Good morning.
My name is Julie Martin. I serve on the board here at WPA and, which means I also have the privilege of serving on the search committee.
We promised you from the beginning of this process that we would keep you informed, and today, I am here to give you an update.
Just to remind you that for this search, we did not have a general posting for the position. We built a profile that identifies the characteristics of the “ideal” candidate, based on input we received from you via email and from the search committee itself. After the profile was built, we came up with a list of potential candidates of pastors from across Canada brought to our attention by a few sources within our PAOC district as well as some internal research.
In early October, we advised we were preparing a short list of individuals to contact and we completed that process. Since we are inevitably reaching out to individuals who are currently engaged in fruitful seasons of ministry, it is not surprising that we will, and have, received indications from some of them that they do not feel or sense a potential release from their current ministry seasons. We, as a search committee, actually find it encouraging that that these folks are committed to their seasons of ministry, and it provides firm hope that, as we proceed, God is firmly calling the right individual, His individual, to WPA. We did receive indications of willingness to proceed further and we are heartened by that. In our most recent meeting, we also concluded we would reach out to a few more of these individuals that were on the short list, but who we did not originally contact.
In addition to this part of the process, we do continue to receive possible names as well as unsolicited formal applications. These are also being vetted and if they appear to fit the pastoral profile, we will be considering such individuals further.
We do expect to be at a point in the near future where we will proceed with prayerfully considering each of the shortlisted candidates, whether we initially reached out to them or they reached out to us, in terms of profile fit and the leading of the Spirit, and we are preparing ourselves for the interview and assessment process when that time comes.
As we continue on this journey, please continue to cover us and this entire process in prayer. Feel free to express any concerns with us via email to search@wpa.church
Thank you.