>>> PMC LEADERSHIP TABLE RECOMMENDATION

Introducing Kevin Seidel

BIO: We are recommending Kevin Seidel to you as the candidate of choice for PMC’s next settled lead pastor. As you will read, Kevin is currently a Professor of English Literature at Eastern Mennonite University, and he has a breadth and depth of lay leadership experience in the church, but he has not held a formal role as pastor. Please see the letter from the search committee and his past experiences below.
CANDIDATING WEEKEND: December 6-7​
PROCESS TIMELINE:
  • Congregational Meeting (Vote) December 14
  • If the congregational vote affirms Kevin then an official invitation will be offered to Kevin for the position of lead pastor.
  • Kevin will have the opportunity to respond with a yes or no out of his own discernment regarding this calling.
  • If Kevin accepts this role, a start date will be negotiated and the congregation will be informed about when we expect to welcome him at PMC.

Updates from the Search Committee...

Search Committee Update. 9-1-2025
After a long process of prayerful discernment, the Search Committee has invited two people to participate in in-person interviews for Portland Mennonite's settled lead pastor position. These will be the final conversations we each candidate before we make a recommendation to PMC’s Leadership Table.
The Search Committee experienced each of the people who submitted an MLI and met with us as a great gift to the Church. While each person brought their own individual gifts and experiences and vision for the church, they all exhibited thoughtfulness and creativity, and commitment to being part of God’s just and peaceable shalom in our congregation and among the broader community.
Please continue to hold the Search Committee and all of those who applied in your prayers as we near the end of this process and approach the beginning of a new stage in the life of our congregation.

Search Committee Update. 8-5-2025
The Search Committee is in the process of completing the second round of interviews with five applicants for PMC’s Lead Pastor position. On Wednesday, August 20, we have a meeting scheduled to collectively discern which applicants we will invite for a final in-person interview. The final round of interviews will take place in September, and our hopeful intent is to make a recommendation to the Leadership Table by the end of September. The Table will then meet with the candidate before approving the recommendation and inviting the candidate to PMC for a formal visit, during which they will preach a sermon as part of a Sunday worship service and meet with various individuals and groups from the congregation.
​When the Search Committee first met over a year ago, we committed to prioritizing patience over efficiency and to making decisions out of curiosity rather than anxiety. We want to express our gratitude to the congregation, to our pastors, and to the applicants - all of whom have allowed the committee to patiently and prayerfully work through this process of mutual discernment.
​If you have questions or would like to talk about the search process, you are always welcome to reach out to anyone on the Search Committee. The Search committee is Andrew Turner, Ardy Alberts, Brandon Ensz, Harold Nussbaum, Heidi Noordijk, Karina Kreider Glick, Lisa Hughes, and Dave Johnson.

Search Committee Update. 7-11-2025
As of today (July 11), the search committee has received MLIs from five applicants, with other possible applicants still in their own process of discernment as they develop their application materials. It is a strong pool and we are grateful for and humbled by this response. We are conducting a three-phase interview process: an initial informal conversation on Zoom with everyone who submits MLI, followed by a formal interview with those applicants we believe could be a good fit with PMC. We anticipate we will have a third conversation (in-person) with 1-3 finalists before we make a recommendation to the Table, and we are hopeful that we will be able to make this recommendation in the fall. Following the search committee's recommendation to the Table, we will schedule a time for the Table to meet with the candidate. Assuming the Table approves the recommendation, the Table will then invite the candidate to PMC for a formal candidating visit. Please continue to pray for clarity and inspired curiosity as the search committee meets with each applicant and as we prayerfully discern the next right thing following each conversation.

Search Committee Update. 5-25-2025
The Search Committee has begun the process of meeting with potential candidates for PMC’s next settled lead pastor. This is an exciting part of the journey that were are approaching with prayerful curiosity. At the bottom of this webpage, there is an opportunity for you to share your thoughts with the Search Committee as we enter this next season in the life of our congregation. There is also a timeline below that provides a general idea of the process we will follow in this mysterious, mutual process of calling a pastor to a local congregation. We don’t know how long this will take, and there will be things we won’t be able to share with you in order to protect the confidentiality of the candidates, some of whom will likely be currently pastoring in a congregation. However, if you have questions or would just like to talk about the search process, you are always very welcome to reach out to anyone on the Search Committee: Andrew Turner, Ardy Alberts, Brandon Ensz, Harold Nussbaum, Heidi Noordijk, Karina Kreider Glick, Lisa Hughes, and Dave Johnson.

Search Committee Update. 4-24-2025
We are in the second phase of a two-phase search process. Eric Massinari, the Executive Conference Minister of the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, is having conversations with potential candidates, and the search committee has identified a couple dozen organizations, affinity groups, and online forums where we are posting information about the job.
As the Search Committee prepares to meet candidates and eventually recommend one of them to be our next lead pastor, we are – with you – waiting in prayerful expectation for someone who is humble and reflective and attentive and curious about who we are as a congregation and who has a clear vision for what God is calling the church to be in this time and place.
The search committee is grateful for your prayers. Please also pray for our next pastor - for the courage and clarity they need to respond to this next calling in their lives.

Search Committee Update. 2-13-2025
The Leadership Table has approved the Congregational Information Form and Job Description for PMC’s next settled Lead Pastor, and we have shared these documents with the Executive Conference Minister for the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, Eric Massinari. The job announcement has been posted on the MC USA pastoral openings page, Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference website, and Portland Mennonite’s website. All applications must go through the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, so if you know of someone in your networks who might be a good fit, you can email Eric ([email protected]) or Dave Johnson, the Search Committee Chair ([email protected]), and he will share the information with Eric. If you have any questions or concerns about the search process or if you’d just like to talk about how the search is going so far, please don’t hesitate to reach out to Dave or one of the other members of the Search Committee (Andrew Turner, Ardy Alberts, Brandon Ensz, Harold Nussbaum, Heidi Noordijk, Karina Kreider Glick, and Lisa Hughes).

Search Committee Update. 1-23-2025
​The Search Committee for our next settled Lead Pastor submitted a draft of the Congregational Information Form and the Congregational Priorities Worksheet to the Leadership Table and to Eric Massanari, Executive Conference Minister of the Pacific Northwest Mennonite Conference, for review and feedback. These two documents are required for PMC to formally announce the open position. The Search Committee received feedback from the Leadership Table this week and is in the process of incorporating those changes into the documents, which will be ready for the Table’s final review and approval at their February meeting. 

Information about the Search Process for a Lead Pastor at PMC

Timeline + Milestones
Roles & Responsibilities

Ways you can Help

    > Answer the Three Big Questions

​The Search Committee

Dave Johnson (Chair)
Andrew Turner
Ardy Alberts
Brandon Ensz
Harold Nussbaum
Heidi Noordijk
Karina Kreider Glick
Lisa Hughes​