Our Search Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes and many hours interviewing multiple quality candidates and then narrowing this down to our top three candidates. After much prayer and discussion, multiple hours of interviews with Pastor Joel and Christie Gorveatte, and speaking with numerous references, we felt confident that Pastor Joel is the person God has led us, as a Search Team, to unanimously recommend to the Journey Advisory Team.

Pastor Joel also had the opportunity to meet with members of our staff, giving us even more confidence in this recommendation. our Advisory Team conducted a final interview with Pastor Joel and Christie Gorveatte. We also listened to the recorded interviews the Search Team conducted and were fully briefed by members of the Search Team and, with unanimous agreement, we are thrilled to present Pastor Joel to you, the congregation of Journey Church, as our recommended candidate for Lead Pastor. Below you can find the full announcement shared on July 20, details about the Gorveatte family, and information on the Lead Pastor Candidate Weekend on August 1 & 3.