For those of you who missed Pastor Mark Edington’s announcement on Sunday, Feb. 28:
At the conclusion of both worship services yesterday Pastor Mark announced that he will be leaving New Hope in the early summer to take a position as a worship pastor in Dyersburg, TN. This move came about when his best friend in ministry, Senior Pastor Clay Gatlin, was hired as the new senior pastor of The Community Church in Dyersburg, TN. At one time Mark served as part of Pastor Clay Gatlin’s staff in Anchorage, AK, and their families became very close. The opportunity to once again serve alongside their best friends in ministry was something Pastor Mark and his family didn’t feel they could pass up.
In the months ahead Pastor Mark will continue to be a part of New Hope’s church staff. Both of his daughters, Samantha and Emily, will be graduating (college, high school), and Samantha is engaged to be married in June. We are unsure of the exact end date that Pastor Mark will be with us, but we know these upcoming family events give us somewhat of a timeline.
In the meanwhile, I will be working with the leadership of New Hope to evaluate the organizational structure of the church staff and the ministries offered at New Hope so we can properly fill Pastor Mark’s vacant position.
We thank Pastor Mark and the Edington family for their time at New Hope. Pastor Mark did a wonderful job as our Connections Pastor, Director of Create Hope Studios, and Worship Leader. We will miss the Edington family, but it is clear God has His Hand on this decision. When the time comes we will honor them and pray God’s blessing over their new ministry journey.
Blessings,
Pastor Josh Huisman
