Throughout the winter, the elders have been engaged in a process of discernment of the present and future needs of the congregation and so it is with delight that we announce that we have a new configuration for our staff team. With the announcement of Pastor Wally’s departure, we have divided the position of Senior Associate Pastor into two parts and today we are announcing the hiring of Jenna Tulman as our Executive Pastor and Brady Ash as our Assistant Pastor. Each of them will work half-time, Brady beginning June 1 and Jenna on July 9 of 2023.
Pastor Ruth Ellen has also agreed to a contract extension to continue serving with excellence as the staff team leader in the area of children and family ministries (birth to Grade 7).
As an elders team, we are delighted at the vitality and integrity that these three individuals bring to our team. They have a heart to serve and are well-suited to take JRCC into the future.
The Backdrop…
Back in September 2022, Pastor Wally Nickel let us know of his intention to move on from his staffing role at Jericho Ridge at the end of the calendar year. As we came into Nov, the elders and Wally entered a process of mutual discernment where we asked if he might consider extending his time on staff with us into 2023. He graciously accepted and is still seeking the Lord for what is next for him in terms of vocational Christian ministry.
Knowing that he was moving on, the elders began the process of assessing the present and future needs of the congregation and the areas of responsibility Pastor Wally had been engaged in. It became clear that there were two primary ‘buckets’. One was more administrative / shepherding in nature (in the updated structure, the Executive Pastor will oversee Benevolence, Hospitality, Front Lines Ministries, the work of the JRCC office) and one role, the Assistant Pastor, was more focused on being the second voice in our Sunday morning preaching ministry, as well as providing oversight to small groups and digital ministry. As we wrote out all of these things on a white board, we paused and said “wait a minute… we already have two people on our staff team who can do all of those things! That describes Jenna and Brady!”
Our next step was mutual discernment with both Jenna and Brady. We spent time discussing and refining the position profiles, detailing the areas of responsibility and the skills required. Each candidate was interviewed and was selected on the basis of present and past performance as well as exemplary Christian character and a commitment to the mission and values of JRCC.
Brady will move back to Langley from the USA and continue his seminary studies remotely. Since Pastor Jenna is on maternity leave from her role as our Children’s Pastor (since July of 2022), we also engaged Pastor Ruth Ellen to see if she would be amendable to extending her contract and continuing in that role. She has agreed and will continue to oversee our Sunday AM ministry from birth up to Grade 4 and our Monday might FUEL ministry to Grades 5-7.
All three add a sense of depth and dynamism to our team. We are delighted to have a strong, youthful staff team who also has a depth of biblical knowledge and on-the-ground ministry experience with us here at Jericho. We look forward to formally welcoming them this summer.
- Miriam Faulkes, Moderator
