An Update from the Pastoral Succession Committee
June 3, 2026
In January, Pastor Doug made a request of the Administrative (Ad) Council to enact the Pastoral Succession Plan to support his planned retirement within the next several years. The Ad Council then took the first step to form the Pastoral Succession Committee, which was announced in March. Both of those announcements you can read below. In addition to the Succession Committee, a Prayer Team was also formed to pray specifically for the process.
The committee has a large task in front of them. As a former member of the United Methodist Church, Blue Grass in its history has not had to hire a senior pastor, but instead received a series of appointed pastors by the Indiana Bishop. We have also been blessed to have Pastor Doug at Blue Grass for 30 years! However, as a result, the process and documentation to advertise the position, perform interviews, hire, and ordain a senior pastor need to be developed before the hiring process can begin. Thanks to Pastor Doug providing plenty of notice of his intentions, the committee has the time to thoroughly, thoughtfully and prayerfully perform the steps necessary to identify the best candidate.
Since the committee was formed in March they have begun the information gathering process, which has included the following steps so far:
The next steps for the committee are to take all the gathered information and to develop the documentation required to begin the interview process. The committee's work isn't just about this search — they're building a foundation that will serve Blue Grass in any future pastoral transition as well. As a result, the committee will be developing all the information required for someone who is not familiar with our history and theology to fully understand our church and what it will require of a senior pastor.
The committee has set a goal to be able to begin interviewing internal candidates this Fall. If there are any small groups or other groups that would like to have a member of the committee visit one of their meetings to answer questions, please reach out to one of the members listed below. The full succession plan is also available HERE.
Thank you for all of your prayers as the committee continues to work through the process.
Pastoral Succession Committee Members
From Ad. Council- Bob Humphrey (committee chair), Wayne Kinney
From Staff Parish- Phil Plisky, Mandy Scherer
From the Congregation- Cameron Halcomb, Ryan Moesner
Full-time Staff- Nicki Blythe
A Note from Pastor Doug
Originally posted in the 3/11/2026 Enews
As promised in my last update, I said we would continue to give the congregation
updates concerning the Pastoral Succession Plan. Our first order of business was to
create a Pastoral Succession Team. As of Monday, this team has been solidified by the
Administrative Council. The Succession Plan laid out that the team would include: 2
persons from Ad. Council, 2 persons from Staff Parish, 2 persons nominated by Lay
Leadership from the congregation, and one full-time ministry staff member.
Here are the names that have been prayed for and approved to serve on this team:
From Ad. Council- Bob Humphrey, Wayne Kinney
From Staff Parish- Phil Plisky, Mandy Scherer
From the Congregation- Cameron Halcomb, Ryan Moesner
Full-time Staff- Nicki Blythe
Within the next couple of years, this will be the first Senior Pastor succession in over 30
years. In addition, our congregation has never had to do a pastoral search because we,
previously, had a denomination who appointed the pastor to Blue Grass. So, this is a
new adventure that will require much prayer from each of us.
I wanted to share this acrostic to help us be specific in our prayers that the Holy Spirit
will lead this team, process, and outcome.
Prayer Points for Success
Spiritual growth for the congregation
Unity in the Body
Confidentiality in the process as needed
Cooperation among the Succession Team
Endurance for the journey
“Setup for takeoff” vision to become reality
Successful selection of the right candidate
The best is yet to come!
With all my love,
Pastor Doug
A Note from Pastor Doug
Originally posted in 1/28/2026 Enews
At the end of 2025, I sent out an annual report of Blue Grass’ remarkable
accomplishments concerning paying off the debt and doubling our efforts on our Feed
My Starving Children Packing Event. In that same article, I included another major
action the church leadership accomplished in producing Succession Plan outlines for
pastors and staff.
These are working guides that still need to be fleshed out in full as we go forward. If you
would like a copy of what we have produced so far, please email the church office at
office@bluegrass.church, and we will be glad to send you the documents. Please know
these plans will continue to be filled in and adjusted as needed.
At our Administrative Council meeting held last week, I asked that we would implement
the Pastoral Succession Plan so that we can be prepared for a pastoral transition due to
my retirement within the next couple of years. I wanted to give the leadership sufficient
time to be thoughtful and prayerful as we work our way through this new process.
We can rest assured that we have tremendous lay leadership, staff, and church family
who will be united together in the Holy Spirit to focus on our mission as disciple-makers
of Jesus Christ as we go forward in discernment in this new chapter God is writing for
our church family.
I would encourage us all to be prayerful for the process. Updates will be given along the
way as we gain new information and establish new milestones. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to contact John Czoer at john@czoerteam.com, or
Mandy Scherer at mandyscherer@gmail.com or myself
at doug.heiman@bluegrass.church.
In Christ’s love,
Pastor Doug
June 3, 2026
In January, Pastor Doug made a request of the Administrative (Ad) Council to enact the Pastoral Succession Plan to support his planned retirement within the next several years. The Ad Council then took the first step to form the Pastoral Succession Committee, which was announced in March. Both of those announcements you can read below. In addition to the Succession Committee, a Prayer Team was also formed to pray specifically for the process.
The committee has a large task in front of them. As a former member of the United Methodist Church, Blue Grass in its history has not had to hire a senior pastor, but instead received a series of appointed pastors by the Indiana Bishop. We have also been blessed to have Pastor Doug at Blue Grass for 30 years! However, as a result, the process and documentation to advertise the position, perform interviews, hire, and ordain a senior pastor need to be developed before the hiring process can begin. Thanks to Pastor Doug providing plenty of notice of his intentions, the committee has the time to thoroughly, thoughtfully and prayerfully perform the steps necessary to identify the best candidate.
Since the committee was formed in March they have begun the information gathering process, which has included the following steps so far:
- A congregational survey was sent to discern the will of the congregation regarding the attributes most important in a senior pastor at Blue Grass (teaching, counseling, administration, etc). We received 77 responses to the survey, and the information collected will be very helpful in forming interview questions for any senior pastor candidates.
- A youth listening session was held in May to make sure the unique needs of our youth are captured in this process.
- Pastor Doug and Pastor Ben have thoughtfully provided documentation detailing the work they perform on a day-to-day basis. This information is being used in combination with the congregational survey to help the committee understand all the responsibilities any pastor at Blue Grass may be required to perform.
The next steps for the committee are to take all the gathered information and to develop the documentation required to begin the interview process. The committee's work isn't just about this search — they're building a foundation that will serve Blue Grass in any future pastoral transition as well. As a result, the committee will be developing all the information required for someone who is not familiar with our history and theology to fully understand our church and what it will require of a senior pastor.
The committee has set a goal to be able to begin interviewing internal candidates this Fall. If there are any small groups or other groups that would like to have a member of the committee visit one of their meetings to answer questions, please reach out to one of the members listed below. The full succession plan is also available HERE.
Thank you for all of your prayers as the committee continues to work through the process.
Pastoral Succession Committee Members
From Ad. Council- Bob Humphrey (committee chair), Wayne Kinney
From Staff Parish- Phil Plisky, Mandy Scherer
From the Congregation- Cameron Halcomb, Ryan Moesner
Full-time Staff- Nicki Blythe
A Note from Pastor Doug
Originally posted in the 3/11/2026 Enews
As promised in my last update, I said we would continue to give the congregation
updates concerning the Pastoral Succession Plan. Our first order of business was to
create a Pastoral Succession Team. As of Monday, this team has been solidified by the
Administrative Council. The Succession Plan laid out that the team would include: 2
persons from Ad. Council, 2 persons from Staff Parish, 2 persons nominated by Lay
Leadership from the congregation, and one full-time ministry staff member.
Here are the names that have been prayed for and approved to serve on this team:
From Ad. Council- Bob Humphrey, Wayne Kinney
From Staff Parish- Phil Plisky, Mandy Scherer
From the Congregation- Cameron Halcomb, Ryan Moesner
Full-time Staff- Nicki Blythe
Within the next couple of years, this will be the first Senior Pastor succession in over 30
years. In addition, our congregation has never had to do a pastoral search because we,
previously, had a denomination who appointed the pastor to Blue Grass. So, this is a
new adventure that will require much prayer from each of us.
I wanted to share this acrostic to help us be specific in our prayers that the Holy Spirit
will lead this team, process, and outcome.
Prayer Points for Success
Spiritual growth for the congregation
Unity in the Body
Confidentiality in the process as needed
Cooperation among the Succession Team
Endurance for the journey
“Setup for takeoff” vision to become reality
Successful selection of the right candidate
The best is yet to come!
With all my love,
Pastor Doug
A Note from Pastor Doug
Originally posted in 1/28/2026 Enews
At the end of 2025, I sent out an annual report of Blue Grass’ remarkable
accomplishments concerning paying off the debt and doubling our efforts on our Feed
My Starving Children Packing Event. In that same article, I included another major
action the church leadership accomplished in producing Succession Plan outlines for
pastors and staff.
These are working guides that still need to be fleshed out in full as we go forward. If you
would like a copy of what we have produced so far, please email the church office at
office@bluegrass.church, and we will be glad to send you the documents. Please know
these plans will continue to be filled in and adjusted as needed.
At our Administrative Council meeting held last week, I asked that we would implement
the Pastoral Succession Plan so that we can be prepared for a pastoral transition due to
my retirement within the next couple of years. I wanted to give the leadership sufficient
time to be thoughtful and prayerful as we work our way through this new process.
We can rest assured that we have tremendous lay leadership, staff, and church family
who will be united together in the Holy Spirit to focus on our mission as disciple-makers
of Jesus Christ as we go forward in discernment in this new chapter God is writing for
our church family.
I would encourage us all to be prayerful for the process. Updates will be given along the
way as we gain new information and establish new milestones. If you have any
questions, please do not hesitate to contact John Czoer at john@czoerteam.com, or
Mandy Scherer at mandyscherer@gmail.com or myself
at doug.heiman@bluegrass.church.
In Christ’s love,
Pastor Doug