Lead Pastor Search Update

From Chris Yarco, Lead Executive

As we journey toward the decision for the senior leadership of the Willamette Campus, we have been taking this opportunity to share with you pieces of the history of our church and how they’ve informed our current structure. For some, it may be a walk down memory lane, for others it may be interesting and inspiring, and for all, I imagine it’s secondary to curiosity around what the future of our church will look like. I love that together we get to walk toward that future, knowing that God is fully in control and that we get to submit in confidence to Him.

Our elders Kevin Marple, Joe Villa, Mike Grubb and Rich Miller and I are working closely together to seek to ensure that we have capable and committed leadership to join the team to help pastor, shepherd, teach, and lead the Willamette campus. We are very excited about the progress and we look forward to sharing more with you in the very near future. You can count on hearing more in the early parts of October as we first share with our leaders of community life and then more broadly share with the body those plans and decisions. Thank you for your prayers and your participation in ministry which has been such an encouragement to the staff and leaders.

Our ”What’s Next” series commences Sunday, September 17th and in this series we will look at the questions we all ask ourselves when it comes to what’s next for our lives. Often the answers to these questions change depending on what season of life we are in. No matter where we are in our relationship with God, God has something for us to step into now. From the pulpit will be Jon Furman to kick us off, joining him will be members of our teaching team including Grant, Marty, and Megan, and we welcome back John Rosensteel who recently blessed us. We are excited to welcome first timer Nijay Gupta (author, theologian, and New Testament Scholar) on October 15th for a very special message.

Please continue to pray, to invite your friends to church, and to ensure that you’re circling up with others in healthy community. If you’re looking for community, Rooted is a perfect way to start. If you’re already part of a home, men’s or women’s community, we pray that God meets you in new ways during this season. And if you have questions, need prayer, or want to get circled up, please reach out. We love you and are here for you.

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. In Him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22

Chris Yarco