At this time last year, our church was in a season of weariness, pain, grief, and uncertainty about what God’s plans were for IGC. Last August, when the Pastoral Search Committee (PSC) was formed, many of us were skeptical of what kind of success we’d have in finding a senior pastor — due to our own feelings of personal inadequacy, as well as what we felt was an undesirable work situation for someone to enter into.  

In many ways, being part of this committee was more than we imagined. It was definitely more work than we imagined. The weekly meetings, putting together a packet, and interviews kept us busy these past ten months. It was more unifying than we imagined. We came out of this season feeling like a community. The process required us to be a part of each other’s lives so that we could share opinions safely and respectfully with each other. And it was more sanctifying than we imagined. In describing what we desire in a pastor, we had to hold a mirror up to ourselves. We were forced to pray and seek God constantly because there were so many points in the process when we were unsure about how we were going to make a decision. This work was demanding, but God used it to grow and shape each of us. 

As we’re on the cusp of welcoming Jesse as our senior pastor, we look back at our perceived inadequacies as individuals and as a church, and how challenging of a situation any senior pastor would be stepping into. And we’re reminded of God’s desire to use what is weak and broken to show that he is the one who holds all things together. In this process God reminded us that when we are weak, he is strong; when we are faithless, he remains faithful. We hope this is also a testimony to the church of God’s faithfulness and that you share our excitement for what God will continue to do in IGC. 

Lastly, we want to thank everyone who has labored with us in this process: to our families, the staff, the session, and Josh Eby. We’re thankful for how God used each of you to minister to us.  

Nate Ong, on behalf of the PSC (Julie Gullman, Sini Robinson, John Ward, Elaine Wu, Tommy Wong, Anna Yang, and Tae Yook)