Dear Northland Family:
Thank you for your continuing prayers for our next Lead Pastor as we all eagerly await the shepherd that God is calling to lead Northland into our next season as a church. It is an exciting time of anticipation for many and, for some, a time of anxiousness and uncertainty. For this reason, I would encourage all of us to exercise patience, trust, hope, and faith in God that He will accomplish His purposes through this process. (Romans 15:13)
As I think about our hopefulness in the pastor search process with the two candidates we mentioned in our previous update, and as I reflect on our more focused conversations with them regarding their calling to Northland, I have been humbled and reminded of God’s sovereignty, timing, and perfect will. After speaking with each of the candidates, we have learned that between the time that they applied and the time that we started having more detailed conversations with them, God has been doing a work at each of their churches. Because of this work, they have both discerned that God is no longer calling them away from their present congregations. While this was unexpected, we believe it is an answer to prayer because we have always prayed that the Lord would make it clear to the candidates, and to us, that He is calling them to Northland. We are reminded that His ways are higher than our ways and realize that we must now move forward.
At the time that the original seven candidates were presented to the Pastor Search Committee, over 100 applications had been submitted for Northland's Lead Pastor position. Since then, Slingshot has received 60-70 additional applications. They have continued to interview candidates and vet them for qualifications and fit for Northland over the past few weeks and we’re excited to share that Slingshot will soon be presenting us with new candidates and the Pastor Search Committee will begin interviewing them next week. While we have learned not to give specific dates as milestones in the process, we remain well within the range of normal timing of a Lead Pastor search. If you have any questions at all, please don't hesitate to reach out to me or email hello@northlandchurch.net.
Please continue to pray for God to bring forward the one who He has anointed!
Serving Him Together!
Danny Gordon
Chairman, Northland Board of Governing Elders