Announcement: Staffing Changes

We've been working through major reviews of how our church is staffed and organized since early 2010.  We realized we were operating based on a model that no longer fit our church's size and composition. Then this summer we have been working to address several resignations of team members, notably Children's Minister and the Groups Minister.

After much discussion between staff, elders, and church members we have a few decisions to announce that will greatly help our church become more effective at our mission of glorifying God by connecting people from all walks of life to life in Christ!!

Alfred Turley is now our Executive Pastor

Alfred now officially oversees all of the day-to-day operations of our church and staff.  He is tasked with executing and coordinating the vision & mission of the church.  Personally, this helps me to remain focused on strategic vision, preaching & teaching, and seeking God in prayer.  For the rest of our staff, Alfred becomes their chief advocate, working to resolve challenges, maximize effectiveness & efficiency, and get things done.  In a church our size, it had become very difficult for me on a day-to-day basis to supervise & assist our staff, but also to coordinate the various "moving parts" between multiple departments and campuses.  This approach underserved our staff and overburdened me (see Acts 6:1-7 for a biblical example).  We were not operating very efficiently or effectively to advance God's mission or serve our church.  This move puts our church and our staff in a better position to fulfill our mission.

Alfred is a man of God who seeks God daily.  He is a servant leader who loves Jesus radically.  I believe our church, our staff, our mission, and God's kingdom will be well served with Alfred as our Executive Pastor.

Brian Holt will move from Technical Director to Director of Small Groups

For some time Brian has been sensing God calling him out of technical work and into ministry/pastoral roles where he can help disciple and develop people to live for Christ.  For some time, myself and others have been impressed with Brian's leadership capacity, ability to empower volunteers, and his desire to learn.

When the Groups position opened, Brian expressed his interest.  We have seen Brian do a great job of recruiting and equipping people to serve and serve with passion, excitement, and excellence in our technical areas.  As several people prayed about this and discussed it, we began to sense that Brian had the call from God, the passion for God's work at Rock Bridge, and the strengths needed in our Groups ministry.

Additionally, our church was facing a lengthy and expensive search process to locate a Groups Pastor at a point in time when we do not the luxury of time and money.  We need strong leadership over groups now. Brian is a strong leader who loves helping people experience God through ministry & community.  We need someone who is 100% committed to Jesus and Rock Bridge; Brian's commitment is probably more like 120%!!

However, because of the importance of our technical ministry to our church's mission, Brian will not begin his new role until his replacement is hired onto our team.

Please pray for our staff.  None of us has ever been a part of church that has grown this rapidly or seen such amazing life change.  We know it is all God and we love the journey with Him.  Our inexperience keeps us dependent on God and protects us from pride & arrogance.  We know we don't know ... so we seek to know Him, live for Him, and serve Him by the power He so graciously gives.