Pastor Tim Maynard marked 30 years as the Lead Pastor of Fruit Cove in January 2023. His stated desire in 2020 was that we begin the process for identifying his successor.
May 14 Update-
May 21 at 12:15pm, Special Called Church Business Meeting for the Purpose of Voting on Lead Pastor Candidate Dr Heath Woolman
The vote will take place on Sunday, May 21 following the 11 AM worship service. There will be a 15-minute break following the service to allow for parents to pick up preschoolers and children.
11am Student and Adult Connect Groups are asked to end in time for members to come to the Worship Center to participate in the vote, after preschoolers and children are picked up.
You must be a Fruit Cove Baptist church member in order to vote. If you are not sure of your membership status, please reach out to the church office this week for clarification. You can call 904–287–0996 or email info@FruitCove.com.
The results of the vote will be announced at the regularly scheduled quarterly business meeting that same evening, May 21, at 6 PM in the Worship Center.
April 25 Update- As previously shared, our Lead Pastor candidate completed his incognito visit to FCBC’s campus recently. This visit included multiple meetings with key leaders and the Search Committee. The candidate was able to get a detailed tour of our campus and the community. After gathering and reviewing all feedback thus far we are currently very close to being able to announce our determined next steps. For now, we ask for more intense prayer as the candidate and your Pastoral Search Committee confirm and plan what may be next for our church. Most important is that all parties continue to feel the Lord’s calling and unity around this candidate as the next Lead Pastor of FCBC.
Next Steps (dates to be announced):
– Determine invite for View of a Call. The View of a Call (VoaC) visit is a weekend where the candidate and his family will come to campus to meet the congregation and preach in both services.
– Announce candidate to the congregation and provide background information
– Set date for congregational vote, after VoaC visit.
– VoaC visit would include additional time with staff, deacons, and an opportunity to meet the congregation – followed by preaching in both Sunday services.
– If the vote is confirmed we will begin the onboarding process
April 17 Update – The candidate completed an icognito visit to our church and the PSC is prayerfully meeting and planning next steps.
March 27 Update- The PSC has completed comprehensive evaluations and interviews with multiple Lead Pastor candidates for the past three months. We are pleased to report that we are in the process of introducing our lead candidate to-date to Staff and members of the Deacon body.
Depending on the results of the above steps, and more importantly the Lord’s guidance, next steps will include an on-site visit to conduct further interviews, background checks, and continued reference investigations.
Our committee continues to covet your prayers and overall patience in our thorough process, and respect for the candidate’s confidentiality. We look forward to updating you again soon!
January 29 Update- After reviewing the first slate of candidates, the Pastor Search Committee conducted initial chemistry interviews over Zoom with 3 candidates this past week. They are now processing and praying through those results and deciding next steps, both with these candidates and others that continue to come through for consideration.
Fruit Cove has engaged ministerial staffing firm The Slingshot Group to assist with our search for our next Senior Pastor. Their role is to promote and advertise the position nationally, as well as to collect and screen applications.
Click the button below to view the Fruit Cove Senior Pastor posting on Slingshot’s website.
Dr. Maynard shared with the church after Sunday Worship what brought him to this decision and about his plans during and after the new pastor’s arrival.
From Sunday, November 20, 2022
Pastoral Search Team Members
At the Sunday, August 21, 2022 Church Business Meeting the following people were affirmed to form our Pastor Search Committee. Please pray for them and continue to pray for our church, Pastor Tim and our next lead pastor during this process.
Meghan Blood
Meghan Blood is a stay-at-home mom and photographer. Meghan and her husband Robert have three children. Meghan and her family relocated to Jacksonville in 2018. Meghan has been a member of FCBC for three years and serves in the Children’s ministry.
Jeff Crick – Co-Chair
Jeff Crick is a family physician and is married with two children. He has been a member of Fruit Cove Baptist Church for four years and serves as a Connect Group leader for adults.
Kelly Gates – Co-Chair
Kelly Gates is a Jacksonville native with a professional background in serving local nonprofits and ministries. She and her husband Barrett have two young children. She grew up in the area and has been a member of Fruit Cove Baptist Church for 24 years.
Chris Jessup
Chris Jessup is a deacon at Fruit Cove Baptist Church. He and his wife have been members of FCBC for over 20 years and have two young daughters.
Sunil Kuchipudi
Sunil Kuchipudi is an information technology risk professional in the financial industry leading digital transformation product governance practices. Sunil and his wife Priya have three boys and one girl. Sunil and his family have been members of Fruit Cove Baptist Church for the past 10 years when they moved to Jacksonville from Tampa due to a job transition.
Racquel Morgan
Racquel was born overseas during her father’s military service, but she grew up in South Carolina. She spent time overseas teaching English and sharing the gospel with other women who had not heard of Jesus’ love for them. She and her husband serve in the college ministry.
Ross Nelson
Ross Nelson is a department manager for an automotive company. He is married to Larisa and has been a member of Fruit Cove for 15 years. Ross currently serves in the Worship ministry and Children’s ministry.
Michael Osborne
Michael Osborne is a global manufacturing director for a chemical company with offices in Jacksonville. He and his wife Debra have two daughters, Gracen and Samantha. He has been a member of Fruit Cove Baptist Church for four years and serves as a Connect Group leader for parents of middle and high school students.
Peggy Weeks
Peggy is a native Floridian and native of Jacksonville. She is married to Ron for 43 years. Currently she leads Monday Morning Bible Study for Women, teach a Connect Group for Women and serves on the Leadership Team for Women’s Ministry here at Fruit Cove. She also serves on a Women’s Leadership Team as a Regional Consultant for the Florida Baptist Convention.
