Many of you were present last weekend when I announced that Jeannette Cochran would be rejoining our staff team as Executive Pastor beginning in September this year.  But I realize that news has created some really good questions.  Allow me to clarify things a bit.

In late 2011 Jeannette was serving as our Executive Pastor, a role for which she was well suited, but which she was prevented from focusing on due to a number of factors.

• We had recently lost our bookkeeper, so Jeannette was handling all the day-to-day functions of that position.
• We had moved into our building full time, and the demands of overseeing the facility were more than a volunteer could handle, so Jeannette added that to her responsibilities.
• And for several years we’d recognized that our ability to help people connect into the life of the local church was crucial.  However, we didn’t have a staff person designated to lead that area of ministry.  So Jeannette took on the role of providing leadership for our Converge Groups, our Connection Point, Welcome Team, and other related areas.

What most people did NOT realize is that NONE of these responsibilities were part of Jeannette’s job as Executive Pastor.  But because they had to get done, she courageously stepped up, as good leaders do, and said, “I’ll get it done.”

Fast forward to today.  We have highly talented, gifted, and passionate people working in our bookkeeping office (Jim Mozingo), our facilities management office (Steve Lanham), and our Connections ministry (Warren Neverson).  We are tremendously blessed to have each of them!  But not one of them is doing anything that relates to the role of an Executive Pastor.  That area has been vacant except for the places where I’ve stepped in over the last eighteen months.

So what Jeannette will be doing when she returns is what she was originally hired to do many years ago, but was hindered from doing because of our staff structure at the time.

If you’re interested in what an Executive Pastor does, please click this link for a copy of Jeannette’s position description.  And I would ask all of you to be praying for her as she resumes this crucial role on our staff team.  If you have a chance, ask her how it’s going, and encourage her along the way.  We have some very exciting days ahead, and we need all of our leaders to be leading with courage, wisdom, and the direction of the Holy Spirit!

Thank you for taking time to read and understand this information.  I look forward to seeing you this weekend!

-Pastor Mark

P.S. We’re going to make our goal of 500 backpacks for the giveaway this year!  Thank you to each of you who helped make this dream a reality!  We’re providing real, tangible hope for hundreds of children in our community!