How We Arrived at a Final Lead Pastor Candidate

The leadership team at Oak Pointe Novi has been seeking to deliver regular updates about the pastoral transition process throughout 2021. As the search for our next lead pastor nears its anticipated conclusion, we reflect on the hours of diligent effort that so many have contributed in this process. Looking back, it is clear the Pastoral Transition process of 2021 occurred in four distinct segments.

Planning (January-March)

Formed 4 years ago, the Succession Planning Team was commissioned as a sub-committee of the Elder Team and met regularly to pray and do initial work to develop a pastoral transition process and candidate profile.

• Kickoff: The Succession Planning Team began to actively initiate the Pastoral Transition process in January of 2021.
• Advisory Team: The Succession Planning Team formed a multigenerational, multiethnic Advisory Team to more thoroughly represent the congregation when interacting with candidates.
• Search Firm: The Succession Planning Team reviewed a total of 8 search firms, interviewed 4, and finally selected NL Moore & Associates, led by Nancy Moore, as our search partner to lead and guide in the search process.

Research (March-May)

Beginning in conjunction with ministry search firm, NL Moore and Associates, we embarked on a season of understanding what type of leader was needed for Oak Pointe Novi

• Congregational Assessment: We received over 1000 responses to a 30-minute, 100-question survey from across the congregation. NL Moore noted this is an extremely strong response from a congregation – they were hoping for 500 surveys, the threshold for statistical accuracy.
• Extensive Staff Interviews: The NL Moore team came onsite and conducted interviews with key staff members in advance of creating the Candidate Profile.
• Focus groups: That same weekend, the NL Moore team conducted focus groups with members of congregation to round out the information for the Candidate Profile.
• Candidate Profile: Data from the Congregational Assessment, the staff interviews and the congregational focus groups were fused with the candidate requirements defined by the Succession Planning Team. This single Candidate Profile would be the criteria against which candidates would be evaluated for fit to be the next Oak Pointe Novi Lead Pastor.

Search (June-August)

NL Moore executed a nationwide candidate search:

• 360 contacts were in the initial field
• 135 were engaged in discussions
• 6 potential candidates went through the full vetting process
• 3 were presented as semi-finalist candidates

During this time, Oak Pointe Novi was prayerfully waiting.

Interviews (September-November)

• Interviews were conducted of three semi-finalist candidates by both the Succession Planning Team and the Advisory Team, after which one candidate was released from the process.
• Two semi-finalist candidates then sat through a 90 minute theological panel comprised of other Oak Pointe Pastors (Joe Seestadt, Oak Pointe West Bloomfield; Mark Kaminski, Oak Pointe Canton; Paul Jenkinson, Oak Pointe Milford; and Dave Hughes, Oak Pointe Novi). At this point one other candidate was released from the process.
• Jon Morales became the lone finalist candidate going forward.
• Jon then met extensively with all Oak Pointe pastors and Oak Pointe staff teams over several weeks.

How the Process Moves Forward

• The Succession Planning Team collected and reviewed all feedback
• The Succession Planning Team has recommended to the Elder Team that we call Jon Morales to be the next Lead Pastor of Oak Pointe Novi.
• The Elder Team now owns the Pastoral Transition process the rest of the way.
• The Elder Team has invited Jon to speak on Sunday, November 14.
• The Elder Team will meet during the week of November 15–19 to finalize discussion and vote whether to extend an offer to Jon.

Special Note on Church Governance: As Oak Pointe’s model of governance is an elder-led church, the congregation does not vote in matters of staffing, including the hiring of a lead pastor. In this pastoral search, the congregation has been given agency and voice through the Congregational Assessment (March), the congregational focus groups (May), and the Advisory Team composed of a mix of men and women of various ages and ethnicities (August-October). Therefore, there will be no ballots to cast after Jon speaks on November 14. However, should you have any further input, please share it by Tuesday, November 16 via email to Jim Hobbs. Because this is our first lead pastor transition in the history of Oak Pointe Novi, and because other churches in various Christian denominations operate under a different governance model, any confusion on this part of the process is understandable.

Thank You!

If you took the Congregational Assessment, if you participated in focus groups, if you have shared your thoughts and opinions with a staff member or elder, or if you’ve prayed along with us during this pastoral search, thank you so much! The search for our next lead pastor of Oak Pointe Novi had been an all-out, congregation-wide effort that we believe is being led by God’s Holy Spirit. We are confident that “in an abundance of counselors there is victory” (Proverbs 11:14) and are grateful for your voice over the past year in this process of Pastoral Transition.