The Lead Pastor Succession Plan

For 58 years Pantano has thrived because of the quality and depth of its leadership. We have a great team of Elders that includes our Lead Pastor. Our staff and volunteer leaders are empowered and equipped to lead well. We have a staff and leadership structure that has proven over the last six decades that we can…

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A message from Glen Elliott

Why a Succession Now? | UPDATED DECEMBER 16, 2020

The Lead Pastor Succession Plan

Current Update

We have an Interview Team that is made up of a group of nine people, diverse in age, gender, and ethnic backgrounds. Glen has trained them to recognize the kind of person we are looking for and our culture at Pantano so they are able to assess if a candidate is a good fit. The Team has developed the first set of interview questions and have clarified the logistics of how the first interviews will be conducted.

We have been sent six potential candidates by the Slingshot Search Group that we have hired to do the initial vetting. The Interview Team has been given extensive profiles that include video teachings of each applicant. The Team will review those before the actual interviews, which are scheduled for the first two weeks of January. Please pray for the interview team and the six candidates to be interviewed. At this point, we will be keeping the candidates’ names confidential.

Someone once said that every leader serves as an interim.

Someone once said that every leader serves as an interim. Moses prepared Joshua to succeed him and take the promised land. Jesus focused on preparing the Apostles to establish the church. Succession is a normal aspect of any healthy organization. Glen Elliott, our current Lead Pastor, began preparing for his succession with the Elders four years ago. Knowing the time would come for our church to find her next lead pastor, he helped lead the Elders through a preparation process. This process was completed and put on the shelf until Glen and the Elders agreed to put the plan into motion.

Glen is turning 65 and is ready to begin the search process. This was his choice and he initiated it. No one asked him to step down from his current role. He wants to make this change when he’s at the top of his game, not when he or the church is in decline. This is the best time to make this transition. Glen is completely confident this is what’s best for our church and for him.

Glen and the Elders believe that for our church to continue to be healthy and to reach the emerging generations and to remain alive, vital, and relevant we need to have a younger leader. We are looking for one who will build on the success of our past and move us into the future as our Lead Pastor.

Pantano has been a healthy church with significant influence in our community and world.

Glen wants everyone to understand this: He’s not intending to leave Tucson or Pantano. He is not retiring! He’s not tired, burnt out, or done in ministry. But with clarity and guidance from the Lord, he is entering a season of transition which we believe is God-ordained. Pantano has been a healthy church with significant influence in our community and world. Glen, the Elders, and staff believe that Pantano’s best days are still ahead, building on a healthy present and past! This is the right time to make this transition.

Key Aspects About Our Succession Plan:

Our current Lead Pastor, Glen, initiated this process about four years ago. Then in 2017 the Elders began a study on successful transitions and engaged a consultant.
The Elders are responsible for hiring the Lead Pastor.
We have begun a national search. Any current staff member can submit an application to be considered in a national search.
Slingshot will look through hundreds of applicants and will vet and narrow the group to 4-7 candidates based on our unique church culture.
A search team of 2 Elders and several key members of our church will do two rounds of interviews. No staff will be on this search team. This team will narrow the list of candidates further.
The best candidate will be onsite for interviews that will include the staff, selected congregational participants, and the Elders. The Elders will make an offer after they have sensed God’s clear guidance and direction.
Upon arrival, Glen and the successor will have a season of overlap which will include discussions about how or where Glen will best serve.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Please continue to love our church as you have. Continue to serve as you have served in the past. Continue to give as you have given. Continue to pray for our church, Elders, and staff.

Please pray that God will bring the best next leader to Pantano. He’s been faithful in the past in bringing the very leaders that we needed. Pray for the Elders and the search team as they interview candidates.

Common Questions

We are looking for a younger man who is qualified to be an Elder at Pantano and has the character, experience, and skills to lead a large multi-site church. We are looking for someone who loves our basic vision, mission, and values and holds our biblical beliefs. We also want someone who is bold and equipped to bring needed and healthy changes to make Pantano even more effective in reaching people not connected to God or a church, help them grow to be like Jesus, transform our community, and advance the work of the Kingdom. We are not looking for someone to take us in a completely different direction, but we do want our new leader to have the freedom to be innovative and bring fresh ideas.

We are starting a national search for Glen’s successor. We are using the Slingshot Search Group to announce and do the initial vetting of candidates for the position of Lead Pastor. We have created a public church and position profile. We’ve worked with Slingshot for years and they have helped us develop our succession plan. Slingshot will present qualified candidates to Pantano and we’ll prayerfully and carefully select the best candidate to lead us into our future.