Pastoral Search & Transition
A church and a people for Boulder and beyond.
“We are so thankful that Jesus is, and will always be, the head of the church.” —ECO
As we search for our next pastor and head of staff, our Presbytery and the ECO denomination are key advocates for us in this process and have provided the ECO Transition Guide. They are helping us move more quickly but thoughtfully and prayerfully. The process is briefly listed below:
Pastoral Search & Transition Process
Transitional leadership installed
Randy Bare has been here since July 2021. He is an ECO-certified transitional pastor who is specially trained to help churches during periods of transition.
Assess the current & future mission of the Church
At their May 10, 2022, meeting, Session appointed six covenant partners who then submitted their Mission Study Report to Session on Aug 9, 2022.
Selection & formation of the Pastoral Nominating Committee (PNC)
Session discerned who God is calling to serve on the PNC. The PNC was elected by the congregation on Nov 20, 2022. View the update from the PNC during worship on Mar 5, 2023.
PNC creates profiles for the role and the church on the ECO website
A document was created to describe our church and our community based on our Mission Study Report. It also presents the requirements and core competencies that we seek in our Lead Pastor (Head of Staff). On Mar 21 the Opportunity Profile was sent to over 9,000 pastors and ministry leaders around the country. Members of the PNC gave an update to the congregation during worship on Apr 2, 2023.
PNC searches for and selects a pastor
Multiple pastors from across the United States have applied and our PNC is hard at work assessing these candidates with the goal of identifying 2-3 finalists in the coming weeks. Guided by the framework we established, the PNC reviews background material about the candidates and watches multiple videos of them preaching. This work will also include extended Zoom interviews and in-person visits to Boulder and Grace Commons for the finalists. God-willing later this summer we hope to present our choice to the full congregation. The PNC gave an update to the congregation on May 7, 2023, June 25, 2023. Aug 6, 2023, Aug 13, 2023 & Aug 20, 2023.
The PNC presents the candidate to the congregation, the candidate preaches at a worship service and the congregation votes on the new pastor
Congregation welcomes new pastor
PNC and session onboard new pastor
ECO's Transition Guide provides more detail for each step in the process. Please be in prayer for the entire process.
ECO Transition Guide
