Building ECV with a New Hire

We made an important announcement Sunday that I wanted to make sure nobody missed:

Some of you may remember that last summer, in response to God's call to invest in building His Church, we made a decision to take a risk and create two staff positions. One, the administrator position, turned into Alyssa Stovall, who has been serving our community with grace and excellence since September. The other was a pastoral staff position—which we've been looking to fill ever since.

In just the past couple weeks, the board of trustees approved the elders' recommendation to hire Hannah as the first pastoral staff member at our church—full-time, starting this spring (looks like 3/1). Obviously, Hannah is near and dear to me personally (she's my wife); as a couple, we're really excited about this next step.

While Hannah's precise job description is as yet still in development, at this point the main focuses that we've talked about with the elders team have been:

• welcoming and connecting people into the ECV community
• leading and developing the children's & family ministry
• connecting ECV to other local churches, nonprofits, neighborhood groups and residents to seek the peace and wholeness of our city

Let me tell you, the discernment process and the conversations that led to the decision to hire Hannah were really exciting to be a part of—because we're building; we're investing in the things God is doing in our community and that's exciting.

I want to say one other thing about all this to make sure we're all on the same page: Yes, we're hiring Hannah; we don't yet know exactly what her title will be. It will in all likelihood contain the word "pastor." Depending on where you've come from, that may sound like it will have enormous consequences for how things will work around here. And, of course, we wouldn't be making this hire if we didn't believe that it would contribute substantially to what God's doing in our community.

However, the reality remains: we are God's church. We, together, are ECV. Our church will continue to be led by our elders team. I will continue to lead that team. Josh Williams will continue to serve and lead our church as our pastoral intern. Alyssa will continue in her role. Our homegroup leaders will continue to lead and to serve. Our teachers, our worship leaders, our children's ministry leaders—all of us, will continue to build and to be at the center of what God's doing at ECV—as a team, as a community.

Sunday, 2/28, right before she starts, we'll have an opportunity to pray for Hannah and to encourage her. So, look forward to that; mark it on your calendars. Hannah and I, of course, appreciate your prayers in the meantime. And if you have any further questions about all this, feel free to contact me or Hannah whenever.

SEEK

For the past several weeks, you've been hearing little teasers about SEEK, a discussion group that will be starting up next month. SEEK is a place of structured conversation for folks on the front edge of questions about faith. The basic layout is that it'll start over dinner, there'll be a talk, followed by a time for discussion and questions. The hope is that it'll be a place to have real conversations about God, about faith, and how it all plays out in our lives.

SEEK
Meets Wednesdays, starting February 3rd
47 Dyer St | 7pm

If you have any questions, or for more information, talk to Matt Croasmun (matt@elmcityvineyard.org) or Josh Williams (jaw.williams@gmail.com)

HOMEGROUPS are BACK

After their holiday hiatus, homegroups are back in full-swing this week. For times and locations, please see below:

Mom's Group | Every other Monday, 7pm | 532 Norton Pkwy - led by Asha Evans & Gracie Blum

Tuesdays, 7:30pm | 389 Norton Pkwy - led by Heidi & Ryan McAnnally-Linz and Kerstin Blomquist

Wednesdays, 7:30pm | 290 Fountain St - led by Todd & Michelle Kennedy and Ethan & Katie Smith

Wednesdays, 7:30pm | 810 Elm St - led by John & Jen Hartley

Thursdays, 7:30pm | 171 Norton St - led by Paul & Lynn Opare-Addo and Matt & Hannah Croasmun -

Thursdays, 7:30pm | 180 Colony Rd - led by Josh Williams, Marilyn de Guehery and Caleb & Kathy Maskell

Men's Group | Thursdays, 7:30pm | 169 Norton St #3 - led by Robb Evans

Whether this past Sunday was your first week joining us, or you've been around for awhile but haven't yet plugged into a group, I'd totally encourage you to check them out!