Foothills Church Family,
On Sunday, December 23, Pastor Nate announced he will resign his position as Lead Pastor at Foothills. He will be taking a position with the North American Mission Board as the State Director of Missions for Indiana Baptists. His last Sunday with us will be January 6, 2019. An open house will be held that Sunday from 2-5pm for the church family to drop by and express their prayers and appreciation to Nate and his family. The open house will be at Gary and Sherri Plooster’s home, 11820 S. Warpaint Dr., Phoenix, 85044.
As we process this transition, many of you will ask “Now what?” Below you’ll find our plan moving forward for the next five months. It’s detailed and important information. Of course, we are available to you if you have any questions or concerns.
Finally, let’s continue to spend time with God daily in the word and prayer, and meditate on how the Father may want to use this moment in the life of Foothills to help us grow in our love for Him, for one another, and for the people around us who need Jesus.
Your Pastors – Craig Anderson, Cody Bishop, David Gantenbein, Brian McCoy
Foothills Transition Plan
1. Preaching/Pastoral Care – The Elders will continue with pastoral care; immediate preaching will fall to Brian McCoy, Jan. 13, 20, 27. The Elders will work to secure an Interim Pastor for Preaching. We are identifying qualifications and candidates for that role. Target start date would be February 3. The Elders are working with Stewardship on budgeting for this need.
2. Elder/Deacon Nomination – The process will continue per our by laws. Nominations close on January 27. As a matter of priority, the Elders will present lay elder candidates to the congregation in our March 3rd Family Meeting. The Congregation will then have 2 weeks, per the by laws, to address their questions, concerns to the candidates. Lay Elder candidates will have their testimonies published online, and will be available for Q&A on a TBD day/time. Vote for affirmation of the candidates will be in a special called Family Meeting, Sunday, March 31st. Once the congregation has affirmed lay elders to join our vocational elders, the Elder Team will then determine the best time to present Deacon candidates to the congregation for consideration and affirmation.
3. Pastor Search Team (PST) – Between April 1 and May 1, per the by laws, the Elder Team will enlist a PST for nomination to the congregation. The vote for affirmation by the congregation will be during the regular Family Meeting, Sunday, May 19. The nominated team will be announced in worship and their names published in our email and programs for no less than 2 weeks prior to the May 19 Family Meeting.
Elder News – Look for this information and and other future communications from the Elders on this dedicated page on our website.
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Requests from the Pastors during our transition
1. Join us for a special Prayer Night on Wednesday, January 9, at 6:30pm. We are planning more opportunities for prayer as a congregation.
2. Pray for us as we seek to be the Pastors/Elders God prescribes in 1 Peter 5:1-5. Specifically, pray we will
a. Lead with integrity
b. Preach and live the truth of God’s word before you
c. Pray for you and your family
d. Be available to you
e. Keep you accountable
f. Be approachable, and
g. Point you to Jesus, our Chief Shepherd.
3. Abide in and trust Jesus; love one another; continue to carry out our mission to engage people to put Jesus first for the sake of others.
