Embassy City Church
- Denomination: Nondenominational
- Location: Irving, TX
- Size: 3,000
- Website: https://embassycity.com/
- Hiring for: Senior Pastor
The need
Tim Ross began preaching at 20 years old and has impacted the lives of thousands of people since. Under the leadership of Tim and his wife, Juliette, Embassy City Church has experienced exponential growth to over 3,000 in-person members and thousands online. Tim knew his season as a lead pastor was coming to an end, so he had prepared his team to take the reins.
A transition in leadership was a daunting process, and one that Embassy desired to do well. The season had the potential to be a fruitful encouragement to their congregation as they continued ministry with a renewed heart and mind. Succession also held an ominous threat. The congregation cherished their founding senior pastor, and without him, the health of the community was tested. Mistakes during the process could even harm people’s confidence and damage the church’s sense of community.
Embassy needed a reliable succession plan and a successful transition of leadership that would propel their team into the next chapter, which would begin with the new year.
About Embassy City Church
Embassy City Church is passionate about spreading the message of Jesus Christ to Irving, Texas, and surrounding areas. The church encourages its community to come, grow, and go as an approach to building relationships with God and serving around the world.
Strategy and timing
Embassy City’s team had worked with Vanderbloemen to find their Children’s Pastor and Executive Pastor before reaching out about succession planning. With a sense that succession planning was just as vital as executive searches, they invited Vanderbloemen’s team of experts to guide them through a third hire.
This time was different, though. Unlike the searches, Embassy City had already selected an internal candidate. Executive Search Consultant Eric Albert was assigned to get to know the DNA of Embassy City Church, their senior pastor, their candidate, and become the Embassy City expert to guide the church through their succession. He vetted their candidate, got to know their team, and over time constructed a detailed report shedding light on the health of Embassy City’s Church, preparing them for the process to come.
Eric, who has 22 years of pastoral experience behind him, outlined the specific strengths and weaknesses he identified in Embassy City that they would need to be aware of or address throughout the succession process. He then outlined the key checkpoints in the succession process that would support their team and sustain the overall health of their church along the way. This included timing considerations, communication plans, and onboarding.
As the fall came and went, the steps of their succession plan finally unfolded.
The Two Tims
Throughout the year before the official transition, Tim Rivers had a clear calling to become Tim Ross’ successor. Tim Rivers has been a guest preacher at Embassy several times before this calling, making him no stranger to the congregation. He has also been mentored over the last three years by Ross, making him a uniquely matched and prepared candidate to succeed Ross.
Tim Rivers went into full-time ministry at the age of 18, holds a master’s degree in theology from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is currently pursuing a doctorate degree with a focus on church revitalization. Rivers looks forward to continuing the “Kingdom Culture” that Ross has laid over the years and plans for Embassy to remain a pillar in the community.
Rivers, his wife Janese, and their three children embraced their transition. The Rivers family is passionate about mission work and cultivating communities to advance the Kingdom. Eric’s encouragement, Ross’s mentorship, and the Lord’s unique calling on Rivers have all given the team abundant confidence that Rivers will be used by God to lead the congregation with strength and humility according to the Word.
No longer the senior pastor, Tim Ross begins a new chapter with Juliette as they continue to support the community they love. They remain at Embassy City as cherished members and advisors, focusing their energy on ministries such as conferences, podcasts, marriage ministry, and books.
