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Burgoyne Nominated as East Coast Superintendent
CHICAGO, IL (February 23, 2006) - Howard K. Burgoyne, senior pastor at Newport
Covenant Church in Bellevue, Washington, has been nominated to serve as
superintendent of the East Coast Conference of the Evangelical Covenant
Church (ECC).
Delegates will vote on his candidacy during the East Coast Conference
Annual Meeting April 29 in Springfield, Massachusetts. If approved by
delegates, he will begin his new duties September 1, replacing retiring
Supt. Robert Dvorak.
"I am honored and humbled to be nominated for superintendent of the East
Coast Conference," Burgoyne says. "This is the conference where my
parents were welcomed into the Covenant, where my faith in Christ began,
and where my call to ministry was discerned and encouraged. It will be
an unexpected homecoming."
A graduate of Bryan College with an M.Div. degree in pastoral studies
from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, Burgoyne served associate
pastorates at First Covenant Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, and
Evangelical Covenant Church in Batavia, Illinois, prior to his move to
Newport Covenant in 1995.
"While this call comes as a genuine surprise, there is a deep peace
shared with my wife, Ann, and our two children that this is the path God
has prepared for us to walk with him," Burgoyne says. "That is a real
comfort to us as we have really cherished our eleven years of ministry
in Bellevue . . . with the great people of Newport Covenant Church. We
hoped we would never be called to leave, but God is opening a new door
for us to trust and proceed."
Burgoyne's nomination comes following an extensive search process led by
pastor Eric Hillabrandt, chair of the East Coast Conference, in which
ECC President Glenn Palmberg participated. The East Coast Conference
Board began receiving names last September and appointed a Search Task
Force to review the recommended names and narrow the list to a group of
finalists for interviews, which occurred earlier this month. Burgoyne's
selection was unanimous.
"We saw in Howard someone who can engage the board and the conference as
a whole in creative planning for the future," says Hillabrandt. "He
knows the conference well – he was born and raised here. There is a
comfort level in that he knows many of the challenges facing the
conference and our local churches.
"We also saw someone able to help us wrestle with God's call for our
conference, to help us hear and to offer good guidance," he continues.
"As we thought about Howard, we sensed he is someone who is comfortable
waiting on God for guidance – someone who can approach situations with
an awareness that goes beyond the corporate needs of a group . . . to
discern a sense of call and be guided by the Holy Spirit."
Burgoyne's experience, both as a staff member and as senior pastor of a
large church, were important in the decision, Palmberg says. Not only
did Burgoyne serve a long-time pastorate, he also supported the planting
of a church out of his own congregation, encouraging some of his own
parishioners to form the core of the new congregation.
"Howard has been a very successful pastor and has served in a variety of
settings," says Palmberg. "He brings wonderful gifts to the office of
superintendent. He has leadership gifts that are apparent to all who
know him and he is a bright and gifted theologian and writer who is well
organized, well read, and well respected."
Experience and leadership qualities were not the only strengths that
commended Burgoyne for the nomination, Palmberg suggests. "He also has a
spiritual depth that comes through in the way in which he carries out
and articulates his ministry, reflecting the depth of his commitment to
Jesus Christ. He knows what it is to be a pastor and will be a support
to the pastors in his conference. He is ready to be a superintendent. We
will be well served."
Burgoyne has been active in a number of local, conference and
denominational organizations. These include volunteer chaplain of the
fire department in Batavia, service on the Task Force on Morals and the
Church in the Northwest Conference, chair of the Leadership Development
Board of the Northwest Conference, chair of the North Pacific Conference
Ministerial Association, and as a member and secretary of the Board of
the Ordered Ministry for the denomination.
"Some people think the East Coast is a hard place spiritually, but I
sense a deep hunger and spiritual longing among these people for a
greater outpouring of God's transforming grace and mercy," he continues.
"The East Coast Conference churches are in a strategic place and moment
to join God in building the Kingdom, through expanding and strengthening
their diverse local ministries, as well as planting new churches and
ministries along the eastern seaboard.
"It will be an exciting adventure for me to get reacquainted with these
churches, ministries and leaders and join them in moving together into
the future God has in store for them," he continues. "Bob Dvorak was my
advisor and professor in seminary at Gordon-Conwell, and to follow in
his footsteps will be a high calling and privilege."
If approved by the Conference Annual Meeting, Burgoyne plans on
tendering his resignation to the congregation the first week in May and
concluding his ministry in Bellevue on June 30, relocating the family to
the Hartford, Connecticut, area over the summer. His formal installation
would come during the ECC Annual Meeting in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in June.
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