July 2026

Dear Members of North Shore Fellowship,

Much of this will repeat what we shared at the congregational meeting on July 5, 2026, but we still wanted to provide a brief written update on our work. We have continued to meet over the past few weeks and now have a regular meeting time every other week. We feel encouraged in our fellowship and unity as we move forward.

We have also partnered with the Session to develop a church profile and a Senior Pastor job description. These documents are now essentially in their final form and will be posted on the new church website shortly. Speaking of the new website, we now have a dedicated page there where you’ll find, in addition to the church profile and job description documents, other Search Committee information including regular updates, a copy of our confidentiality agreement, and contact information. You can direct potential applicants to this web page; you can also send recommendations to pastorsearch@nsfellowship.org.

We had one member of our team, Peter Newman, attend General Assembly (“GA”) for networking opportunities. Peter’s time at GA was fruitful, and our hope is that his time there will serve our Search Committee work—whether through potential candidate connections, learning from other churches about their search processes, or partnering with others who can support us in our current search.

Finally, to just help orient you to where we are: the search process typically moves through three phases. Phase 1 is all about setting the process, defining roles, and creating the church profile and job description. Phase 2 is when we begin receiving applications, interviewing candidates, and doing deeper evaluation. Phase 3 is when the Search Committee narrows down to a single finalist, introduces that candidate to the congregation, and moves through the call process with the Session.

We are now finishing Phase 1 and will soon be moving into Phase 2, which means we’ll soon be reviewing and interviewing candidates. While we are pleased with the progress we have made, we are mindful of the fact (and want you to be as well) that this is likely to be a long process and could very well take all of 18-24 months. Of course, we pray that it’d be shorter than that–that the Lord would bring the right man to us quickly–but we are not expecting to have the Senior Pastor position filled before Summer/Fall 2027.

Please continue to pray for us as we carry out our work. Pray that we would, to quote Francis Schaeffer, do “the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way,” laboring not in the power of the flesh, but in the power of the Spirit.

Sincerely,

The Senior Pastor Search Committee

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

pastorsearch@nsfellowship.org