Announcement - January 31, 2016

From the Board of Elders

On Sunday, January 31, 2016, the Board of Elders provided an update on their pastoral search. The following is a summary of that announcement:

In April 2015, the Board was advised by Pastor Mike to begin the process of searching for his successor due to his serious health considerations. According to the C&MA Constitution and our local By-Laws, the decision to hire a Lead or Sr. Pastor is a decision for the Board of Elders. The candidate must receive a minimum 75% vote of the Board of Elders, and then also receive approval from the District Superintendent. And so, the Board of Elders began the work of making that decision. In June 2015, it was announced that Jude St. John would be assuming the role of our Interim Lead Pastor effective August 1. It was a 12-month arrangement which would allow the Board a significant length of time to prayerfully seek and discover the Lord's leading in regard to the long-term leadership need they were facing in light of Mike’s illness.

As the Board deliberated these past six months, the Lord clearly led them to the decision to consider Jude as their first candidate before looking at anyone else. They believed that God, in His sovereignty, had placed Jude among us for such a time as this. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul the apostle calls for prospective church leaders to “be tested first” in order that they might “prove themselves blameless” (1 Timothy 3:10 ESV). The West London elders’ compliance with this biblical instruction took the form of a multi-month interview process which was concluded just before Christmas.

They discovered, to their great delight, that they did not require the full 12 months to come to a decision.

And so, with great pleasure the Board announced that our current Interim Lead Pastor, Jude St. John, received a unanimous vote from the Board of Elders, as well as wholehearted approval of our District Superintendent, and will now assume the position of our Lead Pastor effective February 1st. 

Watch the announcement below: