Leadership transition in GCI-Canada

This announcement is from Gary Moore, national leader of GCI-Canada.

A couple of years ago, Joseph Tkach began encouraging GCI’s mission developers and national leaders to think about the future leadership of the church. He advised us that by our early 60s we should begin to put in place a leadership transition plan. He made it clear that he wasn’t implying anyone needed to retire at 65, but rather that there should be in place a plan for transition before attaining that age.

As I thought about my transition plan, I was reminded that the role of national leader (sometimes referred to as national director) calls for a certain mix of gifts. Though no one person has all the needed gifts (I serve as testimony to that!), certain key gifts and skills are needed. Beyond the foundational characteristics of faith in God, understanding of his word, moral integrity and loyalty, good pastoral skills, an ability to work as an administrator and make a budget work, and ability to communicate both verbally and in writing are all important, even essential. And so in putting together my transition plan I considered all these factors plus knowing that the individual who would eventually replace me would need to be some years younger than I in order to provide for at least a number of years of stable service in the role.

As I carefully went through all our staff and our fine group of elders in Canada, the one who seemed to most fit the requirements of the job was Bill Hall. Bill served in office and administrative roles for 17 years at the national office (1981-1998) and from then to the present (1998-2015) for over 17 years as a church pastor. So he has good experience in both the office and administrative environment as well as many years serving the membership in three Canadian congregations. Further, Bill has served as managing editor of GCI-Canada’s Northern Light and Northern Light Digest. He has excellent communication skills, both verbally and in written form.

I discussed the idea with Joseph Tkach and he was very supportive. The board of GCI-Canada also needed to be involved, as they are the legal employer. They expressed their full support. Bill Hall is willing to take on the challenge, which I greatly appreciate. The responsibility brings with it great days, and challenging ones, but I firmly believe that with God’s guidance and strength, and the support of us all, Bill will serve the church and ministry well.

The first phase of this transition is for Bill to assume the position of office/business manager for the church in Canada. He is scheduled to move to British Columbia on July 1 and begin to take on these duties. Once Bill adapts to this new role and is comfortable, perhaps toward the end of 2017, I’ll begin to introduce him to other aspects of the national ministry leader responsibilities. At this point, my plan is to retire at the end of August, 2018, following our Canadian national conference that summer.