Lead Pastor Search

Update from the Elders

Today is an exciting day for our church!  We are announcing today that we have hired a new Lead Pastor! This decision is a clear answer to prayer.

When Kyle informed the elders last year of his desire to step out of the Lead Pastor role into a new role on CityBridge staff, the elders spent a good deal of time laying out what we desired for this critically important role. We stated we wanted a man who has:

1. The qualifications of eldership (as laid out in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9), since by virtue of the job, he will be an elder

2. Ten or more years of Lead Pastor experience with a proven track record

3. Strong organizational leadership and management

4. A deep understanding of and commitment to the Bible and exegetical teaching

5. Exceptional communication skills with the ability to connect to a diverse congregation

6. Strong leadership skills to empower others to do ministry through people, not to people

7. Full agreement with our doctrinal beliefs and CB values

8. A history and comfort with leading out of weakness, living authentically through his own life experiences

9. A life experience that is ahead of the median life stage of our membership (ideally age 40+)

One might look at this list and say we’re looking for a needle in a haystack. Or that some man may meet most of these criteria, but likely not all of them.

Well, we believe that God has given us tremendous clarity by providing us with a man that meets all these criteria.  The elders’ prayer has always been to inquire of the Lord, to bring clarity and unity to the decision-making process, and to trust the Lord to raise up the man to lead CityBridge.  We believe this decision is a clear answer to prayer.  All the elders are in complete unity, and we are excited and grateful!

This process has lasted about five months, and we are especially grateful to Vanderbloemen who conducted the search.  This process was covered in prayer by so many of you and we want to thank you.  As we zeroed in on one candidate, we sought input from many staff members and many key lay leaders.  All their feedback was very helpful and affirmed what the elders had experienced.  

Our new Lead Pastor is Brad Kirby, and we are so excited for you to meet him. Brad is currently the Senior Pastor at Eastwood Baptist Church in Haughton, Louisiana (just outside of Shreveport).  Brad and his wife, Emily, have been married for twenty years and they have two children, a daughter, Reagan, who is 17, and a son, Luke, who is 12.  Brad has a wealth of experience having served as a Lead Pastor for three churches, all very different, over a span of 14 years.  He is an LSU graduate and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary graduate, and he’s currently working on his doctorate degree in Expository Preaching from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Brad will begin with CityBridge right after Memorial Day and he’ll preach his first Sunday here on June 1st. We’ll set up a few times during the month of June for the church to meet him and his family. Please be praying for the following:  Eastwood Baptist Church as they will be looking to replace Brad, our church to prepare for a new leader, for unity in the body, and for the Kirby’s as they make a life transition to a new city with new beginnings.

Further Information

Our mission is to call all people to full devotion to Christ (Luke 14:27). This high call is to mark the body of Christ, while offering a safe place for all people on their journey because Jesus is clear that the law of love supersedes all others. Since our beginning as an independent church, we have remained committed to living out our core values and are emphasizing three strategic areas of focus in this season: connecting and community, discipleship, and missional engagement.

Our church has never been about any one individual or a few key leaders; rather, it is about each of us using our gifts to form one body in Christ to the glory of God (Romans 12:4–12). We know the Lord gifts each of us differently, and we want to best utilize our gifts to serve our church and advance the kingdom. During this latest season, the elders have spent considerable time seeking direction from the Lord in how best to lead our body into the work He has for us to do in a rapidly changing culture. 

For the past year, Kyle and Tresha have wrestled with Kyle’s best use for the kingdom at CityBridge as he has felt the church would best be served by a Lead Pastor with a different skill and gift set. This wrestling led to many hours of discussions with the elders over the last several months about what is needed in the Lead Pastor role for CityBridge to thrive and whether Kyle’s role should be redefined. After much prayer and processing, Kyle and the other elders reached unity that the church would be best served if we redeployed Kyle more consistent with his gifts and passions and identify a new Lead Pastor for CityBridge.

Kyle‘s role has changed significantly over the last three and a half years from the former role of Campus Pastor under the direction of Watermark Community Church, to his current role as Lead Pastor of CityBridge. While in the Campus Pastor role, Watermark handled the organizational leadership and teaching functions which allowed Kyle to utilize his primary gifts of exhortation, pastoral leadership, and shepherding. Since launching CityBridge in 2021 with Kyle serving as Lead Pastor, these two areas of organizational leadership and teaching have become increasingly important in the Lead Pastor role. Kyle has faithfully served and led our body and will continue to do so, but he feels called and excited to serve our body in a new role.

Frequently Asked Questions