VitalChurch Ministry Completes Interim Pastor Period at Church in East Taunton, Massachusetts

SAN CLEMENTE, Calif., Feb. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- VitalChurch Ministry, a nonprofit organization dedicated to revitalizing Christian churches and helping them through times of transition or crisis, announced recently that they have completed their time as interim pastors in a church in East Taunton, Massachusetts, as the church has commissioned a new Lead Pastor.

Christ Community Church (CCC), located in Southeastern Massachusetts, had been experiencing a time of transition following the departure of their former Lead Pastor. CCC brought in an interim pastor from VitalChurch Ministry, Pastor Gregg Caruso, to lead the church through the transitional period as they searched for a new permanent Lead Pastor.

VitalChurch Interim Pastor Helps Restructure and Reinvigorate a Church in Transition
Pastor Caruso stayed with the church for 19 months as the interim pastor. During that time, he not only served as the preaching pastor on Sunday mornings, but he also led the church and its staff through a process that brought about significant organizational change.

According to Caruso, "The church had grown quickly over a 10-year period and had essentially become a large church with a small church mindset, which led to a reactionary leadership style that had begun to affect unity and focus. It became evident early on in my time at the church that a reconstitution of the eldership board was necessary. We also worked to update the church's bylaws and clarify their stance on secondary doctrines of faith. The job descriptions of all staff members were reevaluated, and we added ministry and personal objectives to them as needed. A Financial Advisory Board was assembled to provide financial counsel to the Lead Pastor, the Elders, and the Treasurer, and several new staff members were hired."

Caruso continued, "CCC was already doing many things well prior to my arrival and time as interim pastor there. Their staff and volunteers were hardworking and diligent in serving God and the church. They had a strong ministry to the marginalized population in the city center, and a passion for short-term missions and supporting missionaries around the world. They were in good shape financially, having been wise stewards of their money over the years. However, there was room for improvement in other areas."

While serving as interim pastor at CCC, Pastor Caruso helped the church rebuild their small group ministry, as well as their connections ministry to help new attendees assimilate into the large church body. He also led the church through a process that would help them develop better biblical conflict resolution skills.

A New Lead Pastor Is Identified and Commissioned

Pastor Caruso organized a series of all-church summits to reaffirm the church's values, mission, and vision, as well as to solicit congregational input regarding the experience, gifts, and skills the church desired in their next permanent Lead Pastor. Key members of the congregation, along with certain staff members and elders were assembled to form a Lead Pastor Search Team (LPST). After developing a detailed Lead Pastor Profile, the LPST began considering candidates, including then-Associate Pastor at CCC, Matthew Thornton. After a lengthy application and interview process, Pastor Thornton was recommended to the congregation to be the next permanent Lead Pastor at CCC and was confirmed with a vote that was 99% in his favor.

Pastor Caruso commented, "The fact that Pastor Thornton received 99% of the congregational vote of affirmation bodes well for a unified future for a church that intends to authentically carry out its mission statement: 'Learning to live like Jesus and helping others to do the same.' The new consensus-building culture and the way emotional health and biblical conflict resolution skills are now being integrated into the church's discipleship process will also aid the church moving forward."

Although Pastor Caruso's time as interim pastor at CCC has come to an end, he and the team at VitalChurch Ministry will continue to support the new Lead Pastor and CCC for the next year through follow-up coaching and support.

About VitalChurch Ministry

Since 1994, the VitalChurch team has worked with churches in transition or crisis, leading them to pathways of healing, hope, and revitalization. Their mission is to see churches reconciled and restored to unity, with gifted leadership in place, gospel values embedded, effective governance, an exciting mission agreed on, and a discipleship pathway engaged. They have engaged with churches as interim pastors in a variety of denominations, and in suburban, rural, and urban environments throughout the United States and in Europe.

The pastors at VitalChurch Ministry are recognized experts in the fields of church diagnostics, interim pastoring, and leadership coaching. They have produced resources and training materials used by churches and denominations throughout North America and have been featured speakers at multiple training conferences.

Find out more about VitalChurch Ministry at their website: http://vitalchurchministry.org/

SOURCE VitalChurch Ministry