Dear Church Family,
Over the past year, the Congregational Transition Team and the Board have been involved in the search process for our new Senior Pastor. This was a profoundly important decision for our church, and we are deeply grateful to all of you who have been praying faithfully for God’s guidance and direction. Over the past year, Steve Welch and Stu Quackenbush have faithfully served with our board and Pastoral Leadership Team.
Together, and with time, they have demonstrated the abilities and qualities needed to lead our church well and teach the word effectively. As a result, the CTT and the Board have increasingly felt that God was calling us to turn the search process inward and to reconsider the responsibilities of this role. The CTT and Board worked with Steve and Stu to refine the position of Senior Pastor and to develop the new position of Lead Teaching Pastor.
We are excited to announce that this week the CTT unanimously recommended Steve Welch to be our next Senior Pastor and Stu Quackenbush to serve as our Lead Teaching Pastor. The Board unanimously adopted their recommendation.
As our Senior Pastor, Steve Welch will lead Magnify and articulate, extract, and advance the vision of Magnify, consistent with our mission of Always Making Disciples. He will shepherd the congregation, delegate pastoral duties, oversee pastoral and staff development, and ensure alignment and thriving among our campuses. Steve will preach periodically across our three locations and partner with the Board on oversight and governance issues.
As our Lead Teaching Pastor, Stu Quackenbush will serve as the primary preaching pastor at the Rockford campus, lead the long-range preaching vision, and coordinate preaching across all campuses, helping to shape the direction and strategy of our Sunday morning sermons.
Both of these men have selflessly served at our church for many years, and we are grateful for their willingness to continue to respond to God’s call.
We are deeply grateful for the members of the CTT as they have faithfully invested in this pastoral search process. Their hard work, fervent prayers and faithful trust in God through this process have been an immense blessing.
There will be several opportunities over the next several weeks to ask questions and to hear more about our vision. We will provide further details on those opportunities at a later date. We will hold a special business meeting on April 26 at 7:00pm where our membership will have the opportunity to vote on Steve Welch becoming our next Senior Pastor. We will continue to learn more about the Senior Pastor role and Stu’s new role as Lead Teaching Pastor. We continue to pray that God would be magnified in us, and in our community.
In Christ,
Magnify Pastors and Deacons
