Update: 03.9
Thank you church praying alongside the Leadership Team at First Church in our period of transition.
Most transitions include a series of steps and milestones. Our current phase has continually been referred to as a "season of prayer," and that's exactly what has been happening. The Leadership Team has fervently been praying through this process. Leadership Team members and staff have gathered over the last month on Mondays to pray and repeatedly hand this process over to God and His timing.
On March 2, our church gathered for an evening of prayer. Here's the list of things that were prayed for during this time:
- Pray for the staff at First Church as they lead our congregation through this time of transition.
- Pray that our ministries would see fruit and that people would be changed by the power of the gospel.
- Pray that more and more volunteers come forward and serve.
- Pray for unity in our leadership and congregation as we take the next steps in this transition.
- Pray for wisdom for our elders as they refine the responsibilities of the senior pastor position.
- Pray for clarity in communication along every step of this journey.
- Pray for wisdom for the leadership team as they begin to put together a search committee.
- Pray that every detail of this transition will be led by the Holy Spirit and not by human wisdom.
We're inviting you to take part in praying for the things listed above. Prayer is essential to this process, and we want to give this step the weight and time it deserves. As detailed in the prayer points above, our Leadership Team is also in the early stages of forming a search committee.
Some steps in this process move slowly; others might move more quickly, but we're trusting God with every part.
Frequently Asked Questions
Speaking of the Leadership Team, who is on the Leadership Team?
The Leadership Team is a group of people affirmed by the congregation who work alongside the staff to provide leadership and oversight for First Church of God. You can click here to see who is currently on the Leadership Team.
If I have further questions, who can I contact?
If you’d like to contact a staff person, you can email info@fcog.church, and someone will be in touch with you.
If you’d like to contact someone on the leadership team, you can email leadershipteam@fcog.church, and someone will be in touch with you.
Where do we go from here? What happens during this transition?
As you can imagine our Pastors and Elders have already been praying for God’s wisdom and leading. We feel very strongly that God is inviting us into a season of prayer as a church. A season where, as a community, we seek God’s presence in our own lives and the in the life of our church as a whole. As we have been saying, we believe there are beautiful and hopeful days ahead where God will continue to use First Church to be a people who point to Jesus as the one who can heal, redeem, and restore all things.
Who will be leading through the transition? Will we have an “interim Senior Pastor?”
As the Executive Pastor, Rob Bergman will provide leadership through this transition. He will continue to lead the staff in the day-to-day functions of the various ministries of the church. He will also help provide vision and direction for Sunday morning services. While Rob will be preaching more often, we will hear from several of our pastors as well as guest speakers. God’s Word will continue to be proclaimed without reservation in beautiful and creative ways.
We have been blessed with a wonderful, very capable staff and it is clear that the ministries can and will continue without interruption. Please join us in praying for this team as they lead through this time.
Will there be a pastoral search committee?
Yes. And as was mentioned earlier, we feel strongly that God is first calling us into a season of prayer. Because we have a team of staff and volunteers who can lead through this transition, we can resist the urgency of moving too quickly through this process. As next steps begin to be clarified we will keep everyone up-to-date and informed.
Is the church going to change in any way on doctrine or theology?
Nothing about our doctrine or theology has or will change. We will continue to point people to the grace of Jesus and all that was accomplished through his death and resurrection. If you have any questions regarding our doctrine or theology, click here to see our beliefs and statement of faith. You can also click here to see the beliefs of our denomination, the Churches of God.
Through this transition, what can I do?
First and foremost, please join us in prayer. Pray for the leadership of our church. Pray for our volunteer teams. Pray for the various ministries here at First Church. But also pray for our community as a whole. Pray for creative ways for us to continue to be a bright shining light in our community.
Second, jump in and serve. Through this season of transition God is still on the move and we can each find ways to love and serve both inside the walls of our church but also in various ways in the community. Need some ideas? Click here
Is there a sense of how long we will be in this transition period?
As we have mentioned we will move through this prayerfully, thoughtfully, and patiently. We will be sure to continue to share updates regarding the next steps we sense God guiding us towards!