in your homes. We have shared in worship together. I have participated in meetings with more than a few of you. And through it all I am still very excited to be here with you.

In the coming months we will begin to move through a process which will eventually lead to the calling of your next Settled Pastor. At this point there is no firm time-line for all of this, but it might be helpful to lay out some of what you can anticipate along the way. If you ever have any questions about this process, please don’t hesitate to ask.

Sometime this fall we will engage in a series of activities and events designed to help us do the visioning and discernment work which will assist the Search Committee with their work later on. There will be opportunities for Bible Study, prayer, small group discussions and an all-church retreat. All of this will provide us with a clearer picture of who we are as a congregation, who we believe God is calling us to become, and some of the specific ministries which we believe God is calling us to engage in. I anticipate that this will take approximately four to six months.

After this basic work is finished, a Search Committee will be formed. They will receive guidance and assistance from the UCC Conference Office regarding how to go about their work. One of their first tasks will be to use the information from the discernment process to create a Congregational Profile. This extensive document describes a wide variety of aspects of our congregation, including the qualities we are looking for in a candidate for the Settled Pastor. It is what potential candidates see as their first introduction to who we are. This part of the process could take another four to six months.

Once the Congregational Profile has been finalized and submitted to the Conference Office, the position is advertised through various UCC channels and the flood of applicants begins to pour in. The Search Committee will receive Relocation Profiles from individuals interested in being considered for the position. The Search Committee will develop a procedure for sifting through the Profiles they receive, determining which ones they want to pursue further. There will be emails exchanged, phone calls made, references checked, lots of prayer, Skype interviews and eventually in-person interviews. At the end of this extensive endeavor a candidate will rise to the top who the Search Committee believes is the person most qualified to come and share ministry with you as your new Settled Pastor. That person will be presented to the whole congregation for your consideration and every member will have an opportunity to participate in the final decision. If both the congregation and the candidate agree that this is the decision which they feel God is calling them to make, then an official offer is extended, inviting the person to become your new Settled Pastor. This part of the process can take another four to six months, with an additional two month for your newly called Pastor to go home, resign from their current position, close out their ministry, pack up their life and move to Hillsboro.

So, as you can see, this is a complex and involved process that will not happen quickly. And it will happen. This congregation is full of gifted and committed leaders. Excellent support is available from the Conference Office. I have experience in leading congregations through this process. And, most importantly, God will be actively present with us every step of the way. Rest assured that as we move through this experience in the coming months, there will be ample opportunities for each of you to contribute your thoughts, your ideas, your hopes, your dreams and your participation. Watch for ways in which you can become actively involved. And continue to hold the congregation and the leaders in prayer.


- Pastor Roger

(keeping my feet firmly planted in the flow)