Executive Pastor Update
I am pleased to share with you that I have invited David Peterson to serve as our next Executive Pastor, and he has accepted the invitation. David will assume the title and responsibilities of Executive Pastor beginning December 1.
In the meantime, he will maintain all his current responsibilities as Discipleship Pastor/Disciple-Making Team Leader and will begin working with Andy Johnson, our current Executive Pastor, and me to prepare for his new role. Andy will continue to serve as Executive Pastor through the end of the calendar year, taking on more of a support role for David in December.
David has served on our team since October 2008. I have worked closely with him as a Team Leader since 2016. I began unofficially evaluating David for this possibility in March 2024 and began conversations with him in October.
Since that time, David and I have had multiple conversations; he has completed a questionnaire and two temperament assessments, and I have talked to each of his current direct reports, the other members of the Pastor’s Leadership Team, and his current supervisor (Andy Johnson), and have sought counsel from other leaders outside of our church. Every step of the process has confirmed for me that David has the gifts and experience needed to serve well in the role.
I am thankful for the Lord’s provision of David for such an important role in our church, and I hope you will join me in congratulating David as you have the opportunity.
Let me answer a few questions that this may raise:
What does the Executive Pastor do? At Ingleside, the Executive Pastor works closely with the Lead Pastor to execute the mission of making disciples. Specifically, he provides most of the day-to-day and operational leadership for our staff. As part of the Lead Pastor’s office, he also has a role in our budgeting process, hiring of staff, and church-wide events.
Who will lead our Adult Discipleship Ministry and Disciple-Making Team? We have already begun searching for our next Discipleship Pastor/Disciple-Making Team Leader. Please join me in praying that the Lord will provide that person quickly. For now, David Peterson is still in that role, so any needs or questions related to Adult Discipleship can be directed to him.
Why such a long timeline? It is a bit unusual to announce that someone will be in a new position so far in advance of them actually starting in the new role. I am thankful that, in this case, we are able to do so since doing so has a couple of advantages. First, it allows us to go ahead and begin the search for David’s replacement. Second, it allows David to be part of some important processes as an “observer” before he begins as the Executive Pastor. This will help him hit the ground running in December.
If you have any questions about this transition, you can contact David Peterson at dpeterson@ingleside.org or Andy Johnson at ajohnson@ingleside.org. I am thankful for them both and for the rest of our amazing staff. And on behalf of that staff, it is our joy to serve you!
With the affection of Christ,
