News

Board Update – June 7
2023-06-07

Kia ora church whānau,

We wanted to update the church on our process for the Lead Pastor appointment and the appointment of a new Arise board member.

Lead Pastor Appointment
We are grateful for those who have sought God and have already applied for the Lead Pastor role. For those still considering applying for this role, at this stage applications are open until Sunday 18th June 2023.

In the weeks following, potential candidates will be invited for an interview to assess the maturity of faith, skillset, and cultural fit of the candidates. The selection panel is made up of a diverse group of people, including current and former members of the Board, as well as external Pastors.

John Robertson (Board Chair) has voluntarily decided to step back from leading this appointment process, due to having a link with one of the applicants. He made this decision to ensure there is no conflict of interest and to maintain the highest levels of fairness and integrity in our recruitment process. Aside from the recruitment process, John will continue to conduct his regular Board Chair duties.

Board Appointment
We are excited to announce the appointment of a new member to the Arise Board, Lenny Solomona from our Hamilton Campus. Lenny and his wife Tai come with 24 years of ministry experience, including founding 1Touch Ministries and serving as the Associate Pastors of The Church of the Nazarene, Samoa for seven years. He is an itinerant minister, mental skills coach, personal trainer, and the Director of Sports at Hamilton Christian School. Lenny is a graduate of the Elim Bible College (Auckland), FITnance Personal Training College (Brisbane), and John Maxwell Leadership (Florida). He and Tai have three beautiful children. We are grateful to have Lenny on our team.

We are currently in the process of identifying further potential candidates to join the Arise Board. We are dedicated to creating a diverse and experienced Board that can guide us through the challenges and opportunities ahead. If you have any recommendations for potential candidates please feel free to email board@arisechurch.com.

We encourage our church to be praying and interceding over this process with us. We know that God is guiding us as we take these steps in appointing a new Lead Pastor and new Board members.

Ngā mihi nui,
The Arise Church Board.