Throughout the month of January, we are highlighting the work we do together as the Free Methodist Church in Southern California through year-end reports shared by the people who serve us all in the boards and committees of the conference.
About the Superintendent Nominating Committee
Within the Free Methodist Church, superintendents provide for vision alignment and implementation, leadership development, and guidance for the administration and growth of the church. The Superintendent Nominating Committee is responsible for evaluating and recommending Superintendent candidates for the Annual Conference. As with all Free Methodist Church leadership, the board is composed of an equal number of ministerial and lay (non-ordained) leaders.
Report
Edward Song, Ph.D., Lay Member, Superintendent Nominating Committee
We wanted to give you an update on our progress finding our next superintendent. We consider it a privilege to do this work and we appreciate your prayers during the process as we move from three superintendents to one.
There have been 11 of us including Bishop Matt Whitehead that have been meeting since May of 2021. In June & July, we held a series of listening groups that were divided between lay leaders, clergy, senior pastors and other stakeholders in our Conference. Using that input, we created a ministry description for the position that would address the top needs of the conference moving forward. Thank you all so much for your invaluable feedback in those listening groups and the written input you provided in the surveys.
In October, we circulated the ministry description to Conference staff and the Board of Administration for input. A final version was posted nationally, and circulated to persons who had been nominated through the listening process, or by other leaders in our denomination. By the end of October, we had a total of 12 candidates. This group included a diverse swath of men and women from various backgrounds and ministry contexts. Through a series of conversations, prayer, and assessment, these candidates were narrowed down to 4 individuals, who will be interviewed in late January after we have contacted their references and clarified any questions in their submitted application materials.
From those interviews, we will present one nominee to be our next superintendent. We hope to announce the name of the superintendent nominee in early February. Bishop Whitehead has indicated that the vote for the election of our superintendent will take place online before our Annual Conference in May.
We understand that this has been a long process and we are very grateful for your patience and trust. We take this responsibility very seriously. We look forward to this next season of ministry and are excited to see all the things that God is going to do in and through our Conference.
If you have any concerns or comments as we continue this important work, please feel free to reach out to any members of the Superintendent Nominating Committee. Out contact information is in the notes of this video.
Thanks again for all of your participation, support, and prayers through this important process.
