Pastoral Resident

Resident Professional Development and Work

As full time staff, residents will attend existing staff, pastoral, and elder meetings. Residents will join the existing Table Talk group, our twice a month reading group. Residents will attend ECO National Gathering and the Made To Flourish Annual Residency Gathering. Residents will teach regularly at our mid-week service.

Other duties will be based on current ministry needs and the gifting of the resident.

Resident Personal Support

Residents will be paired with two sponsor families from WCPC who assist the resident through the transition onto staff.
Residents will receive coaching sessions with a personal financial coach.

Resident Pastoral Development Network

Each resident will shadow three Bay Area Pastors, outside of WCPC, from different church sizes and contexts for one day each.
Engagement with Transforming the Bay for Christ, Stratum, and Reality SF for developmental and networking opportunities.

Organization Description

Walnut Creek Presbyterian Church (WCPC) was planted in 1878 in what was then a small rural community. Since that time, Walnut Creek has grown into a large East Bay suburb. The downtown, where our campus is located, is a rapidly urbanizing area filled with shopping, restaurants, and apartments. The population is multi-generational and multi-ethnic. Our church campus is at the intersection of two major highways and near major regional transit. This means that we are easily accessible to a wide geographic footprint.

The mission and composition of WCPC has evolved along with its surrounding area. What was once a small rural church transformed into a large suburban church and is now becoming a mid-size urban church. As with many suburban churches, WCPC peaked in attendance and programmatic prowess in the late 90’s/early 2000’s. Following that peak, the church entered a season of decline which meant falling attendance, budget cuts, and multiple leadership changes. That period also included a change of denomination from the PC(USA) into ECO, our current home.

In March of 2020, Bart Garrett, was called as the Lead Pastor of WCPC. Bart came from a church he planted in nearby Berkeley. In the years of Bart’s leadership, WCPC has stabilized and begun to grow. We have seen growth across all age demographics, and we are becoming more ethnically diverse. We have stable finances, no debt, and healthy reserves. And most importantly, we are seeing fruit that indicates that our mission, to Connect People With Christ, is being accomplished. We have a growing outreach ministry to our community and flourishing childrens and student ministries.

As a Presbyterian Church, we are led by a board of Elders. Our Session is composed of nine Ruling Elders and two Teaching Elders, who are our full-time Pastors, Bart Garrett and Tommy Branagh. In addition, our pastoral staff includes Pastors in Partnership, Dr. Brian Kay and Mary Naegli. Brian is a private practice therapist four days a week, and serves WCPC one day a week. Mary, a retired minister, serves WCPC on an occasional basis.