David Describes the Interim Leadership Structure For Grace Church
In his last blog Simon Redmill shared the news that he feels that his season as Lead Elder of Grace Church is coming to an end and set out his plans to move back in to secular employment whilst he and Sam remain part of the church here in Salisbury. Simon talks in his blog about seasons starting and seasons ending. As a church we are just starting a season of leadership change, and I want to set out how we will be ensuring that Grace Church is well looked after in this next season.
It has been a privilege to work alongside Simon and the other elders here at Grace Church over the last two years. When I joined the leadership team back in January 2020 I came with 18 years fulltime church leadership experience from Welcome Church in Woking where I was part of the eldership team of a church community of about 800 people including children and youth. I have to say that right from the beginning of my time here at Grace Church I have really enjoyed working with Simon. Simon is a man full of grace and without hidden edges. We are for the most part very much on the same page on most things.
As Simon steps back from his role as lead elder, Si Sleight and I have considered whether this is a role that the Lord is calling us to, and neither of us feel that we are the right man for the job in the long run. However, with the experience that I have had over the last 20 years I felt that I had the faith to gather a team to lead Grace Church through a transition period until a suitable leader can be appointed. If I had been younger I might have given more consideration to picking this up for longer, but I think Grace Church needs a younger man to take us forward in to the next phase of the life of this church. Si and will be leading together as the remaining elders, but as I am full time and Si has a busy job, I will lead this team and the other teams that I am going to describe for you here.
Just two elders leading a church of this size is a bit light in man power, and we are clear we do not want to just hold the church in a holding pattern waiting for the “cavalry” to arrive over the horizon. The church needs to gather some momentum to move forward now, so that a new leader joins a vibrant church on the move. As we start to move forward, every step we take on this journey is being thoroughly discussed and supported by Andrew Lawrence and Andy Le Roux who have some Apostolic input to us a church on behalf of Commission.
We want to strengthen the leadership of the church in this next season. We want to put support around the eldership team to give some forward momentum to us as a church. To do this we are going to form two teams.
Senior Leadership Team (SLT)
The first of these teams we are calling the Senior Leadership Team. This will be a group of men working most closely with the elders. Some of the key decisions will still remain with the elders but the Senior Leadership Team will be involved in the decision process and will take an active part in leading the church through this next season. I am delighted to say that the following men have agreed to join us in this team. They are:
- David Hazelton
- James Haslam
- Boni Hima
- Brian Kimberley
You will begin to see these men take more of a lead at our Sunday meetings and you will know that behind the scenes they will be helping to shape our direction forward from here.
The Core Team
In addition to this team we will form a larger team which we are calling the Core Team. This a group of men and women who have shown a level of maturity and commitment who will be a good sounding board for ideas coming out of the Senior Leadership Team and they will have opportunity to input to the way forward and to lead different aspects of church life. I haven’t yet had time to approach all of the people on this team, so I am not able to tell you now who they are, but we do have people in mind for this team. Both teams will form a key part of developing leaders at Grace Church.
Please pray for us as we enter this next phase. I am not ambitious for this role, but I am willing to serve to the best of my abilities as the Lord helps me. That will be true for all those that form our Senior Leadership Team and our Core Team. They will be stepping up to new levels of responsibility. I would like to ask each of you to consider doing the same. Most of our teams are in need of more people. We are seeing the same few people serving week after week and others not willing to move out of their comfort zones. Your church needs you to join a team to allow us to gather momentum to begin to move forward. Let’s not get stagnant by standing still let’s be on the move together.
Are You with Us?
If you feel positive about what I have set out, any encouragement that you can give to the team as they take up their new roles I am sure would be very much appreciated by each one. The greatest encouragement we can receive is to see you step up too and be willing to step back in to a team to serve others as we go forward together.
If you are feeling unsettled and would like to talk anything through, then I would love to chat your concerns through with you. I am very happy to talk to you on the phone, in person or on Zoom. My contact details are david.maskell@gracechurchuk.org or tel 07860796864
Let’s work together to come through this season to get to all that God has for us in the future.
David Maskell
Jan 2022