Pastor Search

After months of prayer, meeting together, resume and sermon reviews, and interviewing candidates, the Pastor Search Committee unanimously recommended Pastor Justin Nalls, currently Ingleside’s Next Generation Team Leader and Teaching Pastor, to the Overseers to be Ingleside’s next Lead Pastor. The Overseers unanimously approved the recommendation. More information about the selection process, next steps, and details about Justin’s family, calling, and experience can be found in the video below and in a special insert here, as well as in worship folders beginning this Sunday.

Thank you for your continued prayers, Ingleside family and friends, as we look ahead to the promises the Lord will give in 2024. In December, the Pastor Search Committee (PSC) continued diligently reviewing resumés and scheduling interviews. Several individuals and church members submitted names of men we should consider. The PSC appreciated those introductions and spent time reaching out to them about submitting a cover letter and resumé.

We would like to note that we received resumés from leaders in a variety of church settings encompassing traditional to multi-campus worship. Men of God throughout the United States, as well as internationally, inquired about our Lead Pastor position. We received resumés from twenty different states, including Florida, South and North Carolina, Alabama, Tennessee, Ohio, South Dakota, California, Texas, Hawaii, and Alaska. These resumés include pastors with a broad range of experiences from just completing seminary to serving faithfully for decades. The church positions currently served by these men included church planters, missionaries, teaching and discipleship pastors, senior pastors, and associate pastors.

We are blessed to see many gifted men called by God to proclaim his gospel! The PSC continues to enjoy the gift of remarkable unity and clarity in pursuing the next Lead Pastor for Ingleside. The work affirms God’s continued presence and leading, which fills our meetings, discussions, and conversations with joy. This committee is humbled by the opportunity to serve and is grateful for the work of the Prayer Team and the prayers of the larger Ingleside family.

Yes, 2024 will be a year full of God’s mercy and our praise. Deuteronomy 31:8 proclaims, “It is the LORD who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.”

Psalm 100:4-5 says, “Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”

Do you notice how many times the Lord is referenced with “his,” “him,” or “Lord”? Seven times, the reader of Psalm 100 is pointed back to the Lord. Church family, we have much to be thankful for as we worship and glorify the Lord together. The Pastor Search Committee (PSC), since the last update in October, has witnessed God’s steadfast love in many ways.

Now, halfway through November, the cover letter and resume submission web portal has closed. The PSC continues to review resumes received and listen to prospective candidate sermons diligently. Currently, we are conducting interviews, and God is showing clarity and discernment for His direction in the life of our church.

The process and timeline discussed with our Ingleside family in June, as well as at the Semi-Annual Church Conference on Wednesday, August 30^th, is on schedule. Furthermore, the PSC is grateful for the Pastor Search Prayer Team and the prayer bookmarks provided in October. We find God’s merciful hand diligently at work as our church family remains steadfast in prayer. Have a blessed Thanksgiving!

Ingleside’s Pastor Search Committee (PSC) is continuing to receive and review resumes. The PSC is taking the time to research candidates who submitted resumes by viewing applicants’ websites and social media pages and listening to past messages and sermons.

Next, we are conducting interviews of qualified candidates with questions founded upon a Lead Pastor who embodies five traits discussed in our last update:

Chief Shepherd
Lead Teaching Pastor
The Leader
Chief Explorer & Future Thinker
Voice of Moral Concern

We can attest and are encouraged that God has many obedient servants continuing to faithfully preach His sovereign word. Please continue to pray for the radiance of Christ to shine and for our conversations to be seasoned with God’s glory.

He [Jesus] is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. Hebrews 1:3a (ESV)

The Pastor Search Committee (PSC) committed the month of August to researching, discussing, crafting, and finalizing our Lead Pastor Profile. At the same time, we are preparing to accept resumes from prospective candidates. To receive resumes, a dedicated Ingleside Lead Pastor Application webpage was created. Through this page, interested individuals can view the pastor profile, apply for the Lead Pastor position, view a video presentation, and browse images of recent campus events. We are excited to begin receiving resumes.

Looking forward, the PSC intends to uphold the characteristics that have emerged from engaging the Ingleside staff, the Overseers, and church members in recent focus groups. Throughout these discussions and exercises, these five traits emerged as the most significant in our search for a Lead Pastor:

• Chief Shepherd
• Lead Teaching Pastor
• The Leader
• Chief Explorer and Future Thinker
• Voice of Moral Concern

These traits will be a primary focus as we interview Lead Pastor candidates.

As a united church family, we embark on this journey together to discern the individual the Lord has prepared for us. Let us pray together in seeking the glory of God and abiding in His love, as guided by John 15:8-9.

Greetings, Ingleside,

Welcome to the first of the Pastor Search Committee (PSC) updates. This update will be slightly longer than the following updates as it covers our summer conversations and meetings, but we hope it sheds light on the PSC’s time in prayer and activities.

Retreat. The PSC continues to diligently gather weekly since our first meeting, which was a half-day retreat on Saturday, June 24. The meeting began with warm fellowship and a wonderful devotional message by our Overseer Chairman, Jonathan Moore. Jonathan spoke on unity from passages such as 1 Peter 3:8 and Ephesians 4:1-6. The retreat was full of prayer, discussion of the PSC’s roles, responsibilities, and communication protocols, as well as a formal introduction to Dave Travis, who was hired by Ingleside as our Strategic Counsel for Pastor Succession.

Present at the half-day retreat were Tim and Beverly McCoy, Andy Johnson, Becky Cleaveland, Katie Layfield, our Ingleside Overseers, and the Pastor Search Committee.

Family. This word describes what it looks like when the PSC gets together. As a family, we want to walk in wisdom as the Lord guides us to Ingleside’s next Lead Pastor. The PSC affectionately calls ourselves family as we seek the discernment and insight of the Lord together.

Pastor Profile. One of our primary goals over the past five weeks was to identify the best use of technology and to develop a pastor profile.

Focus Groups. To accomplish creating a profile that accurately reflects the heart of Ingleside, Dave Travis, our Succession Consultant, suggested focus groups. Each of the four focus groups consisted of 20-25 at-large church members tasked with answering a few questions and participating in exercises that the church staff, the Overseers, and the Pastor Search Committee previously completed. We look forward to finalizing the profile by the first of September, which is when we will officially begin accepting resumes.

Prayer. The Pastor Search Committee is humbled and honored to serve our church family as we seek Ingleside’s next Lead Pastor. Please continue to pray with us. Pray for Pastor Tim and Beverly as they continue to faithfully serve our church and community, pray for our church staff, and pray for the church as together we seek God’s wisdom and seek his glory.

Ephesians 4:2-6 (ESV)
“…with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.”