After almost three years of faithful and creative service as our church’s Media and Technology Coordinator, Will Dodson has resigned to accept a position as a Litigation Support Specialist with a local legal firm. Will brought invaluable contributions to the ‘COVID years’ of our church’s ministry. His skillsets allowed us to immediately expand our broadcast capacity, upgrade our broadcast quality, broaden our offerings to the community, and all was done with a spirit of cheer and servanthood. Will’s last day of employment will be April 24. He is committed to assisting with a smooth transition and continuing to be part of the media team as a volunteer. We are accepting applications from individuals who have knowledge and experience in the areas of sound engineering, broadcast technology, computer technology, and social media for the position of Media and Technology Coordinator. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Jenna Manning or me.
We also have active search committees for Associate Director of First Baptist Day School, Associate Youth Minister, Administrative Assistant in Personnel and Office Services, and a Director of Preschool Ministry. Each of these committees is at a different place in the process, and all are being very intentional. Keep these committee members in your prayers as they give of their time and energy to continue shaping our staff. Continue to pray that God will lead the right people to us so that we continue to create a graceful space for God to do God’s work.
Remember all the world’s clergy in your prayers. According to the Barna Research Group, 38% of ministers indicate they are considering retiring or resigning from ministry post-COVID, 51% of ministers in mainline denominations. Actual resignations have been closer to 18%, resulting in a large number of ministry vacancies. Most of the retirements and resignations at FBG have been expected, and we remain a strong staff, but we are not immune to the fatigue and frustrations of creatively working during COVID-19 and slowly rebuilding after. By almost every measure, we have done extremely well. It hasn’t always been easy. Keep our staff, our church, and the faith community at large in your prayers. Most importantly, find your way back to church, Sunday School, and other ministries. Nothing encourages your ministers and faith family more than your presence.
—Jim