Clifford Baptist Church
About Clifford Baptist Church
Posts by Clifford Baptist Church :
Pastor Search Committee
THE BACKGROUND
In June 2020, Pastor Mike Fitzgerald gave our Personnel Committee his intent to step down from the position of Senior Pastor as of June 5, 2022 after which time he will have served our church 40 years.
According to our Constitution, the Nominating Committee and Personnel Committee then met together to develop the nominee list for the Pastor Search Committee. There were 7 names of proposed committee members and 3 proposed alternates. The Deacons and the Board of Directors affirmed the search committee nominees presented by the Personnel and Nominating Committees and on April 11, 2021 a ballot vote was taken by church members on each individual proposed committee member. According to the constitution, each proposed member would have to receive a 75% vote, which was the case. In a church service on July 4th , this committee was commissioned as our Pastor Search Committee.
The purpose
The Pastor Search Committee (PSC) is to represent the church body in searching for and calling a new pastor to the church. The PSC will work through a process which includes four phases. These four phases are:
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Preparation
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Search
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Interview
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Calling
The PSC will be in communication with the church body throughout these phases as often as the committee is able. The committee will complete the search process and bring a candidate to the church body for the congregation to vote upon. The goal of the PSC is to find and prayerfully seek a man who is discipleship-minded and will live out the mission of Clifford Baptist Church:
UPDATES
Our Pastor Search Committee will release periodic updates to the congregation. They will be posted here.
If you have any comments/questions for our committee, please feel free to email them at pastorsearch@cliffordbaptist.org
Aug. 24, 2021 Update
These are the results from the Congregational Survey conducted by the PSC. If you have any questions or comments please email the PSC at pastorsearch@cliffordbaptist.org. Please continue to pray for our team as we are nearing the end of the Preparation Phase and will soon be entering into the Search Phase.
A family in Christ, reaching a world in need.
THE PASTOR SEARCH COMMITTEE
Jim SaundersJim and Amy Saunders have raised 5 young men at Clifford Baptist since joining in 1997. James and his wife, Megan, and son Tripp, live in Amherst while Andrew and his wife, Leighanne, live in Red House, Va. Phillip is a Financial Planner in Newport News and Jacob and Nathan are students at Va. Tech. Jim has served as a Deacon, serves on the Personnel Committee, and teaches Sunday School to the Middle School and High School. |
Glenda Wray Jennings
Glenda Wray moved to Amherst when she married her husband, Buddy, in 2008 after living in the Appomattox area since 1998. She has been a member of Clifford Baptist for about 15 years, joining the church in September 2006. Glenda Wray serves the church family as the Woman’s Missionary Union (WMU) Director, the Women on Mission (WOM) leader, a member of the Board of Directors, Chair of the Baptistry and Lord’s Supper committees, a member of the Constitution and By-laws committee, a member of the choir, and as a Sunday morning and Wednesday night Nursery worker.
Derek Keiser
Derek, wife Kristy and daughter Raegan have been a part of Clifford Baptist Church since 2007. Derek currently serves in several areas such as Sunday School Director, Board of Directors, Long Range Planning Committee, Finance Committee and has also served as a Deacon. Derek ministers as a Chaplain to Wildland Firefighters and is now fulfilling the call of an itinerant Evangelist where he labors to share the Gospel message.
Sarah Beazley
Born and raised in Amherst County, Sarah has two sons, James, and his wife Samantha, both age 24, live in Virginia Beach and Will of Amherst, age 20. She has been attending Clifford Baptist since 1990. Sarah is the coordinator for Shining Lights, serves in the Nursery and is a member of the Child Abuse Prevention Team.
Betty Fortune
Betty, and husband “Butch,” live in beautiful Nelson County and have been blessed by CBC people since 2007. They have 3 grown children and 4 grandchildren. Betty loves serving in many capacities: Adult Women SS Class leader, Co-chair of the Bereavement Committee, Kitchen Committee, Welcome Home Committee, Choir, Meals on Wheels Coordinator, and is Clifford’s representative to the Piedmont Baptist Association. She is currently WMU Director for the PBA.
John Coots
John & Jodi Coots moved from Western New York in 1998 to be the Certified Athletic Trainer and teacher for Nelson County Public Schools – Currently a Professor at Liberty University. John and Jodi have two incredible daughters, McKenna (17) and Lilyanna (15). John and his family have been members at Clifford Baptist Church since 2005. John is very passionate about serving the CBC church family as a deacon, assisting with the Youth Group (past 7 years), assisting KJK services, and now as a member of the Pastoral Search Committee.
Chad Fleming - Alternate
Chad has attended Clifford Baptist Church for over 15 years, along with his wife Kari and daughters Hayley and Mackenzie. He currently serves in the Media Services, King Jesus Kids’ ministry, and the Youth Group. He has served as a Deacon, member of the Personnel Committee, Nominating Committee and served as Deacon Chair, placing him on many other committees. “I am very passionate about finding the right man that GOD has for our church.”
Matt Giles
Matt Giles moved to the Lynchburg area in November of 2007. He and his wife, Naomi, have been attending Clifford Baptist since October of 2013. Matt and Naomi have two amazing children, Ainslee (7), and Asher (6). He has a passion for serving CBC as a youth leader on Wednesday evenings, as a youth Sunday school teacher, as a Deacon, and now as a member of the Pastoral Search Committee.
Jeremy Fulcher - Alternate
Jeremy grew up at Clifford Baptist Church, attending since 1994. Clifford Baptist Church is where he met his wife, Meredith, and where they are raising their son Julian, with another son due in September. Jeremy currently serves in Media Services, Young Adults, and Fall Festival.
Erin Minter -Alternate
Erin has been a member of Clifford Baptist Church for over 20 years. Since joining she has married her husband Jake and they have been blessed with two beautiful children, Leah (12) and Daniel (9). Erin is a current member of the choir and serves on Wednesday evenings with the Girls in Action and in the nursery on Sunday mornings, loving on all of the precious babies in our church.
Support Groups
Divorce Care
Meeting: Starting Aug. 16, 2021
Healing from divorce is not easy. At DivorceCare, people in separation and divorce find tools, teaching and support to help them deal with their pain and give them hope for the future.
Most people will say separation and divorce are the most painful and stressful experiences they’ve ever had. If you are facing this, you know it’s a confusing time when you feel isolated and have lots of questions about issues you’ve never encountered before.
DivorceCare meets weekly to help you face these challenges and move toward rebuilding your life. This 13-week Christ-centered program includes three main parts—video, group discussion and personal Bible study. The videos feature teaching from over 50 leading Christian counselors, teachers and pastors who speak on topics important to people in separation or divorce. The videos also contain real-life stories of people who’ve been through a marital breakup, as they share their pain, challenges and path to healing.
During the discussion time, the group will discuss the concepts presented in the videos and share what is going on in everyone’s lives. Each participant will receive a workbook that contains a daily Bible study for personal reflection and application throughout the following week.
Contact contact Martha Saunders at 434-944-1362 or email her at martha.saunders13@gmail.com for more information and when the next session will be offered. Once the next date is determined, you may go the www.divorcecare.org to sign up.
Cancer Support Group
Meeting time: First Thursday of each month(excluding July & August) – meeting in the Conference Room (lower level of the previous parsonage)
This group is for cancer patients, survivors, caregivers, friends, relatives of cancer patients or any others interested. Please invite those in the community who are affected by cancer to join this group! For more information, please contact Liz Alcock, (434) 665-4025 or e-mail her at 21dancingfeet@gmail.com.
Alcoholics Anonymous
Meeting Time: Every Sunday night in the Conference Room (lower level of previous parsonage).
The Clifford Group of Alcoholics Anonymous meets each Sunday night at 7:00pm in the church office conference room (lower level of previous parsonage – AA sign in front yard). For more information, please contact Hazel B. at 434-946-9569.
