St. Francis Prayer Center Hires Executive Director

STONEVILLE, North Carolina – St. Francis Springs Prayer Center in Stoneville, Rockingham County, North Carolina is expanding its leadership team with a key hire. Steve Swayne is now serving as their new Executive Director. Vanderbloemen is honored to have partnered with St. Francis Springs Prayer Center on this vital and important hire. 

St. Francis Springs Prayer Center, an interfaith prayer and retreat center founded on the traditions of Franciscan Catholic spirituality and hospitality, serves more than 12,000 retreatants each year. 

One of our Vanderbloemen Differences is that we believe in-person makes all the difference in finding the right person for the job. 

Executive Search Consultant, Jennifer Winge, visited St. Francis Spring Prayer Center for a board meeting, and then again to present five candidates. Because of her in-person experience fully immersing in the culture and atmosphere of the center, she brought back an on-target vision for the role and 4 candidates that the board considered strong options.

“She not only had resumes, but she had intro videos for each candidate to show. She had lots of insight (notes) on each candidate she was able to share with us, “ board member and search committee chair Danny Murray said. “It gave us a great picture of the 5 candidates. Jennifer early on was able to very clearly identify the type of person we were looking for. Of the 5 candidates presented, 4 were really strong. Any of those 4 would have been able to do the job.” 

In-person with our clients, Vanderbloemen consultants are able to take a tour of the campus, meet the team face-to-face, see firsthand what God is doing through your organization, and best understand the DNA of our clients to find them the right candidates that fit their culture.

“It was great to see how our VanderDifference of ‘in-person makes all the difference’ was truly lived out,” Phanuel Roxas, Marketing Manager said. “I could tell that St. Francis Springs was looking for someone that would align with their mission and vision along with someone who could fit their rich theology. Vanderbloemen brought the value of a consultant being there in person who could then understand their theological needs and the experience of working with non-profits who have a niche theological background.” 

Steve joins the staff of St. Francis Springs Prayer Center following a career in both ministry and business, including running several successful independent businesses. This role is a natural fit for Steve, who has attended several retreats at the center and considers hospitality and service two of his passions and spiritual gifts, combined with his experience in the nonprofit sector. 

“Anytime you come into a search that is replacing a founder there are large shoes to fill. It was very important for us to find someone who would keep the heart, core values, and passion that St. Francis Springs Prayer Center was founded upon while at the same time moving forward with developing the Prayer Center,” Executive Search Consultant Jennifer Winge said. “Steve was a fantastic person to do this as he is an entrepreneur and developer as well as having actually been an attendee for retreats in the past at St. Francis Springs. He not only understood the tradition and heart of the Center but embraced it, as his own spiritual walk was affected by his times at St. Francis Springs.  We were able to see God’s hand all over that connection.” 

St. Francis Springs Prayer Center is a non-profit interfaith prayer and retreat center located in Stoneville, NC. It is composed of guest rooms, cottages, and conference rooms that provide attendees a quiet and private scenery for prayer, reflection, and meditation. 

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Vanderbloemen serves teams with a greater purpose by aligning their people solutions for growth: hiring, compensation, succession, and culture. Through its retained executive search and consulting services, Vanderbloemen serves churches, schools, nonprofits, family offices, and Christian businesses in all parts of the United States and internationally. 

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