April 2026

Dear Members of North Shore Fellowship,

First off, we are honored that you have selected us to serve as members of the Senior Pastor Search Committee. We are excited to work together in this process and are comforted by the fact that we serve a sovereign God who already knows who our next Senior Pastor will be. We trust the Lord is working by His Spirit in and through North Shore Fellowship (“NSF”) during this season of searching and waiting. Please join us in praying that the Lord would, in His kindness, grant us discernment and wisdom and that He would direct our path as a Committee.

We have now met three times as a Committee and are feeling hopeful and encouraged. In our first meeting, we spent some time getting to know each other, with each member sharing about themselves and their hopes and expectations for the pastoral search process. We also began discussing several big‐picture elements of the process, including the phases of the search, the resources we plan to use, and the roles each member will

take within the Committee. Whitney Smith is serving as Chair, with Natalie Northcutt as Secretary, Peter Newman as Prayer Coordinator, and Sarah Beth Matthews as Communication Coordinator.

Each member spent time between meetings praying, reviewing notes and summaries from the listening groups conducted by the elders, and reading portions of Finding A Pastor: A Handbook for Ministerial Search Committees by Dr. Joel Hathaway. In our second and third meetings, we discussed and workshopped a confidentiality policy and agreement for the Committee and reviewed some of the institutional and cultural history of NSF and its pastoral leadership. Our purpose in reflecting together on NSF’s history has been to (1) discern the strengths and weaknesses of NSF as a church and (2) partner with the Session to develop a pastoral leadership “profile” for the Senior Pastor we hope to eventually recommend to the congregation.

We as a Committee will continue meeting regularly as we establish our team, clarify our process, and grow in unity and fellowship with one another. Our plan is to provide regular (i.e., at least monthly) updates on the pastoral search process. We are currently working on creating a section on the church website where resources and updates can be found. Please pray with and for us that we would depend wholeheartedly on our Heavenly Father, seek diligently to discern His will, and honor NSF in all our work together.

Sincerely,

The Senior Pastor Search Committee

• Whitney Smith
• Natalie Northcutt
• Peter Newman
• Lindy Oakes
• Ryan Sandidge
• Benjamin Pitts
• Kate Royal
• Aaron Sehon
• Sarah Beth Matthews

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pastorsearch@nsfellowship.org

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