Good morning. My name is Andrew Lucas and I am one of WPA’s Elders and as such I have the privilege of serving on the search committee.
We promised you from the beginning of this process that we would provide regular updates and I am here to report on this week’s meeting of the committee.
On Monday the search committee met with our district representative Scott Doggart. Prior to this meeting the search committee had provided our district leadership with both a candidate profile and an initial list of names that had been suggested to the committee for consideration.
During the first part of the meeting Scott walked the search committee through a list of names prepared by district leadership. This list was based on who they felt best fit the profile we had provided them.
After presenting their list of names, Scott spoke to our list of names and he provided us with insights regarding the candidate’s suitability again based on the profile.
At the end of the meeting the committee decided to take a week to prayerfully consider each of the names. We will be meeting again tomorrow night, where we will be refining and shortening the original list of candidates, each of whom we will proceed to contact.
As the members of the search committee prayerfully consider which names will make this initial short list, we are asking you to continue partnering with us in prayer for we covet your prayers. I say continue, because we know that you are doing this already. Many of you have contacted us atsearch@wpa.church and told us how the Lord is leading you to pray, and it is truly inspiring to see how united our church is becoming during this transition period.
- we see this in number of people taking advantage of pre-service prayer, people who know that unless the Lord builds the house the builders labour in vain.
- we see this in the number of people who have joined a small group in the past week, people who understand that Christ wants them to live in community just as He and the Father are in community
- and we also see this in the number of people desiring to take up membership, people who know that WPA isn’t just their church home, it is their church family
Speaking of membership, I also want to remind everyone about the membership information session being held following the service today in the fireside room. Last week we had to bring in extra chairs to fit all the people who attended and since then we have received 22 applications for membership. That is simply outstanding and we are believing that today many more will come to learn what membership at WPA is all about.
There will come a time, near the end of this search process when all members will be asked to decide upon their next Pastor. We are committed to ensuring that everyone who is eligible has the opportunity to participate in the process with us; but it requires a first step from you. If you are not a member, would you consider membership today.
May God Bless You