Friendswood Friends Church,
Sara and I sat with David and Rochelle Bridges in their home on the evening of January 8th when David shared his desire to resign effective the 1st of March, and with many tears but hearts full of good memories we released David from his ministry among us on February 26th. While many, including myself, still feel the loss of David’s departure there is much for us to look forward to as we continue to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. In anticipation of the congregational meeting this Sunday, I’d like to share how we got to where we are now.
The Coordinators, Bobby, and myself quickly got to work to prepare for David’s absence. Our goals were to maintain unity and remain faithful to God’s call. Many among our congregation volunteered, and Bobby was able to fill a preaching schedule through the end of June within a few weeks. With a great deal of prayer, we considered who within our body had the gift to preach and fill the role pastorally that David had vacated. After many conversations, those individuals discerned that they were being called in other directions.
Jesse Penna, Superintendent of the Student Ministries of Mid-America Yearly Meeting, suggested that Bobby and I talk with Josh Bunce, a professor of Bible and Theology at Barclay College. Jesse believed Josh and his gifts would be a good fit for Friendswood Friends Church. Bobby and I began conversations with Josh in mid-February, and it was clear from the beginning that God was working. Josh is a gifted speaker with vast knowledge of theology and Bible and has been discipling students at Barclay for 14 years. He earned his Masters of Divinity from George Fox University and pastored a church in Oregon prior to taking his role at Barclay. Josh has a tender heart, he is full of compassion, and wants to continue to disciple those who will disciple others.
A few weeks ago, Josh met via Zoom with several members of our church including Laura Porterfield, Janis Street, Jennifer Stitton, Matt McGuire, Nathan Browning, and Charles Bludworth. As many of you know, Josh preached in our church on March 19th and then two weeks later he and his family visited and met with many families as they explored Friendswood. The feedback from the initial group and from those who have had contact with Josh and his family has been overwhelmingly positive. In a combined Elder and Coordinator meeting on April 2nd, we approved the proposal to hire Josh as pastor and bring this to the congregation for final approval. I am excited about what the future looks like for Friendswood Friends and I believe Josh is part of that. During the congregational meeting this Sunday we will be asking for your approval to hire Josh to join our pastoral team. We will also be asking for congregational approval to promote Bobby from associate pastor to pastor, which was also approved by the Coordinators and Elders.
Josh and Bobby will work side by side with Tena Roher and Katelyn Sanders. Though Katelyn and Tena have defined roles and ministries with the youth and the children respectively, all four are members of our pastoral team and we want them to be free to use their gifts to minister to the church and community as God leads. We see Bobby continuing to use his gifts in music ministry and pastoral care and Josh using his gifts to preach and teach. The leadership of our church believes they will complement each other well. While we have enjoyed strong leadership from the senior pastoral role for the last 40 years, first with Joe Roher and then with David Bridges, we believe this organizational structure will meet the needs of the church and allow each to flourish. Some may ask, “Who’s in charge?” To that, I would say that we all are, and ultimately Christ is the head of the church. We all have the responsibility to pray and listen to where the Spirit is leading. And while some are appointed to leadership roles, we seek what is best for the body. The pastoral team will be accountable to each other and to the church as a whole. We are confident in the team’s ability to share and fulfill these responsibilities, and are excited by each person God has called to join our pastoral staff.
Please pray with me in anticipation of our meeting, and I hope that you will stay after worship this Sunday and join us. Pray for God’s best for both our church and the Bunce family.
Peace,
Matt Wilber
Announcements:
Congregational Business Meeting: There will be a Congregational Business Meeting this Sunday, April 16th immediately following the worship service to consider the proposal from the Coordinators and Elders that Josh Bunce join our church pastoral staff as Pastor and that Bobby Kirkpatrick have his title changed from Associate Pastor to Pastor. We hope that you will join us for this important meeting as we consider these items together – everyone is welcome! Please be in prayer for our church as well as for the Bunce family as we seek God’s direction.
Our church will be hosting the Friendswood Community Prayer Breakfast this Saturday, April 15th at 7:30 am in the Coffee Cafe. A headcount is needed in advance, so if you’d like to attend please call the church office or email [email protected] by this Thursday at 4 pm. The prayer breakfast committee requests a donation of $10 for the breakfast. This month’s speaker is Bruce Munsterman of KHCB radio.
Can you help to cut up fruit the day before the prayer breakfast? If you would be available to help on Friday, April 14th for about an hour (timing is flexible), please contact [email protected].
Sunday evening activities resume this week after taking a break for Easter Sunday. Our Bible Study on the book of Luke, which meets at 5 pm in the Coffee Café, is led by Bobby Kirkpatrick and is open to everyone. Feel free to jump in whenever you are available, even if you can’t make it each week. KidsZone, for children age 3 through 5th grade, meets in Friends Center at the same time as the Bible Study, 5-6 pm. FUSE, for junior high students, meets at 6 pm, followed by CORE, for high school students, at 7:30 pm.
Camp registration is now open for Junior and Senior High Students who would like to attend Camp Quaker Haven this summer. The dates are June 7th-13th for high school and June 12th-17th for Junior High. For more information or to register, click here. Contact Josiah Brown if you have questions.