Jimmy Coyle: Summary of Interaction
- Recorded 50-minute Zoom interview with Don 5-5-25. Viewed by all elders.
Don’s reflections:
I was impressed by Jimmy’s genuineness and his good heart. He seemed to be working to raise people up and obviously a hard worker. He has a full-time job, in which he has consistently moved up, and does a lot in a part-time ministry. He must be organized. He is a good family man. He works with the youth and is good with kids. I sensed a vitality in the church itself. He has enthusiasm, is faithful, available and teachable. His humility was striking in that he offered to be praying for us to find the right person.
Questions:
A passionate preacher but may need work on his structure. He will need to learn how we use our discipleship model. (Which was true of all our candidates.) He does seem to have a knack for making disciples already.
Not sure how much experience he has had in leading a larger church. He has done youth ministry in a larger church setting, but I am not sure how much larger. It will help to have an overlap with Jon helping him to settle in. He certainly has been faithful in the “little things.”
Jon’s Feedback: The more I listened, the more I’m interested. I appreciated his candor and heart. One of the questions I’d love to ask him (unless you did, and I missed it); why is he looking for a new church. It sounds like things are going well there. I might guess that he is wearing so many hats (with 2 “full time jobs”), that he’s looking for a focused ministry.
I definitely want to talk with him, and I would suggest him to the elders as a potential.
Don’s response to Jon: Here's what I gathered from his cover letter that led me to believe that a full-time ministry has always been his ambition:
“I have over twenty years of ministry experience. I spent fourteen years as a youth minister in both Indiana and Illinois. I have been in my current position as senior minister since July of 2013. Many of my years within ministry I have had to be a “Paul” and be a “tent maker.” Several ministries were big in heart but not in the ability to pay a salary that would sustain a minister and his family. So, I balanced ministry with a job that supplemented my income.”
Kurt’s feedback: I watched the interview with Jimmy. I liked what I saw. A good heart and a diamond in the rough. He would need a time of overlap before stepping into the lead role at Roxbury, but I can see it. All the other Elders viewed the Zoom video and responded positively.
- Jon’s synopsis of his pastor-to-pastor conversation with Jimmy 5-7-24
I had a good conversation - about 40 minutes. I started with my story and Roxbury. And he appreciated my openness as he said that he had been divorced after a 14-year marriage. His ex-wife told him that she cared for him but didn’t love him and had never stopped loving her first fiancé (before him). She pursued the divorce. That’s why there was a break from vocational ministry in his resume. He has since been married for 14 years to Jennifer and has 4 kids from kindergarten to 8th grade with her. He’s 49 and she is 10 years younger. They have been active in a Marriage ministry for themselves and are extending it to other couples.
I asked about the influx of younger families at Ashland. He said it has been partly due to his involvement in T-ball and set production for the High School…just doing life with folks. Relationship building led to opportunities.
As to why the interest in a transition now, he just said that he and his wife have been praying about it for a while and are asking God “what’s next?”. They are good where they are, but also open to another call. I asked if the leaders are aware, and he said they are having a meeting on Monday where he will let them know that he is actively sending out his resume. He feels that Ashland is in a much better place than they had been in passing the baton to someone else.
He is very personable and honest. I told him we are having a meeting on Thursday and will be in touch as to whether we and he would like to take another step. I think we should call his references but hold off until next Tuesday.
References
Don contacted Rick Yocum, former elder at Havana IL COC, given as a reference:
Very complimentary of Jimmy who was a youth minister. Points Rick made about Jimmy:
- Good preacher when subbing for Lead Pastor
- As a Youth Minister:
o Built up the youth group
o Substitute teacher in the school system and made many contacts with students
o One of his youth group students went on to be a youth minister
o Innovative
o Made trips to CIY
o Also good at making and keeping his budgets
o Students led church worship
o Trained student leaders
o Teachable spirit – humble
Ron contacted Carol (former supervisor for Jimmy) and his notes:
Carol gave a great recommendation. She is now retired, so when I called, Jimmy answered the phone because it was her job that he took over when she retired. I did speak to Jimmy for a few minutes, but he was working so it wasn't a long conversation. He was very friendly on the phone and upbeat. Carol described Jimmy as a hard worker, congenial, a people person, and a family man. She said that one of his strengths is that he is always willing to help people and to step in when needed without having to be asked. I asked about weaknesses and she said that if he has one it could be time management, but she didn't look at that as a significant problem. She said that he was very good at handling conflict using common sense and that he is empathetic. She did not attend his church as she lives in a different community. She said that he didn't push his beliefs on coworkers, but that his life was a good testimony.
Jon contacted Garrett Savage (elder at Ashland COC). His notes:
Garrett Savage (farmer, propane dealer, elder, High School Sunday School teacher)…seemed to be very frank, honest.
The Ashland Church averages about 60 people – 20 are kids (“when they leave to go to Jr. Church – feels like a large chunk of the church gets up” – much of the growth is due to Jimmy”)
The first thing he said was that after Jimmy told the elders he’d sent out his resume – it took awhile just to wrap his mind around losing him. They love him and his family. He said, “I’d love to tell you Jimmy is horrible, smells funny and isn’t worth your time,” but that would be a lie. We think the world of him and his whole family.”
Garrett knew this day might come because they just haven’t been able to grow enough to support him full-time. Giving has doubled but still not able to support a full-time family. They had hoped they could get there before losing him.
Jimmy is wonderful with people and great with kids. He has very good people skills. “People gravitate to him”. He has led their youth ministry with Garrett and some other volunteers.
The church split about 15 years ago, but some solid people remained, and Jimmy fostered healing, new direction and new people.
He’s been involved in the community. Garrett said he has personally learned more from Jimmy’s preaching/teaching than anyone in his life. “Jimmy teaches an adult Sunday School class and people enjoy it”.
“Jimmy leads by example and doesn’t ask anyone to do anything he isn’t willing to do. He’s not scared of work. His first day at the church, they were reroofing the church in 100-degree weather, and he showed up at 6:30 am with a pitchfork to remove shingles.”
I (Jon) asked about the 3 spheres of leadership (Leadership/Pastoral/Administration) – which is his strength, etc. He didn’t really answer – just tended to say that he does well in each. “As far as administration - he organizes and keeps us on track”.
I asked why he thought Jimmy is looking to make a change: he felt it was probably a desire for full time ministry position and maybe more opportunities for kids (small church, small community), and perhaps challenge at a different level.
- Face to Face meeting with Jimmy and Elder team 6-12-24
Jimmy arrived around 11 am and met with Jon. They ate together and Jimmy was given a tour of our church building and some of Janesville. He met Dori for a few minutes. Jon and Jimmy shared a lot of conversation until the meeting with the elders at Don’s home at 4 pm. The meeting with the elder team lasted an hour and 45 minutes. Every elder asked some questions and Jimmy responded openly and honestly. Jimmy was remunerated for his round-trip travel from Ashland (near Springfield, IL – about 240 miles).
- Elder’s Meeting 6-13-24
All felt enthusiastic to take another step with Jimmy by meeting his wife, Jennifer, and speaking with them together by zoom on 6-20-24.
Zoom meeting with Coyle’s on 6/20/24
To Jimmy from Don:
Hi Jimmy!
I am assuming our relationship with each other will still be positive after our Zoom meeting tonight. Part of our search process plan is to extend an invitation for the candidate to make an informal visit to Janesville with his wife and possibly his children. We want to make sure his family is of one mind. Is it possible for you to make a day or overnight (Friday night/Saturday) trip to Janesville? You would be meeting with our elders (and possibly staff) and spouses. It would be our goal to make it a very enjoyable visit for you and your family!
From Jimmy to Don:
Yes, our hope is for the same outcome following our meeting tonight. I spoke with Jon last night. My family and I would be available to come up Friday, July 26-28. We could leave after worship that Sunday. I would want my family to participate in worship to see what they think.
Zoom meeting with Jimmy and Jenny from 5:30-7:00 p.m.
Post Meeting Summary:
Our discussion went well and only affirmed again what we have learned about Jimmy already. It was also good to meet Jimmy’s wife, Jennifer (aka Jen or Jenny). Following our meeting with Jimmy, we elders stayed on the Zoom call to discuss our next step. The consensus was: Jimmy is the guy.
To summarize our individual conclusions:
Isaac: I see Jimmy as a man after God’s own heart who leads by example in seeking the Kingdom first. He has shown himself to be a self-starter and a life-long learner. He is a leader God will use in big ways.”
Chuck: Jimmy is a good family man and has proven able to lead a church while advancing in a secular full-time job. He is a positive person and will be able to lead our church effectively.
Kurt: Jimmy's involvement in the community through coaching and other activities will help Roxbury grow younger by drawing in young families. When Jenny (his wife) was asked what attracted her to Jimmy, she reported that when he was listening/speaking with someone, he was all there, as if they were the only person in the room. It was another piece of evidence that Jimmy has the heart of a pastor. He has also been mentored and has experience mentoring and coaching others. He is hard working (family, secular job, pastor, coach). His academic work at Cincinnati Christian University and graduate work at Lincoln Christian Seminary gives him the Bible background needed.
Ron: The good qualities I see in Jimmy are that he is authentic, humble, involved with church and family, and has a good outreach into the community. He also cares deeply about his congregation. We could tell that from talking to him.
Don: God's standard for leadership is what is in a man's heart. When I look into Jimmy's heart, I clearly see a man who has a heart for the Lord. And he is also a skilled leader. He stepped into a small struggling church that had gone through a painful split and led it back to vibrancy. He is well schooled and comes with a teachable spirit, a strong work ethic, and a passion for a strong family and a growing church.
Al: He seems to be a "people person". He is fully in line with our goal of making disciples who make disciples and has a strong commitment to small groups. He seems to be good at connecting with people outside of the church. He is married to a great partner.
Jon: Jimmy is the kind of person (as is his wife) that makes me want to hang around him/them and work side-by-side with him/them. He impressed me with his openness, genuineness, sense of humor and obvious love of Christ. He dearly loves and respects his wife, and he is a hands-on dad. He practices disciple-making (not just talks about it) and I loved the way he interacted with strangers. He is committed to being a life-long learner and enjoys preaching/teaching God’s Word. He is a team builder. I believe God has led Jimmy to lead the church I have truly loved leading.
We took a unanimous vote to extend a call to Jimmy to be our next Lead Pastor. There was no hesitation in letting him know immediately. So, Jon and I (Don) contacted Jimmy who then got back on our call. Although we did not land on a financial package, we assured Jimmy that we would be in the range he had previously requested. (Kurt has been charged with the responsibility of putting together a contract package in coordination with Jon and the Finance Team.) Because of time and commitment restraints, we landed on the Coyle family coming to visit the weekend of July 26-28 to meet people, for Jimmy to preach, and for the congregation to vote onJimmy, in keeping with our Constitutional requirements:
2-B. Lead Pastor Selection
- The Elders will lead the search to seek out a candidate to recommend
- to the congregation for their approval.
- A two-thirds (2/3) majority of members voting is required for approval.
Information will be presented to the congregation on June 30 with a brief written introduction, the above summary of correspondence and Jimmy’s resume. These will also be available on our website: www.churchrox.com and tab “Join our Team”. You can also visit Ashland Church of Christ (Ashland, IL) Facebook page for recorded messages by Jimmy.