As many of you know, we have been looking to hire two pastoral staff positions: the Student Pastor and the Worship Pastor. I’ve been praying for both of our open positions that God would provide the right person in the right position at the right time.

Here are some updates.

Let’s start with the Student Pastor: We’ve been interviewing and interacting with several different candidates and proceeded to invite two of them to come and interact with some of the student ministry. They had the opportunity to meet with some mentors, students, and staff to see if there would be a good church fit.

One of those candidates rose to the top. His name is Kyle Yocum, and he and his wife Nicki have visited The Ridge twice recently to check us out and give us an opportunity to get to know them and their potential ministry fit. On those visits, we made sure to give them access so they could interact with volunteers and students, and Kyle taught on a Sunday in Ridge 56 as well as in middle school and high school ministries.

Last week we offered Kyle the position, and he has accepted. He hopes to start sometime in April, and we’re working out details on what this looks like for him, his wife Nicki, and their two kids Chloe and Cason. Be on the lookout for ways to welcome them and get to know them, but for now, pray for a smooth transition.

[SIDE NOTE: Huge shout out to Graham Boyd, Hannah Banister, Tim Perkins, and all of the student ministry volunteers for the work they've done to keep things moving in the student ministry. Talk about whatever it takes! Way to go!]

We have also been diligently pursuing candidates for our Worship Pastor position.

We've had sixteen guest worship leaders over the past eleven months, and many of them have returned multiple times to help out. Out of those sixteen guests, we've had several of them as Worship Pastor candidates that we've been interviewing and interacting with at various levels and places in the interview process.

I don't know about you, but one of the things that I've learned over the past year is that worship (responding to God and giving Him our praise) is as much a reflection of my heart as it is a reflection of who is on the stage. Often my thoughts drift to what I like and don't like when it comes to a worship leader, and while at times that might be true, the purpose on a week in and week out basis is to focus on Jesus. It's been a really healthy thing to have multiple voices and styles of people to help shift my focus.

I've also been reminded of how important the Worship Pastor position really is to our team. Hannah Banister, Becca Malburg, Kim Taylor, Ginger Jordan, and others have been working really hard behind the scenes, and countless volunteers (really, I tried to count and my fingers don't go that high!) have stepped up to keep things going and to add their gifts to the mix. I'm so grateful for each of you, and also expectantly praying for the right person at the right time. We are still interviewing and in the process with Worship Pastor candidates, and I'm hopeful that God will provide soon.

Keep praying, and if you ever have questions about where we are in the process, please don't hesitate to ask! No matter what, we're going to diligently pursue the people who we believe will help us do whatever it takes to reach our community for Christ.

Whatever it takes,

Adam