Hello Platt Park Church!
I’m a retired Presbyterian pastor who’s visited your church several times recently—just as your pastor search was drawing to a close. After ten years of doing transitional ministry with churches your size, I’m always cheering for congregations to welcome their new pastors well and get off to a strong start together.
As it happens, I have a sermon on that very topic, and Holly, Anne, and Charlie thought it might be helpful to share a condensed version with you. So here it is—four pieces of practical advice for how to welcome James.
1. Welcome James Personally
There are around 200 people in the Platt Park Church community—and James has said he wants to get to know all of you.
Help him (and Gretchen!) learn your name and your children’s names—not just first names, but first and last. And give him several chances (at least three!) to connect your name with your face. You’ll know James knows your name when he begins to use it.
2. Welcome James with Prayer
Many of you have been faithfully praying through the pastor search process. Now it’s time to keep praying—for James, and for this next season of life and ministry at PPC.
Pray for him to settle into his new routines. Pray for his first weeks of preaching, worship, and pastoral care. Pray for the relationships he’ll be building with the congregation, staff, elder board, deacons, and teams. Pray for wisdom as he learns what it means to be a “lead” pastor in a staffing structure that’s intentionally flat.
Keep James’s name on your prayer list—and pray regularly and often.
3. Welcome James with Patience
Some of you have probably said—or at least thought—these four little words: “When James gets here…” And sure, there are plenty of things that need his input. But experience and scripture both teach us this: discernment takes time.
Give James space to get his bearings, to listen, to observe, and to get a sense of where God is already at work in your church. Let him ask a lot of questions—and ask some of your own. Be as curious about him as he is about you.
And when something he says or does doesn’t quite make sense? Don’t assume. Don’t gossip. Don’t criticize. Just talk to him. Ask what he meant. Take the time it takes to get to know each other well—and honor each other in the process.
4. Welcome James with Partnership
Why partnership? Because both scripture and experience show us that ministry is meant to be shared—not done for people, but done with people.
You all know how demanding ministry can be. And James’s role, especially early on, will be busy and stretching. But you’re not just bringing in a pastor—you’re entering into co-laboring for the sake of the gospel.
Your search team looked for a pastor with a collaborative leadership style. That means someone who wouldn’t just show up with a plan, but someone ready to join you in asking: What are we already doing? And what might God be calling us to do together next?
So now’s not the time to step back, bow out, or retire. If you’re involved in a ministry at PPC, stick with it—at least for now. Who you are and what you do matters. James needs your experience, insight, and presence. He can’t do this alone—nor was he meant to.
I’m praying for you, for James, and for all that God is doing at Platt Park Church. May this next chapter be full of grace, growth, and joyful partnership.
With love and hope,
Rev. Laurel Neal