Associate Pastor Search

SAVE THE DATE! AJ will be installed as Associate Pastor here at Pathfinder the weekend of February 12-13th. We hope you’ll join us, to celebrate the occasion at any of our services that weekend, as well as a reception to follow each service. For more information visit pathfinderstl.org/installation

It is with great joy that we share that AJ Mastic has accepted the call to serve as an Associate Pastor at Pathfinder Church! AJ and his family will be finishing out his duties in Colorado in January and then take a couple of weeks for respite and the move to Missouri. They are hoping to find a house quickly to make an easier transition. Please keep this in prayer and if you know anyone looking to move from a 4 bedroom house in our area, please let us know. We are so exited about the future of Pathfinder Church!

Here’s the exciting news straight from AJ and his family:

Pastor AJ Mastic provides a quick note to Pathfinder Church.

Our Board of Directors and Board of Elders met last night and unanimously voted to extend a call to Pastor AJ Mastic to serve as Associate Pastor.

What’s next? AJ will take some time to ask God for wisdom and guidance in the next couple of weeks. We want him to keep his mind on Christmas and serving his congregation well, even as he seeks the will of God for his future.

Pathfinder has been very blessed in the excellent quality of candidates we have received. One candidate, in particular, AJ Mastic, stood out as having incredible alignment with the needs of the role and the culture and mission of Pathfinder. Pastor AJ and his family were invited for a 3-day on-site evaluation at Pathfinder for further exploration and discernment of their alignment with Pathfinder. On November 21-23, the Mastic family spent time interacting with staff, the Board of Directors, and the Board of Elders.

After months of searching, we believe we have found our next Associate Pastor. The Pathfinder Strategic Team (functioning as Call Committee), is now recommending Pastor AJ Mastic to the Board of Directors and Board of Elders for consideration for a divine call to serve here at Pathfinder.

The Pathfinder congregation is now invited to pray for this process and to express any support and/or dissent for the candidate, in writing, to Annmarie Wallis, Secretary of the Board of Directors, at [email protected] by NOON on Monday, December 13, 2021. On the evening of Monday, December 13, the Board of Directors and Board of Elders will deliberate on extending a call to AJ Mastic for Associate Pastor.

Pastor AJ began his ministry as a Director of Christian Education in Arkansas after receiving his B.A. and DCE certification from Concordia University Texas. He continued his ministry journey as a Discipleship Pastor at St. John’s Denver following his Specific Ministry Ordination (Concordia Seminary, St. Louis), where his leadership continued to expand as he coordinated the launch of Renewal Church, a new multi-site community in ministry with St. John’s. He currently serves as the Campus Pastor at Renewal Church’s Highland campus, where he shares his love for connecting people to Jesus. He is pursuing a MA in Theology from Concordia Seminary, St. Louis, with a General Pastor Certification. AJ and his wife, Megan, have been married for 12 years and they have four beautiful children: Sarah, Audrey, Caroline, and Luke. You can read more about AJ at his website, www.ajmastic.com.

We are excited about the progress we have made in our search and how we see God moving through this process! Of the 11 candidates we decided to proceed with, 3 expressed an interest in learning more and beginning the interview process with us. Initial screenings were conducted and additional follow-up materials including a questionnaire and the Predictive Index assessment were sent following these screenings. Based on initial feedback and evaluation, all 3 candidates were invited to participate in an interview with our Strategic Leadership Team. We are in the process of evaluating these candidates based on those interviews and planning for on-site visits as the demands of the holiday season allow.

On July 31, we supplied a list of 30 potential candidates for our Associate Pastor opening to the Missouri District of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS) for initial vetting. The District serves to ensure the candidates are in good standing within the LCMS. They also conduct an initial contact to determine a candidate’s openness to receiving a call. Finally, they provide helpful candidate profiles.

After receiving Missouri District input on September 16, we have decided to proceed with 11 candidates.

Candidates will now receive a profile of Pathfinder, a position description, and be contacted for an initial conversation with us. We have many other steps ahead of us in the months to come. The best case is a new pastor before the holidays. Perhaps it will take longer than that. Regardless, God knows what we need and when we need it. Please keep our process in prayer!

Pathfinder has been vetting candidates you have submitted (thank you for that!) as well as working with our district office. We are also doing our own work to get to know potential candidates. At this time, 30 candidates have been identified.

Pathfinder has received 6 names from the congregation for consideration in our Associate Pastor search. Senior Pastor Dion Garret will be working closely with the district leadership to inquire about the eligibility of these candidates.

We are currently accepting names for consideration through June 23, 2021.