Fredonia Hill Family,
Given the resignation of Pastor Pat, we wanted to inform you about significant steps forward for our family. First of all, Pastor Pat has expressed a desire to move back to the Fort Worth area to be closer to family. In the meantime, Pat will be serving with a non-profit organization that proclaims the Gospel to both Jew and Arab in Israel. In the long term, Pat desires to serve back in the local church in the DFW area.
While this is indeed sad news for Fredonia Hill, we know that Pastor Pat will carry the same passion for disciple making and preaching the Gospel that he shared with us for the past eight years to those ministries. Pastor Pat has been instrumental in all our lives by helping us to realize the importance of disciples making disciples, to hunger for the Word, to become a multi-ethnic and multigenerational church, to invest in college students, to build up and send future worship leaders and ministers, to apply the Word to our actions and thoughts, and to establish a more Scriptural commitment to church governance through Eldership.
These significant achievements are remarkable. Yet, many of you, like us, may have experienced even more personal investments he and April have made in our lives. As elders, we are very proud of these accomplishments, but more so of our pastor. He is a godly man with incredible integrity and honor. We love and look up to him with great admiration of his character, love for FH, love for Christ, and love for his family.
Secondly, with the move, Pastor Pat has requested his last day at FH be March 25, 2018. This will approach quickly. In an effort to keep you informed and to begin the process of moving our church forward, we wanted to let you know of a few important details:
On Sunday, February 25th, 2018 during the church service an elder will present next steps for the transition period and some important dates to the church body.
Additionally, we will detail in the weeks to come the opening of two nomination processes 1) a pastoral nomination Advisory Team and 2) for the additional elders. The Advisory Team will be comprised of nominated church members and the elder team. In accordance with the church by-laws, the Elders have the authority to create a search team. We believe it is best to have nominations for those spots in order to have a more representative pool of the body.
Church, take heart! Don’t lose sight that Fredonia Hill is pastored by the Great Shepherd our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As Psalm 23 reminds us,
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. - Psalm 23:1-4
Church, this is true. Christ will lead us to him always. So, we pray that we will not make idols of Pastor Pat or any other former or future Lead Pastor. Jesus, give us the faith and perseverance to keep our eyes on You, not on the things that hard, unthinkable, or discouraging. Amen.
Knowing that Christ continues to be our Chief Pastor (Ephesians 1:22) and Prize (Philippians 3:14), we must continue on as a church on mission (Matthew 28:18-29). These truths never change. With that said, all of our regularly scheduled Bible study and worship times will continue. Our vision that has been realized will continue. The Elders will work with the Pastoral Staff to assist them in anyway we can and include them in our transition process. Kendall has already joined assisting the elder team, beginning March 5th, Pastors Kendall, Blake, and Matt will join in our meetings for a time of prayer and discussion. So, we encourage you to feel free to approach each of them and each of us as you see fit. But, keep this in mind, these guys are very capable to keep the pace going. We, like Pastor Pat, hold these guys in high esteem.
Anytime pastors leave, folks try to think about potential controversy or potential agendas. We want to encourage you to be patient, be loving, be resilient, and be focused on Christ above all else. Again, Christ is the heart of this church. He is the reason we exist. His will is what we long to adhere to more than anything else. When decisions or information seem slow, it is not our intention. We may make some mistakes on the way, but with faith and the work of our Sovereign King, we will overcome. Take heart and struggle well!
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. - Colossians 3:1-2
In Christ,
Ty Spradley, President/Chair
George Middlebrook III, Vice President
David Cowee, Secretary
Mark Clark, Treasurer