The Associate Pastor Search Committee is pleased to recommend our final candidate for Associate Minister for Care, Connection, and Formation. We are excited to introduce you to a candidate who will provide leadership in vital ministry areas, including Congregational Care and Spiritual Formation.
In accordance with Countryside’s bylaws, a special meeting of Countryside Community Church has been duly called by the Associate Pastor Search Committee and will be held in the Sanctuary on Sunday, April 12, immediately following the 10 am worship. The sole purpose of this meeting is to hear and act upon the final report of the Search Committee and to vote on calling our recommended candidate.
Call Weekend
Saturday–Sunday, April 11-12
- Candidating Service – Sunday at 10 am
- Special Congregational Meeting – Sunday at 11:15 am
Purpose: To vote on calling our candidate for Associate Minister for Care, Connection, and Formation.
We are pleased to share that the candidate is an ordained minister in full standing with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), a sister denomination of the United Church of Christ. Our former Interim Minister, Rev. Dr. Keith Herron, was also ordained within the CBF, and we are familiar with the theological breadth, pastoral depth, and congregational leadership CBF clergy bring to ministry.
Throughout the interview process, the committee was deeply impressed by the candidate’s theological grounding, emotional intelligence, pastoral presence, and authentic enthusiasm for joining a vibrant, justice-oriented congregation such as ours. We experienced in them a collaborative spirit and a deep commitment to care, connection, and formation that align beautifully with Countryside’s mission and values.
The Call Weekend, April 11–12, will provide opportunities for the congregation to meet and engage with the candidate in meaningful ways. We will share details about scheduled gatherings and events soon. On Sunday morning, the candidate will participate in worship, and the congregation will hear the full report of the Associate Pastor Search Committee prior to the vote. While preaching is not the primary focus of this position, worship offers a meaningful opportunity to experience this pastor’s theological voice, relational presence, and ability to engage our congregation with depth and authenticity.
As a congregational church, your voice matters deeply in this process. Call Weekend is both a celebration and a moment of discernment — a time to listen together for Spirit and to envision the future of our shared ministry.
Confidentiality has been essential throughout this search to honor the integrity of our discernment and to respect the candidate’s current ministry setting. Once appropriate notification has been made to their present congregation and professional obligations, we will send a second letter to you introducing the candidate by name and sharing their biography.
The Associate Pastor Search Committee expresses sincere gratitude for the trust you placed in us and for your prayers, encouragement, and patience throughout this process. After months of careful review, interviews, reference checks, and prayerful discernment, the committee’s recommendation was unanimous.
We look forward to gathering with you April 11–12 as we discern together what God is doing among us.
In Christ’s hope and service,
Countryside Community Church Associate Pastor Search Committee
Adam Steinbach, Committee Chair & Church Vice Moderator
Leah Georges, Church Moderator
Will Reimer
Jan Benitez
Mimi Goings
Rev. Dr. Jenny Shultz-Thomas, Senior Minister