With the recent update on Pastor Rick and Debbie and their season coming to a close at years end, there will be a Congregational Forum on Sunday, October 5th at 6:30pm. This forum is an opportunity for questions in regards to where we stand in our current transition plan or anything concerning where Wellspring is headed. We encourage you to attend!
For more information about this recent update, here is the letter from the Elders:
Dear Wellspring family,
After nearly 40 years as a pastor here in Kensington, Pastor Rick McKinniss has let the elders know that he plans to retire at the end of this year, effective December 31. The Elders have unanimously affirmed Pastor Rick’s decision as being in the Lord’s will for both Pastor Rick and the church. We thank God for the gift of Pastor Rick to this body, and we also thank Pastor Rick and Debbie for their many years of service to the kingdom of God here in central Connecticut.
This is a bittersweet occasion, because we love Pastor Rick and Debbie, change is hard, and it’s tough to see this chapter close. It’s also a challenge because this timing requires us to shift our transition plans. Since the spring, the elders have been considering and planning for such contingencies with the consulting team at NL Moore and Associates. Now that Pastor Rick’s retirement date has been clarified, the Elder Board has discerned that the best way forward is to pause our Senior Pastor search, temporarily, and bring in an intentional interim pastor.
The first reason for this is the timeline. Nancy Moore noted that Wellspring’s combination of Baptist and Pentecostal characteristics is quite unusual, and therefore the search for a permanent Sr. Pastor will be more involved than many; the average Sr. Pastor search takes them 6-7 months, so less than five months would not be workable. The second reason is that Pastor Rick has been a fixture here for a long time, and having a new person in the senior pastor role is a major adjustment for this body. In such cases it can be helpful to have a person with fresh eyes come in on a short-term basis to help prepare the ground for the new permanent pastor to be able to take root. There are pastors who specialize in this kind of deliberately temporary role. NL Moore has a network of such pastors, and they, alongside the leadership at Converge, are actively working with us to identify candidates for the intentional interim pastor. This intentional interim would likely serve for up to about a year. Nancy Moore and her experienced team are fully on board with this pathway.
The Elders will hold a congregational forum to address as many of your questions as we can, on Sunday evening October 5th, at 6:30 pm. We will continue to provide updates through the fall as we work out the details. Please know that the Pastoral Search Committee that we selected in June is still in effect, and will still play an important role when the time comes to resume the permanent Sr. Pastor search.
Some members have recently inquired about the health of our church, essentially asking “Are we okay?” – expressing an uncertainty which is perfectly natural in a season of transition. It is important to acknowledge that the level of engagement and energy was positive as reported in the congregational health assessment survey we took in January; and we can report that participation in our ministries and commitment to intercessory prayer for each other remains strong, because you care deeply about this body, and we thank you for that. Secondly, while finances are only one aspect of church health, they are nonetheless an important indicator. To put this in perspective, in our budget planning at the end of August we usually expect to be about $20,000 in the red, due to reduced giving over the summer months when many people are away. As of the end of July we were actually in the black for the year, and as of Labor Day weekend we were only about $400 in the red. This is a massive testimony, both to God’s faithfulness and to yours. We heard preaching in the spring on the importance of investing in God’s kingdom and understanding that all we have comes from God. You all have taken that word to heart, and honored the Lord and supported the work of this ministry through your tithes and offerings. Wellspring has been through a great deal, yet we remain strong, rooted, grounded, and carried by God’s grace. Our answer is yes, God is faithful, and we are okay.
Sometime around Thanksgiving, perhaps the beginning of December, we plan to have a celebration of Pastor Rick and Debbie, and we hope you all will be able to join us.
God bless you all, and God bless this church.
The Elders of Wellspring Church