COG Family -

     On behalf of the Sr. Pastor Search Committee I would like to say Thank You. Thank you for continuing to pray for us as we seek God's will for our Sr. Pastor role. We have heard from several of you directly and know many more are lifting us up in your prayers regularly. As followers of Christ we know prayer is the most important step we can take in obedience to Him.

     In addition I wanted to thank you for taking the time to reflect on and fill out the Church Survey that was sent out in October. We received well above the standard return rate Converge typically sees which demonstrates your engagement in our church and this process. The results from the survey allowed both the Search Team and Cross of Glory Leadership Team to spend a day with the Converge Placement Network Director and having a collaborative session for developing a pastor profile. This meeting helped triangulate the results that were given by the congregation with the vision from the Search/Leadership teams and come up with a pastor profile that will help us find the best matches from candidates for the role.   

     While there were many insights from the survey, one of the more relevant areas was our review of the church life cycle. Results showed Cross of Glory was particularly strong in the areas of Programs, Ministries, Management and Systems but were weaker in areas of Vision, Purpose, Relationships, and Discipleship. This is consistent with churches that are nearing the Empty Nest/Retirement phases of the life cycle and demonstrates our need for a leader who can bring a strong Purpose and Outreach focus back to the church.   

     We have now posted the position on many seminary job boards as well as our own church website. As we receive applications I again ask that you pray with us for continued direction and unity as we seek God's will for our Sr. Pastor role. 

Dear Church,

     The church survey went out last week and quite a few people have already completed it, so to everyone who has done so, I wanted to say thank you.  However, we have heard from a few others that they were not able to get to it this week for a number of reasons so we have decided to leave the survey open for one more week to give you additional time. If you were unable to complete the survey, please use the link below and schedule about 30 minutes to take it before Sunday, Oct. 10. We greatly appreciate your feedback.

     Also, if you have additional feedback that you would like to share with the Search Team apart from what is in the survey, please feel free to reach out to myself or anyone on the Search Team. We welcome your input.  

     On behalf of the Leadership Team and Search Team, I would personally like to thank our church staff and in particular Pastor Mark for all of the extra effort they have put into leading our church through this interim period and through all of the changes that the COVID pandemic has created for our church. It is not lost on us how challenging this time has been on each of our church ministries and so I wanted to reach out and say thank you for all you are doing.

Dan Totman, Church Chair

TAKE THE SURVEY

We are conducting a church survey to get your feedback. We want everyone in the church (16 years old or older) to take this survey so our search team can get the most comprehensive results possible. This survey is available now through October 3.

This Church Effectiveness Survey (CES) has three distinct pieces. The first gives our team a demographic sense of who makes up our church. The second gives our team a snapshot of the spiritual make-up of our congregants. These two pieces not only help our team discuss the type of pastor we need moving forward, but also allows the church to discuss ways we can and needs to grow, even BEFORE a new pastor is called. The third and final piece allows you to speak to a few areas in regards to personal preferences for a new pastor.   

Your response is completely confidential and will be aggregated with all other respondents before anyone from the Search Team will see them. In the experience of the Converge Placement Network they find this to be the most important step in helping search teams build an accurate and representative assessment of what the church is looking for in their next Sr. Pastor so please take the time to fill it out and thoughtfully reflect on the questions. 

TAKE THE SURVEY

Dear Church - Thank you for your continued support and prayers. We sent out an electronic prayer card at the end of August as a reminder to be praying for Cross of Glory, preparing hearts, giving clarity, unity, protection from attacks, and for the Holy Spirit's guidance and power. We have felt your prayers and have heard from many of you as you have lifted us up in prayer. For that we are grateful.

Over the last month we met and began to work with the Converge denomination President and Executive Minister who runs the Converge Rocky Mountain Placement Network. He has been advising us along the process and has divided it into manageable steps for us to follow in our pastoral search. It has been a huge help to know we are on track and have an open ear when guidance is needed. Over the next two weeks we will be completing surveys that will help build the job description and requirements for the Sr. Pastor job posting. The process is long but we know finding the right person is worth the time and effort.

Thank you for praying and for your encouragement as we continue through this process.

Dan Totman, Church Chair