Succession Update // Bruce Lane

Ridge Church Family,

I trust you are doing well and are ready for the summer! I want to give you an update on our Senior Pastor Transition Plan. Last December, Tim announced that he would be “transitioning” from the Senior Pastor role effective September 30, 2024, and that Josh Rhodes would be taking over. Tim also gave an update at the end of April that things were progressing well, and I would agree with his assessment. Not only do I see the transition going well between Tim and Josh, I also see our church leaning into the transition—giving remains strong, new families are calling The Ridge their home, and our outreach efforts continue to make a huge difference in our community and state.

As we are now just four months away from the transition, I wanted to give you a glimpse of what we have been doing these past few years to prepare  for this critical but exciting “hand-off!” Some of you may remember back in November 2019, Tim had a medical issue that caused him to be hospitalized. This issue turned out to be more critical than everyone thought. Thankfully, Tim made a full recovery, but after this, Tim, the Board, and I thought it prudent to begin discussing a more formal succession plan for Tim and the Senior Pastor role.

Tim and the Board identified Josh Rhodes as the likely successor to Senior Pastor, and over the next several years, we spent time in prayer and preparation, actively developing Josh. Josh also spent time with other key national Christian and church leaders learning how to lead himself and others and how to best move into a Senior Pastor role, especially after succeeding a Founding Pastor. Since the beginning of this year, Tim and I have devoted even more time with Josh discussing crucial church matters and what it looks like to lead a large church like The Ridge.

As I look back over the succession plan and transition process, a few things are clear to me. First, God has been right in the middle of all that we have done over the past nearly five years. Second, Tim has done a great job transferring so much of his knowledge and experiences to Josh and will continue to be involved in various ways after the transition. And third, Josh continues to be a faithful learner and his growth and maturity are evident. I thank God for all of this, and how He has ordered our steps.  

A man’s heart plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps.
– Proverbs 16:9

We will be having a Celebration Service for Tim on Sunday, August 25. Please save the date as you won’t want to miss it! More details will be provided on the Celebration Service soon.

I would also ask that you continue to pray for Tim and Josh as they move closer to passing the baton and for unity and peace within our church family as the transition continues.

Please reach out to me with any questions at bruce.lane@chestnutridgechurch.com.

Sincerely,

Bruce Lane
Executive Pastor
Chestnut Ridge Church