Pastor Search – August 2024 Update

Dear HP Pres Church Family,

We want to thank you for the honor and privilege of serving you, our congregation, during such a tender time of leadership transition. The grief and loss of our beloved senior pastor, Bryan Dunagan, is still very real for us as individuals and as a group within our PNC. Even still, we know and receive the charge from you to discern who God is calling to be our next senior pastor.

That journey is well underway. We have met 20 times with over 60 hours of training and togetherness, learning from ECO’s wise council and from former HP Pres PNC members. From this fruitful time together, we have determined five phases on the path to finding our new senior pastor:

• EQUIP: PNC receives training
• ENGAGE: PNC hosts focus groups
• EXPLORE: PNC pursues potential candidates
• ENDORSE: PNC presents nominated candidate
• EMBRACE: PNC onboards new pastor

We have completed phase one: EQUIP. We are currently transitioning to the ENGAGE phase, where our focus turns to you, the congregation, for input on the qualities and attributes you feel are important for our next senior pastor.  This is a vital part of the process, and we encourage you to attend one of the many focus group engagements so that your valued voice can be heard. For more information on upcoming focus group opportunities, see the list at the end of this page. We anticipate this ENGAGE phase to be in process over the coming months, providing ample opportunity for you to share your thoughts with us. If you are unable to attend any focus group meetings, you may email us using pastor.search@hppres.org to communicate your ideas, concerns, or encouragement.

As a PNC, we plan to communicate regular updates to the congregation as we move through these phases, but we also want to convey the importance of confidentiality during this entire process. Thank you for your understanding on this matter and please know we will likely not be able to respond to all your inquiries.

Our biggest ask from you is needed in every phase of this journey, and that is prayer. Will you pray that as a group, we will remain Jesus-centered, scripture-rooted, and spirit-led in this process, hearing God’s voice above all other voices?  For each PNC member, would you pray for extra measures of unity, discernment, protection, wisdom, and joy? And would you also please pray specifically for the person whom God is calling to be our next senior pastor?

Each one of us on the PNC is honored and humbled to serve you in this role, and we are as eager as you are to discover the man or woman God has chosen to lead us next. Thank you again for your confidence, your support, your patience, and your prayer cover; we are all in this together.

Your PNC Moderators,
Charlie Davis & Kelsey Phillips

Focus Groups

As part of the search for our next Senior Pastor, the Pastor Nominating Committee is conducting the following focus groups throughout our church family:

• Acts Too Class
• Anchor Table Leaders
• Ascent Table Leaders
• Becoming HP Pres
• Bell Class
• Choir
• Community Group Leaders
• Connections
• Contemporary Service
• Current and Past Deacons
• Current and Past Elders
• Disciples Class
• Early Childhood families (0-Kinder)
• Family Life
• Highland Kids Teachers (1st-6th)
• HP Pres Executive Staff
• HP Pres Outreach Ministry
• HP Pres Staff
• HP Pres Students
• Hundley/Poole Class
• Journey Class
• Marriage Prep Leaders
• Prayer Teams
• Trinity Class
• Vine Class
• Young Adult
• Young Singles