Letter From the Board of Elders
Dear CCCM Church Family,
The Board of Elders received Pastor John’s notification that he plans to retire by the end of January, 2012. God has truly blessed Christ Community Church of Milpitas through the leadership of Pastor John Bristol. For more than 35 years, Pastor John has taught us, encouraged us, and challenged us. We have worshiped and served together, we have worked and played together, and we have laughed and cried together. Of all the wonderful ways Pastor John has blessed this church, the greatest without a doubt, has been his biblically based and Christ-centered preaching of God’s word.
For several years now, the elders of CCCM, along with the assistance of Pastor John and senior church staff, have been proactively developing leadership transition strategies. The first such strategy was developed and released in 2007. The elders and staff recommendations in this report detailed a process to be followed in selecting new senior leadership for our church should the need arise. In February of 2010 a new Leadership Transition team was formed to review and update this transition strategy.
The leadership transition process defined by CCCM is aligned with and supported by processes developed by the Presbyterian Church. As members of the Presbyterian denomination, CCCM has access to a wealth of resources that address pastoral leadership change. These resources include documentation as well as access to individuals within our presbytery that have experience in pastoral transitions.
In the coming weeks, Pastor John and the Board of Elders will be communicating with you the details of the transition process. Our first order of business will be to identify and nominate candidates to the Pastoral Nominating Committee or PNC.
You, the congregation, have an essential role in the coming leadership transition process.
The first, and most important step, is for all of us to seek God’s will for our church through prayer. The Board of Elders needs and desires your prayers during this time. Specifically, we request that everyone pray that the Holy Spirit would identify and call members of this congregation to serve on the Pastoral Nominating Committee.
We love Pastor John and are thankful God called him to serve here at CCCM. Pastor John can never be replaced, because God created only one John Bristol. However, we are confident that God has a plan and a purpose for our church. We just need to seek His will and join Him in this endeavor. We are grateful for all that God has done, and will continue to do, through Pastor John, and we are excited for what God has planned for this church in the future.
May God bless you and our church,
The Board of Elders |
