What Happens Next?
After Pastor Bryce informed the session of his desire to seek a new call, the elders created a Pastoral Search Committee to spearhead the effort to hire a new assistant pastor. In our polity, assistant pastors are called by the session, while associate and senior pastors are called by the congregation. Given the timing of Bryce’s departure, calling an assistant pastor to replace Bryce seems like the most prudent course of action to the session. And given that the session believes the potential for growth in the church is strong, we are exploring the possibility of hiring a second assistant pastor to join the team, if resources will allow this, as we want to have the right people in place to help shepherd Redeemer into the future. Whether one or two, our intention would be to eventually place a new assistant pastor before the congregation for election as an associate pastor after at least one year of service.
The Pastoral Search Committee began their work in earnest in March. A number of contacts have already been made and applications are beginning to be collected. We plan to collect applications for the next several weeks and will begin interviewing applicants soon, in hopes of having one or two finalists sometime after Easter. We’ll bring them to Redeemer for a visit and, if all goes well, expect any new pastor to move to Austin this summer and begin his work by the first of September.
As the search proceeds, we’ll provide regular updates to the congregation. Please pray for the committee and for the men who are considering Redeemer. We are confident God is already at work preparing the right pastor (or pastors) to join us and help lead us into the future.