The Office of Connectional Ministries is excited to announce that the Rev. Bill Gibson has been hired as the new Director of Strategic Faith Community Development for the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference, starting September 1, 2015. A search committee conducted a national search for candidates, and selected him from a gifted pool of candidates. This position is accountable to the PNW Conference Director of Connectional Ministries and the Bishop of the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference in consultation with the Board of Congregational Development.
Bill comes to us from the Western North Carolina Conference where he has served in three appointments over the last 13 years. Each of his appointments have been to new church development projects, directly correlated with new ways to understand and cultivate vitality.
Prior to being named as our Director of Strategic Faith Community Development, Bill served for over 8 years as the lead & teaching pastor of THE WALK [FaithWalk] in Gibsonville, NC, a diverse, Reconciling Church, which focuses on the unchurched, disconnected, and marginalized. Last year he was tapped by the General Board of Discipleship and Path 1 to consult as a Path 1 Associate in our denomination’s church planting movement. He is passionate about engaging the Gospel message with the skeptical, unchurched, disconnected, and frustrated, in an ever-shifting culture.
As a second career pastor, Bill spent more than 16 years working in business development and marketing, where his concentration focused on interactive branding and image marketing. He received his M.Div. from Duke University (Durham, NC), and completed his D.Min. in semiotics and future studies at George Fox University (Portland, OR). His research focus was on cultural linguistics and the dialogic formation of Christian identity in an American consumer context.
Bill and his wife Traci were born and raised in East Tennessee before moving to North Carolina in 1994. They have been married for 28 years and have three amazing children: Tyler, who lives and works in Santa Barbara, CA (not pictured); Allison, a recent college graduate who will be moving to San Diego, CA this fall for an internship; and Jackson, who is a rising sophomore in high school. Bill has a life-long love of the great outdoors and enjoys hiking, running, and building community. He, Traci, and the kids are now excited to be a part of the Pacific Northwest family.
Bill offered this short greeting:
“Pacific Northwest Annual Conference: Greetings! I am writing you from North Carolina as my family and I begin preparations for our move to the Seattle area. It is with great joy and excitement that we anticipate meeting you. Traci and I are overwhelmed to have the opportunity to be a part of the incredible work you and God are doing in the Pacific Northwest! I cannot wait to join you in a labor of love, as together we strive for health, vitality, and the multiplication of ministry — to make disciples for the transformation of the world! Blessings to each of you, and we will see you soon!”
We hope you will join us in welcoming Bill as he brings his considerable talents and gifts to the important work of developing new faith communities to reach new people in the Pacific Northwest Annual Conference and collaboratively sharing his gifts and experience across the Greater Northwest Episcopal Area.
Yes! So glad you will be working with us, Bill!
Thanks Molly! We are excited and look forward to hitting the ground running! See you soon!