Friends,
I’m writing today to keep you up-to-date on some important changes and opportunities coming up within IAC’s Staff Team.
Our Pastor of Administration & Shepherding, Peter Mayberry, will be retiring from his role at the end of August. After many years of full-time ministry in a number of contexts, we are thrilled that he will have the chance to move into a new season of refreshment and investment in his family. After a few months off from IAC, we all fully expect Peter to be back with us in worship and serving on the team in a new role that better fits this next stage of life.
However, Peter’s retirement leaves a big hole in our staffing structure. He has overseen much of our “Ministry Life,” the areas of IAC needed for everything else to function. Several of these key roles include overseeing our finances (as the Treasurer), stewardship, facility search, pastoral care, human resources, and more. His retirement creates an opportunity for someone else to exercise their gifts in these areas.
Therefore, we are thrilled to announce that our own Nathan Richards will be stepping into these areas of Ministry Life responsibility while maintaining his role with newcomers in our Belonging process. He will also be joining our Executive Team. Nathan brings experience in overseeing staff within a church setting and owning his own business. He also has stellar chemistry with our staff and volunteer leaders. Nathan’s new title is “Pastor of Belonging & Operations,” and we’re so excited to see him step into this leadership role!
Our Discipleship Pathway ministries – organized in the areas of Befriend/Call/Form/Send – are booming! In order to continue thriving, our Ministry Team leaders need more sustained attention and oversight. Currently, Aaron Buttery oversees most (but not all) of these ministries, using about three-quarters of his full-time role.
The other 10 hours of Aaron’s time are devoted to overseeing our Student Ministry, alongside our half-time Assistant Pastor of Student Ministries, Grace Bert. Many are surprised to learn that only one-quarter of Aaron’s time has gone to Students: he has done an incredible job leading with limited margin! However, the steady growth of our Student Ministry means that we now need more staffing in this area as well.
Aaron will continue as the Associate Rector of IAC, influencing the breadth of our church’s life and being our “priest-in-charge” when I’m away or unavailable. However, Aaron will now be shifting the allocation of his hours to serve as our new “Executive Pastor of Ministries.” As the Associate Rector: Executive Pastor of Ministries, he will oversee all the areas of Befriend/Call/Form/Send as well as our Age-Based ministries. Therefore, he will be stepping out of direct responsibility for Student Ministry but will remain in oversight over any incoming Student staff (see below). We are thrilled that his vision and passion for Students will continue to be released within our body, and that a new staff person will be able to provide greater presence with our fantastic students!
Because of the above shifts, there are several new roles we are hiring for right now at IAC. These kinds of roles don’t come open very often at IAC: if you or someone you know might be interested in learning more or applying, go to springsiac.org/jobs!
Student Pastor: We are hiring either a full-time Student Pastor, or a ½-time (20-hour) Student Pastor to work alongside our current Assistant Student Pastor (Grace Bert). Either option will bring us to 1 FTE (full-time-equivalent) devoted to Students, an increase from our current staffing commitment. We are advertising both positions in order to cast the net as wide as possible, as many churches are finding this role difficult to fill. Both Aaron and Grace will be involved in hiring for this position as we look for what God has next for our students. Please note that Aaron will stay in his role with Students until this new hire is completed.
Groups Pastor: We are hiring a ½-time (20 hour) position of Groups Pastor. This person will take over responsibility for leading our Life Groups ministry from Pastor Nathan Richards. They will also focus on helping connect all IAC’ers into the growing, vibrant Groups within our Discipleship Pathway (Life Groups, Befriending Groups, Alpha, and more).
Church Planting Apprentice: In addition to these roles, we are also ready to hire our next Church Planting Apprentice! Chase Whitney is on track to plant in Sept 2026, and we’ll all be hearing more about that plant soon. But we are also looking to hire our next planter on a 3-year runway to planting in Colorado Springs, with an anticipated planting date of Sept 2028. We’re excited to announce that this plant will be co-sponsored by IAC and Restoration Anglican, our most recent church plant! Praise God for the multiplication we’re seeing in our midst: please pray he would bring us our next planter. You can find out more at springsiac.org/jobs.
Some looking at these hirings may be tempted to think that we are at risk of over-staffing. However, after all these shifts, we will simply remain at 10 FTEs (full-time-equivalents) on our staff, and our staffing costs will remain below 50% of our budget.
Compared to commonly cited best practices, we are probably under-staffed right now by 1 or 1.5 FTE. We are attempting to protect our financial margin until we know the financial requirements of a new facility, and remaining at 10 FTE’s will help us maintain that margin.
However, we are confident we can remain healthy in the coming season because of our incredible group of women and men who serve as Volunteer Staff Clergy, lay Ministry Team Leaders, and newly developing leaders (including Summer Staff and those trained in the Leadership Development Cohort). Many hands make light work, and we have so many gifted, competent people who give their time and energy in volunteer capacities. Praise God for the abundance that is being poured out on us!
In short:
Pray for our leaders and new hires.
Consider who you know that might be a good fit.
Be “sent in” to a ministry and get trained for greater leadership.
Give generously to increase our financial capacity for staffing (and everything else).
And go say “congrats” and “thank you” to those shifting roles!
In expectancy for all that’s to come,
Pastor Ken (on behalf of IAC’s Executive Team: Ken, Aaron, Peter, and Shawna)