September 7, 2022
Church family,
I am very excited to let you know that Elizabeth Williams is re-joining our staff team to be our new Director of Preschool & Children’s Ministry. While Elizabeth is very strong in organization and administration, she also brings a great deal of passion for building relationships and encouraging others to this role. Anyone who knows her well knows that she is going to be a great asset to our Preschool & Children’s Ministry teams and to our church staff. Please join me in welcoming Elizabeth back to our staff and praying for her over the next days as she moves into this new role.
Pastor Brian
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June 8, 2022
Church family,
First off, if you missed or have not read my email from yesterday, please take a few minutes to begin reading about our staff transitions here at The Brook. You can read yesterday's email below. Today, I want to follow up and share with you what Chip Woosley's new role as Connection & Assimilation Pastor will look like, how it will impact our staff and church, and why this is a great move for Chip and The Brook.
A fair amount of what our Connection & Assimilation Pastor does is visible on Sunday mornings: leading and overseeing hospitality (Connection Team, Coffee Team, Parking Lot Team) and developing, overseeing, and leading our Discover Class and Membership Class. Leading people from guest to attender to member - helping people find a connecting point and a place to engage in the Body of Christ - has been and will continue to be part of this role that Chip is stepping into. But it doesn't stop there.
While we believe that everyday pastoral care is something that happens first and foremost within our Missional Communities - caring and sharing the burdens of those closest to us - there are many instances within the life of the church where an actual pastor is needed to lead these efforts. Whether it's making sure that someone who is shut-in does not become disconnected from the family of the church, ministering to someone who suddenly finds himself in the hospital, or counseling a person in crisis who comes into the office during the week, there are countless situations where a pastor is needed to lead the way in caring for the flock. If you know Chip Woosley at any level below the surface, you know that one of his greatest strengths and gifts is ministering to those in need. Chip is one of the most relationship-driven people I have ever known. He cares for people. He is the perfect person to lead this area of ministry in our church.
As Chip steps into this role, we are also very excited to begin affirming new deacons who will assist in some of these areas of ministry: to our foster & adoptive families, to widows & widowers (or any of the elderly within our church who are in need), and in ministering to those in crisis, walking with them both spiritually and practically to move them to a place of stability. Our desire is that no one would "slip through the cracks" - no one should be overlooked in the Body of Christ! That's the heartbeat and mindset that drives Chip Woosley as a follower of Christ and as a pastor.
Over the next two months, you will begin seeing quite a bit of criss-cross between Chip and Dusty (and Justin, as well) as they are handing things off to one another. We are grateful to all of our Directors, Coordinators, leaders, workers, and team members for their support, flexibility, and enthusiasm for these significant transitions in the life of our church. We could not do it without you! Please join us in praying that the Lord will continue to lead and guide us through these next days, weeks, and months. What an incredible time to be part of the Body of Christ - the Church!
We can't begin to tell you how excited we are to gather together in our new Worship Center this Sunday, to worship the Lord together in His Word, in song and prayer, through the Lord's Supper, and the fellowship of the Spirit. We can't wait to see you! Until then, I am praying for all of us today that we will live intentionally to bring God's Kingdom everywhere we go!
Pastor Brian
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June 7, 2022
Church family,
As I shared this past Sunday, we have some very exciting transitions ahead in the days to come. I wanted to take a few minutes to explain a bit more about that with you today.
Over the past year, as we have considered how we are equipping, training, organizing, and leading the church, we believe the Lord is guiding us to make some changes. Depending upon how long you’ve been "in the church," this could feel like a fairly significant paradigm shift. We don’t believe it’s that complex. Mainly, these transitions are rooted in our belief that the discipleship strategy of the church (from birth through adulthood) ought to be constructed with great intentionality and continuity. In an effort to do this, we are going to be placing all of our discipleship efforts underneath the leadership of our Discipleship & Family Pastor, Dusty Fowler. Let me share a bit of the why and how we arrived here.
In the past, there has been so much age-divided segmentation of ministry in the church that this intentionality has been difficult to achieve. There has been so little consistency in discipleship strategies from one season of life to the next that it wasn't like apples and oranges; it's been more like apples and potatoes. It has also caused ministry silos to form within the church, hindering continuity as well. One of the areas where we have seen this prove detrimental is in the extreme chasm that seems to have formed between high school and college: students leaving home and simultaneously leaving the church. We must bridge this gap!
Over the next months, Dusty will be preparing to oversee and lead all our Discipleship strategies and efforts at The Brook. From The Brook Littles and The Brook Kids, to The Brook Students, our College Ministry, and our all Missional Communities, Dusty will be steering all of our leader development. That said, it is still our aim and goal to have leaders over each of these ministry areas. In light of this, we are incredibly excited that Justin Steiner will be transitioning from his Pastoral Intern role to becoming our Youth & College Ministry Director. While he will work alongside Dusty in training and equipping our youth leaders and workers, Justin will be the primary communicator and event planner for our students. He will also continue leading all of our efforts to reach, equip, and disciple college students and young adults. In terms of a Preschool & Children's Ministry Director, we are praying that the Lord will raise up the right person to step into that role.
During this transition period, Dusty will be forming and strengthening teams to spearhead each ministry area. Ephesians 4:11-12 is going to drive a great portion of what we do, and why and how we do it. We are here to "equip the saints to do the work of ministry..." Please be praying for Dusty, for Justin, and for all of those who will be involved in this new season of leading our church forward in making disciples.
Tomorrow I will be sending out a follow-up email detailing Chip Woosley's new role as the Connection & Assimilation Pastor at The Brook. I'm going to share what this shift will look like, why and how Chip is gifted very specifically for this role, and how this will impact our church.
Pastor Brian