Succession
at southview church
As a church family, we are in a time of prayer and discernment as we seek new leadership for Southview. We invite you to engage with this process as we prayerfully consider the best process and people to guide us through this season. Please check back regularly for updates as we embark on this journey together.
Located in Calgary’s southeast community of Walden, Southview Alliance Church is walking through a time of discernment as we seek God’s direction in who He has as our next Senior Pastor.
A leader with a strong Biblical foundation and a passion for teaching the whole counsel of Scripture, eager to embrace and communicate the vision God has given to Southview, and mobilize the church’s leaders and congregation to pursue and live it out.
An individual with a welcoming and hospitable spirit, longing to create an atmosphere of comfort and community marked by love.
Someone able to demonstrate love and care for all people through words and actions of blessing and compassion, empathize with the struggles and joys experienced by the church body, and a heart for missions with an enthusiasm about developing innovative approaches to demonstrate love and service to our local community and beyond.
Please see the full Ministry Profile and application information below.
First and foremost, please pray. Pray that the Succession Planning Team and the Search Team would be open and eager to hear God’s voice and prompting. Pray that we would have clarity in this process, and that the right person (or persons) would be drawn to Southview with a passion to lead us forward. Pray for Pastor Clyde and Jillian as they move towards a new phase in their lives. That God would continue to use them both to expand His kingdom and lead as many as possible to passionately follow Jesus. Pray for our staff that there would be continued unity in purpose and mission as we move through the transition.
Second, please communicate with us. Share your thoughts and feedback through our designated email.
Southview family, thank you so much for your continued prayers. We are encouraged by how the process is progressing. How God has taken our diverse backgrounds, personalities, and opinions and is leading us together in unity as we continue to seek His direction.
As we are preparing to have initial discussion with applicants during the first weeks of November and developing questions that will help us gather a more full picture of who these candidates are personally and pastorally, we want to continue to invite you to join us in the process.
One of, if not the most important part of all that we are doing is prayer. From the very first time that we met with Clyde to begin down this path of succession, we made a commitment to bathe this process in prayer.
Deonne McCausland and John Amusan, are leading our prayer team and we would love to have you join us weekly as we pray over all aspects of the search, including praying for our Staff, congregation, Elders, Search Team and the applicants who are feeling led to put their name forward.
If you are feeling called to serve in this way, please join the prayer team on Realm or reach out to us at succession@southviewchurch.com to get connected.
Through all of this we continue to trust that God will guide and lead us. We continue to pray individually for who God has for us and that He would be preparing us for who He has called to our congregation.
In the near future, we will gather corporately for a time of Mid-week Worship and Prayer where we can call out to God together, thanking him for how He continues to move in the Southview body, how He continues to change lives in our community, and how He continues to build his Church.
The Search Team
Renate, Michelle, John, Val, Deonne, Don, Andrew & John
Timeline
Clyde announces retirement plans for end of ministry year (June 2023)
Identification of Strengths & Growth Areas
Announcement of Sam Seifert as Interim Senior Leader
Development of Ministry Description & Profile for Senior Pastor
Pastor Clyde’s final weekend as Senior Pastor
Search and candidating process
Recommendation to the Western Canadian District of the C&MA
Western Canadian District appointment of the Senior Pastor
First day of new Senior Pastor
Don Kowalenko
Andrew Shareski
John Nichols
Deonne McCausland
John Amusan
Val LeBlanc
Michelle Duimel
Renate Yakielashek
Timeline
Clyde announces retirement plans for end of ministry year (June 2023)
Identification of Strengths & Growth Areas
Announcement of Sam Seifert as Interim Senior Leader
Development of Ministry Description & Profile for Senior Pastor
Pastor Clyde’s final weekend as Senior Pastor
Search and candidating process
Recommendation to the Western Canadian District of the C&MA
Western Canadian District appointment of the Senior Pastor
First day of new Senior Pastor
Southview’s mission remains to lead as many as possible to passionately follow Jesus and our focus continues to be forming disciples who make disciples.
We begin with prayer. Asking God to guide, lead and reveal His will for Southview.
Succession Planning phase – Through discussions with the Pastoral and support staff, Elders, Ministry Leaders, and the congregation, the Succession Planning team gathers information about where Southview is at as a body. Identifying what areas we are doing well in and where there are growth opportunities.
This information is reviewed and grouped into overarching themes that will provide the Ministry Description for the next Senior Pastor. That Ministry description will then be used to develop the Senior Pastor Profile, Job Description and Posting.
The Succession Planning Team will meet with the Search Team to provide an overview of how the Ministry Description, the Senior Pastor Profile, Job Description and Posting were developed and release them to carry out the search, candidating and recommendation to the Western Canadian District of the Christian and Missionary Alliance.
Search Team phase – During this time the Search team will seek out candidates through the job posting, and discussions with resources, such as the Western Canadian District, other churches, Ambrose University, and retired Alliance pastors, who are well tied into the Alliance community.
The Search team will provide their recommendation to the Western Canadian District of the C&MA. The District will have final approval and will ultimately be the body to appoint the next Senior Pastor to Southview.
We at Southview are so fortunate to have such a strong and capable staff in place to carry on day-to-day operations largely unchanged. Various pastors will be asked to take additional tasks that are currently carried out by Clyde.
Working in consultation with the Board of Elders, Sam Seifert has been appointed as our Interim Senior Leader, to provide guidance and leadership to the staff during this period of time.
We are also fortunate to have great teachers within our pastoral staff and church body, to continue to share God’s word and preach the Bible on a weekly basis.
We expect this interim period could take a year or more. Our desire is for God’s will to be done in this process and we will be patient and take the time required to listen to God’s direction. He has prepared a person for Southview and we trust that through this process we will be led to that individual. And in the meantime, we have a solid team in place that will continue to carry out God’s mission for Southview.
Thank You, Clyde
On the weekend of June 10/11, Clyde Glass gave his final words of encouragement to the Southview family as our Senior Pastor, after 25 years of faithful service. It was a weekend in which we held space for great joy and deep grief, and took solace in the truth of his parting words: “God is with you; we pray for you constantly.”
We acknowledge that no words are sufficient to thank Clyde for the immense impact his ministry has had on each of us. As we step forward into this new liminal space and await God’s direction for the future, let’s pause for a moment in gratitude.
Céad míle go raibh maith agat.
One hundred thousand thanks.
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