SENIOR PASTOR SEARCH

Follow along in the journey as we search for our next Senior Pastor

The process
A smiling man and woman pose for a photo on an outdoor patio. The woman has her arm around the man's shoulder. A lake and trees are in the background.

Searching for our next Senior Pastor

Fox Valley Church is celebrating 50 years in the community with a major building expansion that will, Lord willing, be finished in time for its anniversary. But that’s not the only big change on the horizon for our church. After 33 years of faithful service, Pastor Tom Atchison plans to step down as senior pastor and transition to pastor emeritus by the fall of 2027.

Fox Valley Church, along with the local community, has been blessed for over three decades by Pastor Tom and his wife, Cathy.  While the church is thriving and Pastor Tom continues to lead with vitality and vision, he and our Pastoral Council feel the time has come to start the succession process from this position of strength. 

Pastor Tom has carried the torch for Fox Valley Church to be an epicenter of transformation in the Fox Valley region — a place where people of all backgrounds can encounter God, find hope, and experience life change through faith in Jesus Christ. Under Tom and Cathy’s faithful service, God has blessed this church with strong, stable, Christ-centered leadership, and we believe God will continue to guide and bless Fox Valley into the future. 

Where we are at

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NL Moore & Associates conducts congregational assessment, on-site interviews, and focus groups

Consultant combines the results of congregational assessment, interviews, and focus groups to create Candidate and Opportunity Profiles.

NL Moore & Associates launches a nationwide search to prequalify a high-quality pool of candidates (usually between 300-500). They prequalify on theology, education, experience, references, and personal assessments. Viable candidates go through nearly 8 hours of interviews before they reach the next stage. This phase can take approx. 3 months or longer.  

The consultant produces a small pool of viable candidates (usually 3-6) to the church’s search team. The search team begins their discernment process through candidate interviews and personal visits. This phase can also take several months with multiple confidential interviews.

A final candidate is recommended to leadership and confirmed in accordance with church bylaws. This includes a candidating weekend, live preaching, and meet-and-greet opportunities for the congregation. Members vote to confirm the Pastoral Council’s candidate recommendation. 



We’ll update this page as the search moves forward. Above all, we covet your prayers—for Pastor Tom and Cathy, for our search team, and for the leader God has already prepared for this next season at Fox Valley.  

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