Purpose of the meeting

Have questions? 
Come to an Open Forum Meeting
Sunday, July 20 at 11:15am
or Wednesday, July 23 at 6:30pm

or Email the Elders


Join Us for a
Special Member Meeting
Sunday, July 27 following worship
to vote on this proposal

FAQs

Why aren't we looking for a third pastor?

The reasons we are not recommending the addition of a third pastor are briefly outlined below.

A two-pastor model better reflects our current congregation size

Thornapple has a deep and talented staff that supports our pastors

Pastor Andrew set up many processes and procedures that have streamlined administrative work

The church has been successfully operating under the proposed structure

Our pastors and staff fully support the proposed structure

What process did the Elders follow to come to this conclusion?

Upon Andrew’s departure, the Council of Elders decided to take a deeper look into our staff needs and current structure before making a recommendation regarding a replacement for Andrew. A committee was formed to explore this issue, consisting of Doug Dozeman, Mark Eastburg, Sue Smith, Suzanne Lieuwen and Doug Parker. The Committee spent several weeks looking at our current staffing, job responsibilities and skill sets, as well as consulting with Garth McGrath, Superintendent of the Covenant Great Lakes Conference. The committee also had extensive talks with Pastor Julia and Pastor Lynne regarding their current workloads and needs, as well as staff capabilities. Doug Dozeman also met with staff to discuss the proposed changes to staff structure. Based on this work, the Committee made their recommendations to not add a third person to the pastoral staff, to call Pastor Julia as Lead Pastor and to call Pastor Lynne as Associate Pastor. The Elders affirmed these recommendations unanimously.

What are the official recommendations by the Elders?
What are the roles/responsibilities of these proposed pastoral positions?

1.    We recommend that Julia Sandstrom be called as the Lead Pastor for Thornapple. As such, she will be the chief operating officer of Thornapple, responsible for the Pastoral Team and for carrying out the purpose and mission of the church. Pastor Julia will continue to be the primary preacher in worship services and oversee adult spiritual formation and ministry teams. We believe Pastor Julia has demonstrated all the necessary qualifications and gifts to fulfill these duties.

2.     We recommend that Lynne McLaughlin be called as the Associate Pastor for Thornapple. As such, she will continue to oversee Community Life and NextGen Ministries. Lynne will also oversee such administrative areas and ministry teams as delegated by the Lead Pastor. We believe Pastor Lynne has demonstrated all of the necessary qualifications and gifts to fulfill these duties.

Considering we previously had three pastors, is this too much work for only two pastors?

From its peak in the early 2010s, Thornapple has lost membership, a fall-off that accelerated during the COVID-19 pandemic (as it did for churches everywhere). Although we have thankfully seen an end to that decline and even a pickup in numbers recently, we are still roughly down 40% in membership from our peak when we first called three pastors to support the church.

Additionally:
- Pastor Lynne increased her 30 hours per week to full-time employment.

- The processes and procedures that Pastor Andrew set up were not in place only a few years ago; these have cut down on the time needed to do some of the administrative work required of the pastoral staff.

- Thornapple is blessed to have talented people on staff who are willing and able to pick up numerous ministerial and administrative tasks; they also have the capacity to do more, if the need arises.

- Since Andrew’s departure, as well as during his extended absences over the past couple of years, our staff and pastors have already been effectively working under the proposed structure. Andrew’s responsibilities have been divided between our pastors and staff over the past few months. We believe any additional administrative burdens can be delegated between our existing staff and committees.

What do our pastors think about this new structure? Are we pushing them to do something they don’t want to do or feel obligated to do?

After extensive conversations with Pastor Julia and Pastor Lynne, it is clear that they both feel the call to these new positions and are confident that this structure can work. They are both well aware of the dangers of burnout but have expressed that they are protective of personal and family time and will not be shy about asking for help. The Elders are committed to the wellbeing of our pastors and staff and will check in with all of them to make sure they are not over-functioning.

Does this mean we will never call another pastor?

If we find, through experience, continued growth, or both, that we need additional support, we are open to looking at the situation again. Depending on the need, additional support could take the form of an additional pastor, non-pastoral administrative support or outsourcing certain administrative tasks. We believe we will be better able to address those needs as, or once, they are identified rather than try to anticipate them now. We are considering this a first step in staffing and we will adjust as needed in the future.