January 2024
STAFFING UPDATE
INTRODUCTING: DANA OLSON
Associate Pastor of Discipleship
We are so excited to introduce you to Dana! Dana’s background is in education, with a Masters of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and she comes to us with years of ministry experience. She and her husband Daryl, and their three girls Hanna, Grace, and Elizabeth already live in Gloucester. She knows our city, she knows our ministry context, and she brings a heart of personal discipleship to everything she does… which is good because that’s specifically what we’re hiring her for! Dana is going to be starting at just 20 hours a week, and the plan is to see her grow into a full time role gradually over the next year or so. Dana will be responsible for our existing discipleship efforts and small groups as well as investing in our various ministry teams to see how we can integrate discipleship into every corner of Community Church. She’ll be doing discipleship herself, while equipping our church to do the same. You’ll also see her preaching as part of our Preaching Team, so you’ll have a chance to get to know her better as she shares from God’s Word with us. Please help us welcome Dana to our staff team here at the church!
EMILY CAREN
Children’s Ministry Coordinator - Stepping Down
Emily has been in her role here at at Community Church since the beginning of 2022. She brought her administrative and shepherding gifts to bear on our Children’s Ministries (our Nursery and our Sunday School programs). From schedules to curriculum, from encouraging teachers to interfacing with parents, she has been a servant throughout her time here… not to mention her unflagging willingness to “sub in” whenever a last-minute Sunday morning change meant we had a hole in Children’s Ministry that needed to be filled. Emily also works at East Veterans Elementary School, and due to a particularly busy season of life and other personal considerations, she has stepped down from her role and from the Leadership Team here at the church. We love her and are excited to see how God continues to use her at her school and in all her relationships to continue to point people to Jesus! Emily, we love you and we’re so grateful for your humble service here. Thank you!
MICHAEL MITCHELL
Interim Community Life Coordinator - Stepping Down
Michael joined our staff team almost a year ago, jumping in to help us coordinate ministry teams and the various events that help establish our identity as a church after Jake left and while the hiring process took place. Michael was the driving force behind things like Holy Week and the Coastal Cleanup; for church cookouts and that amazing baptism Sunday at Stage Fort Park. Michael went above and beyond what we asked him to do and invested in ministry teams, and preaching, and spent a lot of time doing one-on-one discipling and investing in the lives of people here at Community Church. Michael asked us to communicate that he has chosen to step down because he isn’t able to affirm our church’s position on women in ministry, nor our nondenominational commitment to allow for a range of biblical possibilities on this issue. As an interim role, Michael’s position here would have been phased out across this year as our new associate pastor gradually ramps up to full time, but we will miss Michael through this transitional season. Michael, we bless you and thank you for your servant heart and all the ways you’ve contributed to making our church feel like home for so many people!
DAVID BROBERG
Discipleship Coordinator - transitioning out at Easter
David has been our Discipleship Coordinator since January of 2021 when Jake Brooks (our former associate pastor) began to prepare for his deployment to the Middle East with the Army National Guard. Since that time, David has been coordinating small groups, equipping small group leaders, running small group leaders meetings — as well as disicpling others and serving as a member of our Leadership Team. Dave’s full time job is the Director of the Discipleship Experience at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Such strategic employment has allowed him to bring his learning, his experience, and his expertise to bear on our growing discipleship culture here at the church. David has agreed to stay on in his role through Easter of this year, working together with our new Associate Pastor of Discipleship to ensure a smooth transition of responsibilities. We anticipate that David will also be affirmed as an elder at this year’s Annual Meeting, and we look forward to his leadership among our elders team in the coming years!