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Dear Calvary Family,

As I let you know the results of the Elder Affirmation Vote from our recent Annual Meeting, I thought I’d remind or inform you about what the leadership structure is at Calvary Church. You’ll have to read through this or just scroll down to see those results, but come on, please, just read.

We wholeheartedly place God as the leader of Calvary Church. Jesus is the primary shepherd and pastor of our church – The Good Shepherd. Under the leadership of Christ, we have an Elder Board that is the main governing body of Calvary. The Senior Pastor (me!) serves as a voting member of the Elder Board. The Elder Board as a whole, not any individual elders, serves as both the spiritual and corporate authority of our church. They oversee the spiritual needs, biblical direction, and strategic goals of Calvary. They also make most major decisions for Calvary as an organization like approving budgets and ensuring our staff are spiritually healthy. They also oversee hiring/firing and evaluating the Senior Pastor. The Elder Board has four officers: Chair, Vice-Chair, Secretary, and Treasurer. Elders may serve 2 three-year terms before needing to step down for at least one year. We are led by elders while the church staff help run the daily ministry of the church.

There are a few things that the official members of the congregation vote to affirm the decisions of the Elder Board: New elders, hiring/firing of the Senior Pastor, approving large construction projects or property purchases, and amending the bylaws. Official members are expected to regularly attend, serve in an area of ministry, and financially contribute to the work of God in this local church.

Then my role as the Senior Pastor is to hire and develop a team of pastors and staff that help recruit and equip members of the church to do the work of ministry. I also am the primary preacher and shepherd of the church under Christ. We have a wonderful staff that serve God and all of you with love and excellence. There’s an Org Chart and reporting structure within the staff like you would see in most organizations. Within that, there are a group of five pastors on an Executive Leadership Team that provide leadership, care, and direction to the rest of the staff.

We also have a few committees we call Ministry Teams that provide guidance and direction for their areas of ministry. The Trustee Ministry Team oversees the financial areas of our church and provides a great level of accountability for how we handle money and expenses. The Reach Ministry Team helps guide our local outreach and global missions. The School Ministry Team is our version of a school board that advises and evaluates our Head of School.

Then come the many wonderful people that serve and lead in a variety of ways here at Calvary Church, including LifeGroup Leaders.

Here’s the update on our new elders:

During the Annual Meeting on Sunday, April 30, the two new elder nominees, Craig Bryson and Tom Shook, were overwhelmingly affirmed to begin their 3-year term as elders on July 1. Likewise, Ross Bennet and Rick Cavecche were affirmed for their second 3-year term. Please be praying for them, the rest of our Elder Board, and all those who seek to provide Christ-like leadership for our church family.  You can find out more about the leadership of Calvary Church at CalvaryLife.org/Leaders.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,
Eric