Hey Church Family,
May is here! Can you believe it’s almost summer? I feel like 2018 is moving so fast. This month has some pretty big changes in store for Broadview so let me try and do my best to fill you in on what’s going on.
The biggest change will be the ministry transition for Daniel and Michelle Hessler. As you’ve probably heard by now, Daniel and Michelle have experienced a call to help their friends Drake and Danielle Elkins plant a church in Boulder, Colorado. The name of the church is City Church Boulder. We hosted a Vision Night for this project a few Wednesdays ago.
If you weren’t able to make it then you can watch it online. The video covers all the details about what this transition means for Broadview, what it means for the Hessler’s and how you can be personally involved if the Lord so leads. I’ll try to cover some of those details in this email but for those who’d rather watch instead of read you can watch the video below.
Boulder, Colorado
Boulder is the 2nd least-religious city in America with 91% of its population claiming no religious affiliation. 39 out of the last 40 church plants have failed over the last 10 years. I know those stats seems depressing but it just goes to show the spiritual need in a place like Boulder.
In the video I explained some of the reasons why Broadview will not make City Church Boulder one of our five church plants in the 2020 Vision. Essentially, it would not be a wise stewardship of our financial resources given the current season we’re in as a church. As much as we wish we sponsor Daniel and Michelle as official Broadview church-planters, the timing and nature of this project led us to believe that we shouldn’t develop an official partnership with City Church Boulder.
Even so, I think we can and should find a way to support Daniel and Michelle in this transition. Audra and I plan to offer a financial gift in addition to our prayer support. You can also choose to give individually to this project if the Lord so leads. Just because God isn’t leading Broadview as a wholeto financially commit to this project doesn’t mean you can’t give as an individual. At the very least we can all commit to praying for them as they take this leap of faith and step out in obedience to God’s will for their life.
Daniel and Michelle will be sending out support letters to family and friends. If you’d like to make a one-time gift or even support their ministry monthly then you can do that. We’ve made a giving link available on our website. If you mail a check or give on Sunday morning then be sure you put City Church Project on the memo. You can sign up for the prayer list by texting “BOULDER” to number 444-999 or by registering on the City Church Boulder website. Again, even if you don’t give, I’d ask you to commit this ministry to prayer.
As hard as it is to see Daniel and Michelle leave Broadview, I’m excited to see what the Lord will do through them in Boulder. I honestly wish they weren’t leaving. But, part Broadview’s vision is to be a church with a sending culture. This gives us a chance to grow in that commitment.
We don’t know exactly when Daniel and Michelle will be leaving. They are committed to stay at least until the end of this month. Much of the timing of their transition depends on the sale of their home. Whether that happens at the end of this month or sometime next month, it’ll be a bitter-sweet farewell whenever it happens.
What Happens Now?
As for what we’re going to do once the Hessler family moves, here are the basic highlights from what I covered in the video. The last time our church searched for a full-time music minister it took us six months to find even two potentially qualified candidates. Only one of those candidates actually made it through the entire qualification process and that was Daniel. Essentially, the search team was looking for what we called “the silver bullet.” We needed someone who could lead both traditional AND contemporary services with excellence. Those type of music ministers are hard to find these days.
It’s relatively easy to find music ministers who can do a great job with traditional worship. It’s also pretty easy to find people who can lead worship in a contemporary setting. But when trying to find someone who can do both, you usually end up with one side of that equation suffering. That’s less than ideal. We want the traditional service AND the contemporary services to have someone who is both capable AND passionate for their respective musical genres.
That is why the Pastoral Team is recommending that we hire a traditional music minister to lead the traditional service. This minister would also be in charge of leading our Broadview Worship Choir related musical productions. A separate individual would lead the contemporary services and contemporary worship teams. This approach increases the likelihood that we’ll find a qualified candidate for both genres of music. It also keeps the church from having to take a gamble on the long and arduous search process for a silver bullet music minister. We believe the traditional service AND the contemporary services will be better served by this approach.
The question is, WHO will those people be? The answer is, right now, we’re not sure. These plans are “in pencil” until we see how the Lord works it all out. Nothing is etched in stone. Several capable candidates have already expressed interest in leading the traditional service. The plan is to try this out temporarily after Daniel leaves to see if it’s a viable solution for the long-term.
While we don’t yet know for sure who will lead the traditional service in this season, we do have a plan for the contemporary services. As you may remember, when Taylor first came to Broadview he led the contemporary services in addition to the student and young adult ministries. He did a great job with the music ministry then and he has offered to serve in that capacity again.
Having Taylor serve in this capacity does present an additional challenge, though. In January of this year, Taylor took on the responsibility of leading our adult small groups. Pastor David originally led this ministry but he handed it back over at the end of 2017. It would be overwhelming for any one individual to juggle all four of those ministry environments (worship, youth, young adults and adult small groups). So we plan to hire a part-time person to assist with the youth ministry while Broadview walks through this season. This approach will ensure that each ministry gets the focus it needs to be successful moving forward.
If this strategy best serves the needs of the church then we will adopt it as a long term solution. While this plan has been written in pencil, we’re moving forward with the prayerful expectation that God may use this structure to best serve the needs of our congregation in the long term. There are several reasons why we believe this is the best plan for the church right now. But, only God knows what’s truly best for Broadview. I would humbly ask that you please join us in seeking after God’s will and remain prayerfully sensitive as to what that might be as we walk together through this transition.
As we move forward, many of the current unknowns will become clearer. There are many things that we just can’t know for certain until other factors fall into place. That’s why so much of this is in pencil for right now. Nevertheless, we do need some sort of path forward and so hopefully this gives you an idea of what that might look like in the near future. For now, the most pressing need is our love and support toward the Hessler family as they walk through this season.
The Lord has always taken care of us and I know that won’t change. Jesus laid down his life for the Church. If we can trust him for our eternal life then let us join together in trusting him for this next season of our life together.
With you in the journey,
Pastor Wes