dear vfc family,

As we approach 2023, we wanted to send you a quick update you on the progress of the Exchange Zone and the upcoming official succession “Baton Pass” service in January of 2023! 

First, we want to thank you for trusting the Lord and for trusting us as we have done our best to lead Valley Family Church into and through the succession process over the past 2 years – with the prayerful expectation that this will set VFC up for the best future for many generations to come. 

It has been our distinct honor to serve the Lord and all of you as your Senior Pastors over the past 31 years – and we are very excited about the days ahead! As we continue to move forward, we have tried to strike the right balance between the idea of “we must decrease and our successors must increase” while also keeping you all in the loop on each phase of the succession process via our VNews, strategic Sunday sermons and various conversations. We are so pleased with how all of you have flowed with the transitions taking place. We hope this update adds to the clarity and anticipation regarding what the Lord is up to at VFC! 

Here’s the recap and update:

The Succession Plan Begins: In June of 2020 and August 2020, we (Beth and Jeff) respectively felt they had heard from the Lord on His plan to begin preparations to turn the leadership of the church over to the next generation. The Lord spoke to Beth from 2 Corinthians 3:10 with these words, “You have laid a good foundation, now another builds thereon.” The Lord spoke to Jeff from the chapters in 2 Timothy 2-4 - specifically with these words, “...you have run your race and you have completed your full course...”

Upon hearing from the Lord, our first order of business was to pray and wait on Him to get confirmation and clarity on these words. The Lord graciously confirmed His words again and again and once we had His assurance and peace, we shared these things with the VFC Board Members and with our Executive Team. To our pleasant surprise, everyone was at peace and on board with our plans to prayerfully begin the succession process. As we sought the Lord on His strategy for walking out a healthy succession and transfer of leadership, He gave us the following plan.

The Successors are Identified: Per previous conversations with the Board, we began the prayerful process of identifying potential candidates – including our four kids, our Executive Team members and qualified ministry friends around the country. As we looked at each potential candidate, we kept coming back to the Jones kids (now married adults) as those with the most experience, training, and heart for VFC and its future. Our Board confirmed this. We began to have conversations with each of the Jones kids to see who was interested, who was ready, who the Lord was calling, etc. All of the Jones kids and their spouses had completed college, Bible school training and many years on staff at VFC and all of them had the God-given skill set and potential to lead a large and growing ministry. As this was uncharted territory for us and our family, we had some very heartfelt and difficult conversations along the way, but in the end, we all wanted God’s will and through talking with the kids, it was identified that our son and daughter-in-law, Eric and Alexa, would be the successors. 

The Leadership Residency Begins: In 2021, after returning from Bible College in Australia, Eric and Alexa and Annie and Zack, our daughter and son-in-law, rejoined the VFC staff to begin what we called the Leadership Residency. Annie and Zack voiced their desire to support Eric an Alexa in the transition and the Residency was a perfect next step for all four of them. Over the course of their lifetime, our kids, Eric and Annie had served in almost every area of the church, but during the Residency, they, (along with Alexa and Zack) worked closely with every member of our Executive Team to learn the ins and outs of every department at VFC. Much like a medical doctor residency, they were exposed to all of the ‘good, bad and ugly’ in church ministry.

The Exchange Zone Announced: In September 2021, at VFC’s 30th Anniversary, we officially announced to the church that we were beginning the succession season and entering The Exchange Zone where we would begin passing the baton to the next generation. (We did NOT announce the successors names at that time.) From that time until presently, we’ve been in the Exchange Zone and intensely mentoring, training and empowering Eric and Alexa, along with our Executive Team, to lead VFC into the future. We also began a weekly MIMs (Mentoring in Ministry) meeting with Eric and Alexa to cover the nitty gritty of real-time, week-to-week problem solving to broaden their experience and capacity for leadership at a higher level and at an increased pace.

The Successors Revealed: In September 2022, at the end of VFC’s 30th year, we announced to the church that we were almost to the end of The Exchange Zone and we officially announced that Eric and Alexa would be VFC’s successors! (We also told the church family that Jeff and Beth would remain the Founding Pastors and serve in a variety of ways -- see below.)

At this time, we announced the beginning of a 4-month “changeover season” with Eric and Alexa serving as the “Interim Lead Pastors.” In this role, they would carry the weight of preaching every weekend, overseeing the visionary calendar, discipleship processes, Pastoral care issues, and leading the staff and Executive Team – as well as troubleshooting weekly issues and crisis’ that arise. As Founding Pastors, we would mentor them from afar to guide, answer questions and encourage them each week.

The Church Is Healthy and Thriving: So far, the result of all of these things is a healthy, thriving, growing and energized church! We are seeing more young families join the church each Sunday, kid’s ministry is exploding, more people taking our Valley Orientation to get plugged in to serving, more people are taking Bible classes on Wednesday nights, giving has remained steady and every area of the church is in a positive momentum phase! All of these signs are a great confirmation that we are on the right track and God’s blessing on this transition is apparent. We have two events on the horizon to wrap up this exciting transition season:

A Legacy Service: On January 22, 2023 at 10am we are planning to have a special Legacy service where we can thank God for His faithfulness over the past 31 years -- and where we can thank all of YOU VFC'ers for your faithfulness, support, prayers and faith as we reflect on the fun, God-touched memories we've all made along the journey -- and where we can share and celebrate the new season we're walking into as we transition to Founding Pastors. Afterward, our kids will be hosting a “semi-retirement” reception in the Atrium and we look forward to hugging as many of you as we can!

The Baton Pass – Change of Command Service: This is the BIG DAY! On January 29, 2023, we are planning a special “Baton-Pass-Change-of-Command” service to officially install Eric and Alexa Jones as the Lead Pastors of Valley Family Church. We believe this will be a significant day as the anointing of God comes upon them in a new and fresh way. 

New Era for VFC: February 2023 will mark the beginning of a new era for VFC with Lead Pastors Eric and Alexa Jones. As we prepare for this final leg of the succession plan, we truly believe “our ceiling will be their floor” and VFC’s best days are ahead!! 

As you can tell, Pastor Eric and Alexa are full of vision and a God-breathed enthusiasm for the future of VFC! We won’t steal any of their thunder -- you will be hearing all about it in the New Year!! We can’t wait!

Founding Pastors New Role: Some of you may be wondering what exactly will we be doing after the baton pass? Are we retiring? Moving to Florida?  

We are not fully retiring; but rather, we are semi-retiring and as VFC’s Founding Pastors, we are shifting into a new role as: Senior Pastoral Advisors. 

That means, we will continue working in an advisory role to help VFC move forward (see list below)  and we will continue teaching the Bible basics as a part of VFC’s global outreach. We will be working in-person and virtually from two locations: Michigan and Florida - and will continue to split our time between these two great peninsulas! 

In this season of our lives and ministry, we feel this gives us the perfect balance of time with our kids, grands, siblings and church family; it keeps us engaged in ministry and adding value to VFC -- and it frees up time for us to relax, enjoy life and play a little more golf.

That being said, here’s how we will continue to serve:

-Jeff and Beth will remain on the VFC Board - Jeff as President, Beth as Trustee. We will add Eric Jones to the Board in 2023 as Vice President and the other three longtime Board members will remain in place.

-Jeff and Beth will serve as Mentors for Eric and Alexa and will continue to hold weekly/bimonthly “Mentoring in Ministry” meetings with them. We feel it will be important to provide healthy, proven and time-tested bumper guards to ensure the health and well-being of Eric and Alexa in their role and to foster the success of God’s vision for VFC.

-Jeff and Beth will speak at VFC as needed and desired – Sunday mornings, Pastoral zooms, special meetings and the like.

-Jeff and Beth will continue to play a leadership role in any VFC expansion decisions – micro campuses, additional onsite campuses in Michigan and elsewhere.

-Jeff and Beth will continue to play a role in any property development/expansion at 2500 Vincent.

-Beth will continue to oversee and lead The Basics With Beth - VFC’s global teaching outreach.

-Jeff will continue to provide wisdom and leadership on the financial growth of VFC.

-Jeff and Beth will continue to lead The Boom Network – VFC’s ministry outreach to other pastors/churches

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As you can see, a lot has been happening over the past 30 months and we have a lot to look forward to as we complete the Succession Process over the next 2 months! 

*So, mark your calendars now and don’t miss the official Baton Pass service on January 29, 2023!!

We appreciate your continued support and prayers as God’s plan unfolds. Truly, “the best is yet to come!”

We love you all,

Pastors Jeff and Beth

Founding Pastors