PASTORAL SEARCH CASE STUDY
NEW COVENANT EVANGELICAL PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
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New Covenant EPC in New Castle, Pennsylvania had been without a pastor for almost two years when we got connected with them.
During this time a transitional pastor led them through some healing from COVID and church discord, then got them moving right direction with a refreshed vision and plan.
We love working with churches who have worked with a transitional pastor because it is a positive indicator of a church’s desire to move forward. It’s also puts the church in the best position to attract the right pastor because they have done the hard work of identifying who they are and what they want to do.
Founded in the mid 1990’s, New Covenant has a strong history of sound doctrine, impacting the community, and making a difference in people’s lives. At one point they were about twice the size they are today.
HERE IS WHAT THEY WERE FACING
Like many churches, they took a bit of a beating during the COVID years. Couple that with a some discord and disunity, and the church lost its step. Add the reputation of a rust-belt town hollowed out over the decades by the closing of manufacturers and shifting jobs overseas and you have a challenge.
They had to find a pastor who would align with Western Pennsylvania values, accept the challenges facing rust-belt towns while helping a church get their mojo back.
HERE IS WHAT THEY WANTED TO ACHIEVE
The church was resolute on looking through the windshield rather than the rear-view mirror.
- They created a solid plan that clearly aligned with their vision.
- They also put together teams to execute. All without a permanent pastor.
- They needed a pastor with high-relational skills, the capacity to build ministries and develop leaders while feeling connected to him and his family.
HERE IS WHAT HAPPENED
We contacted more than 250 pastors over nine months. Because New Covenant is a demonational church we had to find candidates who would be able to pass the denomination’s ordination exams. This narrowed the candidate pool considerably. New Castle’s current reputation limited the pool further.
The search challenged us. We prayed, a lot. So did the search committee. We were both convinced that God would provide the right candidate at the right time. He did.
We identified the right candidate in the seventh month of our engagement and they had settled on him a short time after.
He comes to them from outside the denomination and was highly recommended to us. They would not have found this candidate on their own.
HERE IS WHAT THE SEARCH CHAIR SAID
We had been floundering in our search process with no candidates even to interview when The GO Center began working with us.
Through David we were able to be introduced to a number of candidates and eventually to our future pastor. This truly feels like we have found the perfect match for our church. Our new pastor is exactly the man for our congregation and I don’t think that the Lord could have provided a better fit.
In His providence He used The GO Center to bring us together with the precise shepherd that we needed. As chair I had many conversations with David regarding our church and we talked routinely about progress and were able to discuss candidly what we were learning about ourselves and the candidates as we went through the interview process and ongoing issues of church governance and development.
The Lord used this process to bring us together with our new Pastor, by extending our search process through The GO Center far beyond what we were able to do on our own. AMY LOCKWOOD – CHAIR, SEARCH COMMITTEE
We had been floundering in our search process with no candidates even to interview when The GO Center began working with us.
Through David we were able to be introduced to a number of candidates and eventually to our future pastor. This truly feels like we have found the perfect match for our church. Our new pastor is exactly the man for our congregation and I don’t think that the Lord could have provided a better fit.
In His providence He used The GO Center to bring us together with the precise shepherd that we needed. As chair I had many conversations with David regarding our church and we talked routinely about progress and were able to discuss candidly what we were learning about ourselves and the candidates as we went through the interview process and ongoing issues of church governance and development.
The Lord used this process to bring us together with our new Pastor, by extending our search process through The GO Center far beyond what we were able to do on our own. AMY LOCKWOOD – CHAIR, SEARCH COMMITTEE
HERE IS WHAT WE OBSERVED
The faith displayed by the search committee and elders inspired us. So did their attitude when it came to investing money to find and secure the right pastor. They moved forward through this process with conviction. They were sold out on their vision and were not content with resting.
We introduced almost 20 pastors who were in the ballpark of their parameters. Though there were some very good candidates in the mix, they didn’t settle. In time, God brought to them that unique and sometimes frustratingly hard-to-find jigsaw puzzle piece that ties the other pieces together.