UPDATE: On Sunday September 25th, Alyssa and Charlie were officially called to FBC by congregational vote. They have accepted the call and Alyssa will join us in November as Associate Pastor for Young Adult and Youth Ministries and Charlie will will be on the job in January as our Executive Pastor.
Friday, September 16, 2016
With great excitement and anticipation, we announce to you our Search Committee’s candidates for Associate Pastor for Young Adult and Youth Ministries and Executive Pastor — Alyssa Aldape and Charlie Fuller. Below is biographical information about each, as well as the description of the newly created Executive Pastor position (you can also click here to download it).
This announcement represents seven months of prayer, strategic planning and belief that God is leading us to take bold steps of faith at this moment in FBC’s life. Our Moderator, Lucy Plovnick, prepared the way for this announcement three weeks ago in a letter to the congregation. Please read it here if you haven’t yet seen it.
On Sunday, September 25, the congregation will vote on these two ministers. Please see the "Call Weekend" itinerary below.
Rev. Alyssa Aldape
Candidate for Associate Pastor for Young Adult and Youth Ministries
Biography
Alyssa is a child of Baptist missionaries and grew up in San Antonio, Texas and Pune, India. While she lived in India, Alyssa had great opportunities to experience the country's rich cultural diversity through her parents' work with the Banjara people, a nomadic tribe.
Faith
“Hospitality has been a major theme in my faith story. As a child I would see my parents open our home to strangers, I would see them share our table with someone who needed a meal, and countless other subtle actions that made a huge impact on my life. When we moved to India, we were the strangers! And it was our turn to rely on the hospitality of others to welcome us into their community and lives. My years in India showed me the importance of mutual hospitality when it comes to sharing our Christian witness. When we find ourselves in the position of losing some of our power or control, it often makes us open ourselves to something bigger in God's world.”
Education
Alyssa earned a Bachelor of Arts in History from Samford University in Birmingham, Alabama (2011) and a Master of Divinity degree from Mercer’s McAfee School of Theology in Atlanta (2015).
Experience
Every year since college, Alyssa has helped to lead a Cooperative Baptist Fellowship summer retreat for teenage children of missionaries. She has a passion for working with youth and their families as they navigate this time in their lives. During her seminary years, as the youth minister at Northside Drive Baptist Church, Alyssa taught and offered pastoral care for youth and their families, preached and participated in worship leadership and led various church meetings. It was at Northside Drive that she fell more deeply in love with the local church as she learned about liturgical tradition, the beautiful rhythm of the lectionary and the need for a community to worship together, “even when we don't agree on everything.”
Currently Alyssa is a Baptist Joint Committee Fellow and is Secretary of the Religious Liberty Council for the BJC. She also is a leader in the New Baptist Covenant, a movement first convened in 2007 by former President Jimmy Carter to bring Baptists together in our pursuit of unity and justice on the local and national scale.
Alyssa on the Church
“What I love about serving the local church is the tapestry of people around me who come together to worship a loving God. In the midst of a highly polarized world that tells us that if don't agree we are enemies, church is where we practice finding God together and in that quest, peace. What I love about the church is that there isn’t one, single model for doing this, and so together we get to think creatively about what God is up to in our community and dream about the unique ways we can join God in the work.”
Rev. Dr. Charles L. Fuller
Candidate for Executive Pastor
Charlie and Cindy Fuller
Biography
Charlie hails from Little Rock, Arkansas. A life-long Baptist, he grew up as a part of the Park Hill Baptist Church in North Little Rock.
Charlie spent all his growing up years in North Little Rock where his 95-year-old mom still lives. He and Cindy met during their college days at Baylor and have been partners in ministry ever since. They have two adult daughters who live in Seattle, WA and Plano, TX. They also have three grandchildren who are all 3 years of age and under who give them incredible joy.
Faith Story
Charlie’s faith story starts with the nurture of a deeply loving church that raised him in faith. As an adolescent he claimed that faith and began a journey with Jesus that has both informed and empowered a life of ministry. He is deeply curious and constantly open to new ways of experiencing and expressing his faith. He has tried to live out a call to ministry since he was young, but is now living out his calling as a “2nd career” minister, a calling that is expressed in his deep love for people and a desire to walk beside them on their own journeys.
Education
Charlie earned a Bachelor of Music Education from Baylor (1979), a Master of Music in Choral Conducting from West Texas State University (1981), a Doctor of Music Arts from Arizona State University (1989), a Master of Divinity from George W. Truett Theological Seminary at Baylor (2010) and a Doctor of Ministry from the Baptist Theological Seminary at Richmond (2015). He has completed two units of Clinical Pastoral Education and served as an Oncology Chaplain at Baptist Medical Center in Little Rock. He also earned a certificate from The Fund Raising School of Indiana University and holds the Associate Certified Coach credential with the International Coach Federation.
Experience
Charlie spent much of his “first” working life as a teacher and professor of music at high schools and universities in Arkansas, Texas and Arizona, and served for three years as Dean of the School of Fine Arts at Ouachita Baptist University in Arkadelphia, AR. In 2010, after completing his M.Div. at Truett Seminary, Charlie joined the staff of Second Baptist Church in Little Rock as Minister for Congregational Life. He also served Second Baptist as Interim Administrative Pastor from 2012-13.
Charlie on the Church
“I love God’s church. I’ve served the church in various capacities since I was 19 years old. The church isn’t a building or an institution. It’s a movement, the very presence of God moving among God’s creation.”
CALL WEEKEND ITINERARY
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 24
- 11am – 3pm
Charlie and Alyssa join us for the annual Church Picnic at Rock Creek Park.
(Youth: this is a great chance to hang out with Alyssa!) - 5pm
Alyssa and Charlie attend Mosaic.
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 25
- 9:30-10:30am
Congregational Q & A with Charlie and Alyssa in Fellowship Hall. - 11am
Alyssa and Charlie serve as leaders in worship - After worship
Church votes on new candidates (as well as the Executive Pastor position and 2016-17 budget) in our quarterly congregational meeting. Lunch will be served.