In the wake of Mister Mark’s recent announcement to hang up his Converse to accept a coveted and prestigious position in the world of choral music, here’s some great, greater, and greatest news.

A search committee comprised of parents, FUMCFW Lay Leadership, Staff Parish Relations Committee, and our Co-Pastor, Rev. Lance Marshall has already been hard at work to put both a search and interim plan into place:

• Dr. Mike Marshall, with the help of Children’s Ministries Assistant Janice Cooper, will serve as our Interim Director of Children’s Ministries to maintain our existing programming and allow plenty of time to find the best possible replacement for the irreplaceable Mister Mark.
• Our church has engaged the services of The Slingshot Group, a nationally recognized search firm that specializes and excels in church ministry staffing to lead a nationwide search for our next Director of Children’s Ministries.

“We interviewed several leading pastoral search firms,  and it was very clear that Slingshot Group absolutely understands what makes an excellent children’s ministry and excellent children’s minister,” says Rev. Lance Marshall, FUMCFW Co-Pastor, “I believe they are the perfect fit for finding the right person to lead our children’s ministry into its very bright future.”

So now, with a short-term solution in place and a long-term solution now underway, we begin this search experts agree is one of the hardest positions to fill well. “It may take a while,” Lance adds, “but it’s well worth it to find the perfect person — and we’ve got a great interim setup to thrive until then.”