Senior Pastor Search
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Elder Announcement Letter
Getting to Know Dennis Taylor Video
Dennis Taylor Bio
Video References
Overall Timeline
PSC Charter
PABC Survey
PSC Bios

June 30, 2024 Senior Pastor Candidate Announcement 

In March of this year, we asked you to pray that the Elders would hear God’s will for the church as we met together for a weekend retreat on March 22nd and March 23rd. One of the main things that came out of that retreat was the development of a list of 9 people to serve on our Pastoral Search Committee (PSC). The PSC began meeting on April 25th and their charter has been to discern God’s will and make recommendations to the church for Pastoral Leadership at PABC. Since its formation, members of the PSC have regularly given you updates during our services and via the Park Avenue Newsletters. And the PSC has also repeatedly asked for your continued prayers for wisdom, clarity, and unity so that they would be led to the right person to serve as our next Senior Pastor.

The PSC has been looking for qualities in our next Senior Pastor such as: being Spirit-filled, Spirit-led, having a commitment to strong families and small groups, being devoted to prayer and ministry of the Word, having a passion for reaching the lost, showing evidence of a servant’s heart, having a heart for all ages, as well as equipping and releasing all members into ministry.

Now after many weekly meetings, after many hours in prayer, after interviews, and background checks, I am here to share that on June 15th the PSC unanimously voted to recommend Dennis Taylor to serve as our next Senior Pastor. They strongly believe Dennis possesses the heart, vision, and qualities to lead PABC.

As you have heard him preach for many months now as our interim speaker, you have probably discerned that Dennis Taylor is a humble servant-leader who cares passionately for the Lord, his family, this church, and the lost. He first came to PABC originally in 2004 and served here for nearly 4 years before being called to several churches in Georgia. In the past Dennis has been bi-vocational, meaning that while he served in a church, he was also working for AT&T for 29 years. He has a heart for Discipleship, Small Groups, Prayer, and Hearing God, along with reaching the lost. Dennis embodies the qualities that the PSC has been looking for in our next Senior Pastor. He knows our church, our staff, our history, our problems, as well as our successes. The PSC firmly believes that he should be our next Senior Pastor and that he will help us move forward as a church.

Subsequently, on June 24th the Elders voted and unanimously agreed with the PSC’s recommendation. Our Apostles, Bill Jones and Alan Smith also fully support this recommendation. Therefore, there will be a church vote on Sunday, July 21st , for members present to confirm Dennis as our next Senior Pastor.

To help you get to know Dennis better, he will participate in three Informational Meetings on July 9th, 10th , and 11th starting at 6:30 PM here in the Sanctuary. The purpose of these meetings is for you to hear Dennis firsthand, as he shares his heart, his vision, and his ministry philosophy for PABC. These meetings will also give you an opportunity to ask him questions about those areas.

In addition to the Informational Meetings, several media resources will also be provided to church members. More information will be provided to you later about these additional resources.

In closing, the PSC members would like to extend their heartfelt thanks to you for all your prayers. Their job has been made easier knowing that many of you have been praying for God’s direction. And they believe that He has truly answered all our prayers.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
The Elders of PABC 

Getting to know Dennis Taylor

Dennis Taylor Bio

Dennis was born and raised in Albany, Georgia in a loving Christian home, where his family was “always at the church”. At age five, Dennis received Jesus as his Lord and Savior, walked down the aisle and was baptized. Like almost every other boy, Dennis loved playing ball, riding motorcycles, and playing in the woods. Life was all about friends, having fun, and going to church. Around his 9th grade year, his church hired a youth pastor for the first time. His name was Billy Durham. Billy took the youth on a retreat and began discussing a relationship with Jesus. Dennis had never heard anything like that before.  Billy spoke of having a quiet time, reading God's Word, and praying, and it was enjoyable to him. That retreat changed Dennis’ life forever, and he would never be the same.

For the next 30 years, in some way or another, Dennis served the Lord in Student Ministry. Dennis was a Bi-vocational Student Pastor for most of those years, working for BellSouth. But in 2004, he left BellSouth to come to Titusville, Florida to become the Sr. High Student Pastor at Park Avenue Baptist Church. Starting with twelve students, God did amazing work and we saw many changed lives. After two years, Dennis was given the job of Generational Pastor, overseeing every ministry from bed babies to the senior high ministry. Dennis served in that role for almost another two years.

Then God called Dennis and Laura back to Georgia to plant a church in Leesburg, Georgia. They served that plant church for nearly four years, and Dennis also began to work at AT&T during this time. Due to some health concerns, Dennis resigned as pastor of that church and started working full-time with AT&T.  A few months passed, and Dennis began to help his home church with the youth for just a few months, which turned into a four-year term. Once again, it was time to turn it over to someone full-time. A few months passed, and God opened an opportunity to Pastor a small country church with a huge heart. This was at the beginning of Covid, and they asked if Dennis could do some Facebook sermons.  Dennis did this gladly, and was then called as their Pastor, where he served for almost a year.

The Lord then unexpectedly opened a door of opportunity again here at Park Avenue, bringing Dennis back serving as Pastor of Sports and Recreation. Dennis was inspired to name this ministry The Hub, using sports as an outreach arm to the community of North Brevard. His heart is to see lives touched and changed. Dennis believes God is up to something, and he is excited to be a part of it.

Facts about Dennis:
He married his childhood sweetheart, Laura Durham, and they have been married for thirty-seven years. They have two beautiful daughters, Carsen and Mackenzie, who are married. Dennis now have two great sons-in-law, Jacob and Matt, and Dennis will become a grandfather for the first time this September. Dennis has also written nine books centered on encouragement.

References

Overall Senior Pastor Search Timeline

  • Elders Retreat: 03/22/24 – 03/23/24
    • Included Elders & Apostles
    • Focused on Prayer, Worship and future direction for PABC
    • Confirmed Church Survey from January 2017 would be used as the Criteria for the next Senior Pastor
    • Determined proposed Pastoral Search Committee (PSC) Team Members
      • 4 Current Elders
      • 3 Previous Elders
      • 2 Female Members (1 Staff / 1 Lay)
    • Prepared PSC Charter with initial focus on Internal PABC Candidate

  • Initial Kickoff Meeting of the PSC on 04/25/24
    • Confirmation by all 9 members of the PSC on 04/30/24
    • Weekly PSC Team Meetings Established
    • Provided Regular Church Updates from the Pulpit and in the Park Avenue Newsletter
    • Each Meeting Focused on Prayer for Wisdom / God’s Will
    • Provided Regular Elder Updates
    • Sought Direction from the Elders / Apostles
    • Determined the Model to be used is the Pastoral Leadership Team Approach
    • Created the Job Description
    • Requested Internal PABC Candidates Submit Resume / Questionnaire on 05/15
    • Initiated the Interview Process
    • Answered emails addressed to PSC@parkavenue.org
    • Provided Potential Timeline Moving Forward (Announcement / Information Meetings / Vote)
    • PSC unanimously recommended Dennis Taylor to the Elders to be the candidate as the next Senior Pastor at Park Avenue Baptist Church on 06/15/24

  • Elders unanimously agreed with the recommendation from the PSC for Dennis Taylor to be the candidate as the next Senior Pastor at Park Avenue Baptist Church on 06/24/24

  • Elders shared the recommendation with the Congregation at both Services for Dennis Taylor to be the candidate as the next Senior Pastor at Park Avenue Baptist Church on 06/30/24

  • Information Meetings were held on 07/09/24, 07/10/24 and 07/11/24 at 6:30pm  for Dennis Taylor to share his Heart, Vision and Ministry Philosophy

  • PABC Church Members to Vote on 07/21/24 to confirm Dennis Taylor as the next Senior Pastor at Park Avenue Baptist Church

Pastoral Search Committee
Charter

Thank you for agreeing to serve on this important team!  Your decisions & recommendations will help shape the future leadership & growth of this church for many years.  We are blessed that you have answered this call to serve the church.  We are humbly asking God to anoint you with His wisdom, grace, creativity, protection, & power during this important work.  Please be assured that we are praying for you!

i.  Mission / Purpose:
To discern God’s will & make recommendations to the church for Pastoral Leadership (PL) at PABC.

ii.  Key Objectives:
1.  Identify & interview the person or persons that will comprise the PL.
2.  Determine the operational model that the PL should utilize.
3.  Ensure that the selected PL is in keeping with the intent of the church by-laws.
4.  Develop a transition plan to put the PL in place.
5.  Prepare a summary of PSC decisions & recommendations for presentation to the Elders, staff, & PABC members.

iii.  Ground Rules:
1.  Within your key decisions & final recommendations, you should endeavor to maintain the church’s “DNA” (traits & characteristics) that have been shaped & developed for over 50+ years.  This is very important to your task ahead.
2.  Your decisions do not have to be unanimous (although this is preferred); however, you must at least reach “consensus” (meaning that everyone on the team can “live with” the team’s recommendations).
3.  You must agree to keep your discussions & decisions within the confines of the PSC meetings only.  Do not prematurely share things with people outside of the PSC.
4.  Although at times you may disagree with PSC members, you must always maintain respect & dignity towards each other.  Ensure that you always reflect Christ-like behavior.
5.  You do not need to rush; however, you do not need to linger either.  Keep working towards completion of the task at hand.  And with respect to time, sooner is better than later.
 
iv.  Suggested Approach:
1.  Pray, pray, & pray ….   for each other, the church members, the staff, the Elders, the not-yet-determined PL.
2.  Select a team leader & set up a meeting schedule (at the first meeting).
3.  Take the first week or so to have each member re-confirm their commitment to serving on the team.  All should “count the cost.”
4.  Create a tentative plan with target dates for completion of key decisions.  The plan can always be changed; however, having a plan helps ensure that the team is moving forward.
5.  You may meet with the entire group of Elders whenever you believe that is needed to give them regular progress updates or for discussions to test your ideas, etc.  The Elders can also provide financial & other resources if needed, just ask.


v.  Important Guidelines & Expectations:
1.  The Elders suggest that the PSC should consider current PABC staff first before looking at any external candidates.  
2.  Anyone considered should meet the criteria outlined in the position description & requirements (provided to the PSC in a separate document).
3.  The Elders would like the PSC to consider several possible pastoral leadership models in addition to the traditional one “Senior Pastor” approach that has been favored in the past.

PABC Survey

In 2017, our church congregation participated in a comprehensive survey to gather insights on the qualities and priorities for our future senior pastor.   These were the results:

KEY

Internal Qualities
Leadership Style & Vision
Accomplishments (Evidence)
External Skills

PABC Survey

In 2017, our church congregation participated in a comprehensive survey to gather insights on the qualities and priorities for our future senior pastor.   These were the results:

Pastor Profile Quality

Devoted to prayer & ministry of the Word.  Acts 6:4
Spirit filled, led man; walking in the gifts of the Spirit; seeking to implement Spirit filled services
Teach the Bible with excellence, clarity, and a spiritually grounded message relating to real life
Commitments to Strong Families, Mentoring, Small Groups, etc.
Dynamic / Engaging / Challenging speaker
Kingdom Man / Kingdom Minded
Passion for reaching the lost (shown by number of salvations / baptisms)
Agrees with the Apostles' Creed
Authentic & Transparent
Evidence of a Servant's heart (examples of serving his wife, children, & friends)
Having and imparting a Clear vision for the Body of Christ.  Prov. 29:18
Heart for next generation; gear our efforts to grow the church with young families
Leading by faith, new innovative ideas, willing to take a risk (change to "take risks")
Leads with strength but also relies on the gifts of the staff and elders

Pastoral Search Committee (PSC) Bios

Things to be praying over the PSC:
The team will discern God’s will & identify our next Senior Pastor
The team will have unity, wisdom, peace, and clarity
God will protect the team members & their families
God will be preparing the next Senior Pastor

Nancy Chappell

Nancy has raised her 4 children at PABC and 2 of them attended PACA.  She started attending PABC in the late 80s and was a founding partner of the Auto Maintenance Ministry under the leadership of Wayne Tucker and Irby Moore.  In September of 2015 she started a small group of six Single Moms that has grown to be the Single Moms Ministry, which now supports about 50 Single Moms.

Randy Coleman

Randy and his wife Mary have been married for 30 years and have two children.  He is a long-time member of PABC. He has served in a number of leadership roles including Family Life Group (FLG) Leader, Community Hour Leader, PACA Council Member and Elder, and various other committees and roles.

Mark DeVoss

Mark and his wife Angie have been married for 38 years and have four children and two grandchildren.  They have been members of PABC for 23 years and Mark has served as an Elder, Community Hour teacher, FLG leader, Parking Director, Director of Upward Basketball, and various other committees and roles.

Cheryl Gil

Cheryl and her husband Marvin were married at PABC in 2001 by Danny Daniels.  They have two children.  She is the Director of both the Children’s Ministry and Kids Adventure Days (KAD), and she has been serving here for over 17 years.  She organizes the Father/Daughter Dance, has coached at PACA, was part of Upward Basketball and provides leadership for the Family Fun Fest.

Jim Matthews

Jim and his wife Laura have been married for 39 years.  They have 2 children and 3 grandchildren.  They have been attending PABC since 1985 and he is currently the PACA Band Director, after working for the Brevard County Schools for 38 years.  He currently serves as an Elder and has been part of the Worship Ministry for many years.

Paul Redlien

Paul and his wife Treacy were married by Peter Lord in 1981.  They have two children and seven grandchildren.  Paul has been a member of PABC since 1978, he served as an Elder and is an integral part of the Prayer Ministry.  He also assists Treacy with the Operation Christmas Child Ministry.

Dave Tucker

Dave and his wife Tammy have been married for 42 years.  They have four children and four grandchildren.  Dave has been a member of PABC for 50 years and has served in various capacities over the years ranging from children’s, high school, young marrieds, & music ministries.  He has also served as an Elder 3 times.

Rick Unrue

Rick and his wife Debbie have been married for 40 years.  They have three children and six (soon to be seven) grandchildren.  They have been at PABC for 30 years.  Rick has served in the Children’s Ministry, as a FLG Leader, on the PACA Council and as an Elder. He currently is the Director of the Seasoned Adults Living Triumphantly (SALT) Ministry. 

Boyd Wessinger

Boyd and his wife Elaine have been married for 50 years. They have one daughter and two grandchildren.  Boyd has been a member of PABC for 45 years and has served as a Sunday School Teacher, a FLG Leader, an Usher, a Greeter, PACA Coach, Summer Recreation Leader, Mentor, PACA Council Member, Deacon and Elder.