Thank you for your interest in the Pastoral Search Committee’s updates and search for our next Lead Pastor.  

As the committee continues its work, we’ve developed a consistent process for connecting with candidates:

Step 1:  Committee reviews application materials and discerns whether to move forward.

Step 2:  A phone call with initial questions with 2 members of the search committee

Step 3:  A zoom interview with 3-4 members of the search committee (recorded with the candidate’s permission for the rest of the committee to review

Step 4:  A second zoom interview with the full committee.  

Step 5:  Discussion of presenting a candidate for congregational consideration, possibly a weekend visit from the candidate.

The current applicants being considered are in stages of the “Zoom interview” phase, and we will be mutually discerning whether we’d like to move forward as we connect with them.  At this time, we are not able to share further details due to confidentiality.  We know that the vagueness may cause some frustration and we ask for your patience and prayers as the process moves forward.

The position remains open and the posting remains active.  We invite you to continue to pray that candidates would apply as they feel led and share the posting with your networks, even as we are in active conversation with some of the candidates who have already applied.  

Candidates thus far have had many questions about our inclusion statement, our congregation's stance on human sexuality, and our relationship with the Evangelical Covenant Church.  The committee is committed to honest, transparent dialogue regarding our rich Covenant history, the development of our inclusion statement in 2021, and our current listening sessions and discernment regarding the path forward.  It has been a unique dynamic to seek new leadership in a season where our congregation is still discerning its future within the ECC.  

If you are wondering how you can help find our next pastor, here are 3 ideas:

1. Participate in Listening Sessions and make your voice heard in the dialogue about FCC’s next steps.  The more information we have about where the congregation stands, the clearer picture we can present to our candidates.

2. Continue to spread the word about our job opening in your networks.  You never know how God will use a mention of this to reach a candidate who might be a wonderful fit!

3. Please pray faithfully–for our committee’s discernment, for our current and future candidates, and for God’s continued leading in the process.

As always, please feel free to reach out to any of us with questions, ideas, or feedback.  The committee consists of Aaron Nosich, our chair, Chris Jordan, Isabel Patrick Pacheco, Larry Wicks, Janet Hagfors, Mandy Griffin, Deb Berger, Bryan Norris, and Paige Mann.

Thank you!

Sunday, November 2nd

Updates from the Pastoral Search Committee

Good morning! I am Isabel Patrick Pacheco, speaking on behalf of the Pastoral Search Committee this morning to share updates on this journey.

Our lead pastor job description has been live since September, and we are excited to review resumes of the applicants thus far. Our Committee will be meeting on November 17th next to formally review the resumes that have come in, and what next steps, including interviews, will hold. 

That being said, the position is still live on a number of boards that we hope will capture a diverse candidate pool, and we are still open to more applications before we begin scheduling interviews. Please feel free to share the hiring information from the FCC website under “jobs,” or reach out to a PSC member for more information.

There's more you can do still, too! The results of the congregational input survey have been meaningful for our team to sift through and will continue to anchor us as we consider what questions we are asking candidates in the interview process. We ask for your continued prayers for our committee and church family, especially in areas of discernment as we take these next steps, and for prayers over the candidates and whatever path they are walking in this time – that if it leads to us, God willing, we are excited to welcome and learn more about them. 

You can keep up with our committee's progress anytime by visiting the Pastor Search Committee Updates page under the JOBS tab on our website, which will include updates like this.

On behalf of the Pastoral Search Committee — Paige Mann, Chris Jordan, Mandy Griffin, Bryan Norris, Aaron Nosich, Larry Wicks, Janet Hagfors, Deb Berger, and myself — thank you for your encouragement, prayers, and hopes in season.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you have any questions or thoughts to share. Thank you!

Last month, Paige gave a great overview of the feedback we received from you — thank you again for taking the time to share your insights. That input is shaping the way our committee approaches this next phase: reviewing applicants.

It’s exciting that our Lead Pastor position has now been live for just under a month. It’s currently posted on our denomination’s website, our church website, and with three local seminaries — Luther Seminary, United Seminary, and Bethel Seminary. In the coming weeks, we’ll be expanding that reach even further to invite a more diverse pool of candidates.

The good news is — we already have applicants! We’re continuing to receive them, and we’re grateful for your ongoing prayers and support. One of the most powerful ways you can help is by sharing that First Covenant is hiring for a Lead Pastor — whether that’s through a conversation, an email, or a quick post on social media. You never know who God might be nudging through you.
Our committee will meet again on Monday, October 13, when we’ll begin developing questions for the candidates we’d like to move forward with.

You can keep up with our progress anytime by visiting the Pastor Search Committee Updates page under the JOBS tab on our website.

As you continue to pray for this process, please join us in asking that God would bring the right candidates to apply — and give our team wisdom and discernment as we review and eventually begin interviewing them.