Restorative Work
The elders’ full statement regarding the failure in leadership in the fall of 2024 was sent to the congregation on October 29, 2024 and remains available to those of the CityChurch community upon request.
We are working together to foster healing and reconciliation for those in our church body affected by these events, to continue the ministry of the gospel in our community, and to guard against future failures among church leadership and staff.
While this sin itself initially caused significant hurt within the body of the church, our efforts to heal and move forward from it have uncovered preexisting differences of understanding about our identity and direction as a church that were previously unrealized. As these differences have arisen, the work of plotting steps forward has proven more difficult than we first anticipated, and yet it also provides us the opportunity grow together in our understanding of who we are as a church and what God is calling us do in our community. We recognize the difficulty this work will entail as it requires us to be gracious and patient, to deny ourselves as we submit to one another in love. And yet at the same time we are hopeful and excited for the ways God will use this work to glorify Jesus among his church and advance the mission of his Kingdom here in our city.
Mission, Vision, and Core Values
We began the task of reviewing our Mission and Vision statements to discern the work God has set before CityChurch in the fall of 2025. The work began in community with a group of church members in conversation with the elders through a workshop meeting regularly in the months of August and September. The workshop sought to approach the question of God’s mission and vision for our congregation from the consideration of three perspectives: God’s mission for his people revealed in Scripture, the needs of our community that overlie the deepest need for the gospel, the particular gifts and passions of our congregation.
In the weeks following the conclusion of the workshop, the elders continued from these conversations to articulate new statements of our mission, vision, and core values to provide clarity for the work of the gospel at CityChurch moving forward. These were presented to the church at a congregational meeting on November 9th and are now published on the church website here. A recording of the congregational meeting is also available here.
Next Steps
With the clarity provided by our mission, vision, and values, we will be able to put our continued efforts in restorative work toward matters of identity and matters of strategy. Matters of identity include work to understand things like who are as a church, what we believe, and how we should relate to other churches. Matters of strategy pertain to the practical means by which we will seek to carry out our mission. While some practical matters of strategy can begin immediately flowing from our newly understood mission and vision, others will require that we flesh out
Matters of Identity
Theology and Doctrine: We intend to revisit the Gospel Coalition Confessional Statement which we currently use as our church statement of faith. While we have no intention of departing from or changing any positions of the core beliefs as they are summarized in the TGC Confessional Statement, we will aim to evaluate whether adherence this document accomplishes the functions for which it is needed in fostering a theological identity, doctrinal clarity, and unity within, and possibly without the CityChurch congregation. Specifically, we will consider the issue of baptism, and how to articulate our position of liberty in order to create unity amidst our diversity on the issue, while at the same time safeguarding against error. We believe these matters are essential to the strategic goals of considering relationship with other churches and ecclesiastical bodies, as well toward the purpose of considering candidates for leadership positions.
Ecclesiology and Church Polity: Recognizing both the benefits and drawbacks of ecclesiastical associations, we will discuss CityChurch’s particular needs that might be gained from such relationships, such as support, accountability, and cooperation in mission. As we clarify these needs, we will begin to consider what kinds of associations or church networks might be able meet these needs. Additionally, we will consider our church polity and our bylaws. Recasting our mission and vision already create the necessity for amendment to the bylaws, however we intend to consider additional changes in order to move certain areas of authority and responsibilities from the hands of the session of elders and into the responsibility of church members.
Matters of Strategy
Staffing and Leadership: Both preceding from our mission as well as contingent on other matters of identity, we will pursue CityChurch’s need for leaders and church officers to carry out the mission. We will form a pastoral search committee toward the end of hiring another pastor. We aim to assemble the committee in the remainder of this year so that we may begin attending to the practicalities like budgeting/fundraising, creating a job description, and advertising the position in January. We hope to begin seeking candidates by February or March.
At the same time we intend to address the need for other elders by creating processes for nomination, training, examination, and nomination of elder candidates. We have also begun to seek candidates for the office of deacon and intend organize and equip the deacons team as we work to understand and articulate their role within the new statements of mission and vision.
Ministries and Programs: With our new mission, vision, and values in hand, we intend to refocus and re-energize existing ministries programs with consideration for how they contribute the mission and vision and how they reflect our core values. Then we will begin to consider what other ministries or programs do we need to start ourselves or partner with in order to carry out our mission.
Questions
If you have questions about any of these matters, we welcome you to reach out any of the current elders: Neil Wallen, Micah Leuzinger, Josiah Leuzinger, Taylor Whitson.
Work with IBL
In February and March of 2025, CityChurch partnered with the Institute of Biblical Leadership to conduct a congregational survey to help aid in our restorative work following the moral failure within church leadership. The survey sought to identify shared values, diverse perspectives, areas of strength, and areas of concern in order to aid us as we seek a path forward for CityChurch into the future.
The full report of the data from the survey is available to the church through the link below. IBL presented these findings along with suggested next steps for CityChurch in a congregational meeting on May 17, 2025. A recording of the meeting can be viewed through the link below along with a PDF of the presentation slides. In order to keep these items amongst the CityChurch community, a ChurchCenter login is required to access them.
We are grateful to Joel and Dave and the team at IBL for their help in ministering to our church in this way, and we are excited for the ways the Lord will continue to use their work to help us to facilitate communication, reach mutual understanding, and foster unity among our congregation as we pursue his will and mission for our church.
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When you click the link above, on a smartphone, it may open in the ChurchCenter app. If you are not already logged into ChurchCenter, you will need to do so before you can access the report and meeting files.
If you have not downloaded the ChurchCenter app, or if you are accessing the link on a desktop or tablet, the link will open in a web browser. In the web browser, click the button that says log in in the top right corner. On a mobile device, the log in button may be inside a dropdown menu represented by the three horizontal lines.
You can log in to ChurchCenter using either a phone number or email address. Rather than a password you have to remember, ChurchCenter will send you a temporary confirmation code.
If you create a new ChurchCenter account, you will not be able to immediately access the links.
If you have any trouble logging in or accessing these items, contact Taylor or send us a quick message using the link below, and we’ll help as soon as possible.
Leadership
In the fall of 2024, the elders called Taylor Whitson to the role of interim pastor. Taylor has since been affirmed by the congregation and ordained to the office of elder. As Taylor continues to lead and assist our musicians in the work of leading worship and planning liturgy, we are grateful for the opportunity for others from within our congregation and from other churches to share periodically in the work of preaching and teaching
We recognize CityChurch’s need for leaders of more diverse experience and stages of life, and we continue to seek additional candidates for eldership accordingly. With the help of materials from other churches and sessions, we are working to create a clear process for identified elder candidates to be trained and equipped for the work of leadership and ministry.
As we engage in the work of discerning God’s mission and vision for our congregation, we expect that the specific needs for pastoral positions and other church staffing will become clear along the way.