After much prayer, searching, and waiting, we are very excited to announce that Pastor Sean McDowell will succeed Dan Moose in church planting. He will also oversee leadership development which includes pastoral search support. Combining these two important ministries, Sean will serve as our NCD director for church planting and leadership development.

For 30 years, Sean served on the pastoral staff of Constance EFC where he remains a committed and active member of the congregation. Within the last 3 years, God expanded his ministry by calling him to serve as the Church Evangelism Institute Director for the Wheaton College Billy Graham Center. In recent months, Sean has felt God move his heart toward our NCD family of churches. In this, he will come alongside our district staff as we serve pastors, church leaders, and churches. This transition will take a little time. He will begin his time on our NCD staff in February 2026, and be full-time sometime before the end of summer. This will allow him to transition well and support the church evangelism institute as they empower new leadership.

We are so thankful for this wonderful answer to prayer. We are confident Sean will help us continue to support and encourage churches as they plant new congregations, raise up new leaders, and call established leaders to serve them for the sake of Christ.

Between now and when he officially joins our NCD staff, Sean will be raising support for the church planting portion of his new role. You can learn more and join his support team here.

In the months ahead, we will share more about this transition. Please feel free to reach out to me at brian.farone@ncdefca.org if you have any questions.

In Christ,

Brian Farone