An Associate Pastor and The Future of our Mission

April 29th, 2021

You can be a part of what God is doing here.

We have an important mission in our community. We have been placed here to reach people with the good news of Jesus, to teach them how to be disciples, to mend the hurting both spiritually and physically, and to send them out to do the same. It's a mission about multiplication, healing, transformation, and change in our community. It's about making Wyoming County a place that vibrantly reflects the love and kingdom of God, and I know you want to be a part of it.

The Board and I have been having a lot of hard conversations lately. We sense that the next step in our mission requires a full-time Associate Pastor. The problem is that despite historically having an Associate Pastor, the money simply isn't there right now. When we went online-only during the peak of COVID, our giving dropped. Coming back in person has made a difference, but it has not fully recovered (check out the chart below).

We have been remarkably effective at keeping our costs down, so our accounts are doing just fine and the bills are getting paid, and we managed to save close to a year's salary but our financial future is still uncertain.

This brings me to why I am writing this note. The Board and I have a big decision to make and we wanted to bring you in on it --First, to be in prayer for our discernment, and second to consider making a financial commitment toward the important mission we have in our community.

Our decision is whether we hire an Associate Pastor, trusting that God will provide if the buffer in our checking account runs out, or to pause the Associate Pastor search until we are in a different financial situation.

Both options have costs.

The cost of not hiring is already being felt. Currently, we have no teen ministry, no young adult ministry, and no leadership capacity to add further community connections that minister to families and young singles. I am also personally finding myself over-extending the limits of what I can sustain as a solo pastor. Our church is best able to fulfill its mission at this time with a pastoral staff of two.

The cost of hiring is primarily financial. We would be bringing someone on before knowing fully how it will fit in the budget. This would be a step of faith, both on our part and on the part of any potential candidate, as we trust in God to supply our need.

This is where you come in. A big part of how you participate in the mission of Valley Chapel is through your regular prayer and giving. I have seen many amazing feats of financial generosity at Valley Chapel, so I have a great deal of confidence in the Holy Spirit's ability to empower our giving and, therefore, our mission. God has provided in the past and can provide again, and we want to act as faithful financial stewards.

I'm reaching out to keep you in the loop and let you know that you have an opportunity to be a part of God's plan for our church. Your prayer and financial contributions will be a part of making a real, tangible difference in the lives of individuals in Wyoming County and our area as a whole. We have a lot of confidence in the transforming power of the Spirit of God.

You are now "in the loop." Please don't hesitate to reach out with any questions you may have. Thank you for your prayer as we face this big decision. I trust that the Spirit of the Living God is moving powerfully at Valley Chapel right now, and I hope you are as excited to be a part of it as I am.