In case you missed it, we are pleased to announce that our elder selection/reaffirmation process has concluded. While more than 30 names of godly servants were submitted, we used the same process of discernment that we employed the last two times we added elders. We used a “Natural Cutoff” process. That is, we tallied the number of times individuals received nominations and looked for a natural break within the list. After the cutoff was determined, each nominee was approached about the possibility of moving forward. Then, each nominee and their spouse met individually with the existing elders to discuss the importance of the role and responsibilities of shepherding. At the conclusion of that process, we were pleased to affirm four new elders this past Sunday. The new elders and their spouses are Bruce and Kim Binkley, Bil and Marilyn Cash, JJ and Jill Childers, and Jay and Lara Chesshir.

   What’s more, the church overwhelmingly reconfirmed the four preexisting elders. As a reminder, they did not see the reaffirmation ballots but instead delegated the task of tallying those results by two trusted members of the finance team. Our four returning elders and their spouses are Eddie and Katherine Creighton, Craig and Wendy Lair, Kent and Jonnie Westbrook, and Roger and Keri Williams.

   In the coming weeks and months, the elders will be working to find ways to help you get to know us better, and more importantly, ways to get to know you, the members, better. Further, the elders and their spouses will soon participate in a retreat in order to spend time in prayer and planning. We hope to deepen our organization, better our communication, consider the many ideas for improvement you shared in the surveys, and most importantly to seek the wisdom and leading of God’s Spirit. We welcome your ideas. We ask for your prayers. We look forward to serving you and serving beside you as shepherds of Chenal Valley Church.

 The Elders