What’s with all the change?
To keep everyone fully up-to-date, we will be sending emails and posting updates to this page on a regular basis. Check it out for the very latest.
August 20, 2010
YOUTH MINISTRY TEAM EXPLODES THIS FALL
Last month we said our tender and heartfelt goodbyes to Michael, Mandy and their family. This month we want to introduce you to the terrific interim team that will bring strong leadership to our youth ministries while we aggressively search for a new High School/College Pastor.
We are excited to announce that Pastor Jason will assume interim oversight of all youth ministries from Middle School through College. He will be assisted by our two terrific ministry assistants, Ashley and Kerri. It is our goal to maintain our current format and programs in Middle and High School while bringing in additional people to our team.
At the heart of our programming, of course, is quality teaching. To meet that goal Jake Mulder will teach High School twice a month, Scott McCloughan will teach once a month and Jason and others will rotate the fourth week. Jason and Peter Jenkins will have significant “hands on” teaching and leadership with Middle School and Paul Jennings will crank up our College ministry.
Further details and other positions are shown in the diagram below. Pray with us as this team kicks off our 2010-2011 season with passion, energy and great expectations!
Click here for a printable .pdf of the above org chart.
June 25, 2010
In the last few weeks, there has been a lot of change communicated with our RBC family, and we as elders wanted to make sure that you knew you can talk to us anytime about questions and concerns you have regarding any aspect of our church life.
We also know that in a large church body like ours, the old game of “Telephone” can occur, where what was originally shared ends up sounding completely different by the time it has been passed along from person to person. Here’s a short recap of some of what Pastor Larry has shared over the past few weeks, along with a few reminders.
1. WE’VE BEEN PRAYING ABOUT SOME OF THESE CHANGES FOR A LONG TIME.
For almost two years, we as an elder team have been asking the Lord for vision and wisdom for “what’s next for RBC.” Pastor Larry invited us, along with the entire congregation, into a search for what God had for us in this next phase of our history. We asked questions in surveys… we read books together… we brought in outside consultants and advisors… we prayed – a lot… and we waited on the Lord. Most of what is happening now is the result of much praying, seeking, and waiting on Him for answers.
2. WE BELIEVE MORE PEOPLE WILL HEAR ABOUT CHRIST AND EXPERIENCE HIS LOVE
IF WE CAN MULTIPLY OUR MESSAGE AND IMPROVE OUR DELIVERY BY HAVING
ADDITIONAL CAMPUSES OR SITES OF OUR FELLOWSHIP.
We know who we are – a regional church. Because of our size, we’re able to impact not just our village, but the region. However, people without a church home who live more than 20 minutes away see the distance as a barrier to visiting or getting involved. We also know that we’re different. We have a distinctive DNA… we’re not like any other church. Uniqueness is not a badge of pride, but rather a gift from God. We believe we have something unique to share with those who don’t have a church home or those seeking a different kind of church experience. In looking at the region, the Portage/Mattawan/Schoolcraft area seems to us like an area that could benefit from a church with our style, beliefs and distinctives, and we have people in our congregation that are excited about helping lead this new opportunity.
3. WE’RE NOT “PLANTING” A NEW CHURCH OR SEPARATING OUR CONGREGATION –
WE PLAN TO STILL BE ONE BODY.
The plan we believe God has led us to follow is to have one church with multiple locations to help people encounter God, embrace other believers, and engage the culture. We’ll have one staff… one budget… one elder team… one congregation… one focus… just multiple delivery points. We’ll start with one site other than Richland and see where it goes from there.
Having multiple “sites” of a church isn’t new, although we don’t have a lot of
examples in our immediate area. The site leadership team is studying models from Grand Rapids; Detroit; Elkhart, IN and Wheaton, IL to learn from them and make suggestions. We’re also talking to our neighbors at Radiant Church who already tried this and decided it wasn’t for them at this time.
4. MICHAEL AND MANDY FERNIHOUGH ARE LEAVING WITH OUR BLESSING
TO START A NEW CHAPTER IN THEIR MINISTRY SERVICE.
It’s hard to believe that Michael and Mandy have been with us for almost six years. They came to Richland with Mandy ready to deliver their first child, and now have four beautiful kids. God has done a wonderful work in the lives of hundreds of teens through their ministry and sacrifice. And that same God has placed a passion in Michael to further develop his ministry to young families like theirs through the regular teaching of the Word and leading music, and they are excited about this new harvest field for them in Colorado Springs. Remember, too, that this is where Michael and Mandy left to come to Richland, so they have some sense of where they are headed.
We will miss them deeply, but know God has ordained this move at this time for them – and for us. This wasn’t a surprise to the leadership team; Pastor Larry and Bob have been walking with Michael through this decision and helping as a source of counsel. We’ll diligently pray and seek who God will bring to our family to lead the Senior High and College ministry outreach, and we’ll work to put solid interim plans in place until He provides this new leader. We plan to honor Michael and Mandy in our services on July 25th, and they will be leaving for Colorado shortly thereafter. We also are supporting them for a few months financially (like missionary support) to help the new church in Colorado take care of their needs. We will need many of you to increase your giving to the church to make our continued support of them possible.
5. JOHN AND VALERIE ARE ALSO LEAVING TO START A NEW CHAPTER IN THEIR MINISTRY SERVICE.
OK… this one is a bit more sudden and unexpected, but we embrace John and Valerie in their decision to return to Texas to serve in another church. A year and a half seems like we’re just getting to know them, but with their first newborn and the tug of family on the heartstrings along way away, we understand. In the short time they have been with us, their fingerprints in helping reshape our Children’s ministry are unmistakable, and they have positioned our church well for the next leader – whoever that will be. We’re just wrapping our arms and hearts around this news, and we’ll more than likely work with the same ministry search organization that helped lead us to John and Valerie. More to come…
6. WE ARE EXCITED ABOUT USING JASON’S GIFTS IN SOME NEW AND FRESH WAYS,
BUT HE IS STILL OUR MIDDLE SCHOOL PASTOR.
With Jason and Sarah living in south Portage, they are the natural candidates to help lead this new site. More than that, however, is Jason’s passion and calling to engage the culture in his neighborhood and have a nearby place for them to connect. Jason also desires to further develop his teaching gifts to adults and young families in the years to come, and we are committed to assist with that process. We’re not exactly sure what this will look like on a week-to-week basis, but both Jason and the elder team know that Jason’s primary responsibility is to oversee the Middle School ministry, and that the hub for that ministry will be at the Richland campus. His office will still be here… he will be a part of all the staff meetings here… he is accountable to the elder team here… and he’ll continue to develop younger leaders (interns, part-time staff, volunteers, etc), to love on our middle-schoolers and teach and live out the Word of God with them.
7. WE STILL ARE SEEKING TO ADD A PERSON TO OUR PASTORAL STAFF TO HELP US
EMBRACE PEOPLE DEEPER AND MORE INTENTIONALLY.
We have been seeking the right person to add to our pastoral team to help lead our small group ministries and other ways we seek to embrace people. We took the first step by adding Pastor Rob to our team a couple years ago to lead our Response Ministries. Due to the economy challenges, we put the addition of this position on hold for a season. It is now on the front burner of priorities for us, and we have evaluated candidates with the help of Shepherd’s Staff, a search firm that helps churches like ours. As always, we are most committed to finding the right person as opposed to just “filling an open position.”
After several interviews with candidates that Shepherd’s Staff sent to us, it appears that God is directing us clearly to one particular candidate, whom I believe will be the right person. Please pray that God would allow us to have the right person here before this fall, so that we can begin working seriously and intentionally on the disciple-making process.
8. WE BELIEVE THAT A NEW NAME WILL BETTER REFLECT THE IDENTITY OF WHO WE
REALLY ARE TO AN OUTSIDE WORLD THAT IS WATCHING AND EVALUATING.
Although the name Richland Bible Church means something significant to us, it doesn’t mean much to people outside our church. We desire to have people who need to Encounter God have the opportunity to do so and feel comfortable in visiting and experiencing the Embrace of His people. With the plans to have multiple sites of our congregation, having a name that is based primarily on geography or location doesn’t help us present the essence of who we are.
So who is a name for – the people already a part of this fellowship, or those who have yet to experience it? We’re choosing to err on the side of reaching out to people, but we are desirous of choosing a new name that accurately reflects the DNA of who we are. We’ve enlisted some outside help to assist us, along with empowering a team of our members to make recommendations, with the hope of having a decision to launch this fall.
9. WE HAVE THREE ELDER CANDIDATES TO ADD TO OUR TEAM TO HELP LEAD OUR BODY,
AND WE ARE THANKFUL TO GOD FOR EACH OF THEM.
The following have been affirmed by the elder team and the next step is congregational affirmation, which will happen on a Sunday morning before fall: Adam Hopkins, Stan McDonald and John Vandervoort
10. DO WE HAVE ALL THE ANSWERS? NO!
If we had all the answers, we wouldn’t need God! We really do trust the Lord with all our heart… we really do desire to not lean on our own understanding… we really do attempt to acknowledge Him in everything we do… and we trust Him to direct our paths. Please pray for us as we seek to listen to His voice and follow Him. If you have questions or suggestions, please feel free to chat with one of us at anytime.
The Elders of Richland Bible Church
Bill Dornbos Gary Levene John Deverdis
Jeff Miller Daniel Wallace Dave Humphries
Pastor Larry Kiser
