Pastoral Transition

Our senior pastor, Frank Boswell, retired in the winter of 2021 after serving the congregation faithfully for nearly 30 years. We are so grateful to him and his wife Jeannie for being obedient to God’s calling to serve this congregation. We have been blessed in so many ways! As a consequence of Frank’s decision to retire, we have been in the process of looking for a new senior pastor. A pastor search committee was formed in January 2020 that has been meeting regularly for prayer and for addressing the tasks needed to accomplish the search for a new senior pastor. In this web page we would like to share with you some of the Scriptures that have encouraged us, some of our prayer requests, and finally a summary of our tasks and our progress towards completion of these tasks. It is our hope and prayer that God be glorified through this process and we grow closer to Him!

 

Blog

The best way to stay informed as the pastoral transition progresses is this blog!
Look for posts with...

  • clips from the weekend services
  • things you can pray about
  • updates on the search process
  • and thoughts on how we are growing together as a church through this transition

Pastoral Transition Blog

 

Search Team

Jenna
Team Leader

Dawn

Heidi

John

Linda

Brad
Elder

Chas
Elder

J.J.
Elder

Tom
Elder

 

 

FAQ

The questions and answers people have found most helpful.

What is the process the committee is going through?
  • Preparation phase - the search committee solicits input from a congregational survey, gathers input from staff interviews, designs an HVC church profile, prepares a pastor profile and compiles a candidate questionnaire.
  • Securing Candidates - search committee gives the documents they have prepared to McGowan and Associates. McGowan then begins the search for candidates and in addition they vet the candidates suggested by the congregation. Any candidates, that McGowan determines fit the pastoral profile, will be sent to the committee for evaluation.
  • Evaluation - the search committee does an in depth/comprehensive evaluation of the candidates based on the pastoral profile, online sermons, blogs/social media posts and any other information provided by the candidate. The number of candidates is slowly refined to our top selections.
  • Selection - candidates are interviewed and visit the church to preach. A candidate will be selected and be presented to the congregation for the final vote. Prior to the vote, the committee will call for a time of prayer and fasting so that the congregation and staff as a whole can prepare our hearts for the vote and for the coming of a new lead pastor.
What did you do with the possible candidate names submitted through the survey?

All possible candidates are reviewed in the same way. Each name is first sent to our search consultant, Charles McGowan, and his team begins the vetting process by determining if the man has the education and experience necessary to work as an ordained minister in our Presbytery. If the man is qualified, McGowan and Associates will also determine whether the man is interested in exploring the opening we have and whether or not he seems to be generally aligned with our mission, vision, and values. If McGowan senses the candidate might be a good fit for Hunt Valley Church, he will be entered into the pool of candidates that the Search Committee will further evaluate.

When does the pastor go through the presbytery - before or after we vote on him as a congregation?

After our congregation elects a new pastor and he accepts the terms of the call, the congregation will also designate one or more commissioners to present the call before the Presbytery. The man we elect to be our new pastor must be examined and approved by our Presbytery and, if necessary, released for transfer by his present Presbytery from his current pastorate.

Why not a female candidate?

Hunt Valley Church affirms that all positions of leadership and service in the church are open to women, except for the authoritative teaching and disciplinary roles which the Scriptures reserve for men. In a Presbyterian system of government, these roles are embodied solely in the offices of minister/pastor and elder (also called teaching elder and ruling elder). Aside from these functions, women are encouraged to seek out all avenues of leadership and service, including teaching the Scriptures, leading small groups, serving in various church leadership groups, participating in diaconal ministry, exercising leadership roles in public worship, and in other ways exercising their gifts for the greater benefit of the body of Christ.

How did the Pastoral Search Committee use the congregational survey?

There were 328 members/regular attenders that completed the survey. Each member of the PSC read every answer and we spent time praying and white boarding the values and ideas from all the surveys. These results coupled with HVC staff interview input helped us compile the pastoral profile that we will use solicit candidates for the Lead Pastor position.