Following a unanimous nomination by the search committee and thorough examination at the July 30 Stated Presbytery Meeting, presbytery commissioners overwhelmingly approved Rev. Dr. John Odom as executive presbyter for the Presbytery of Genesee Valley.
A series of interviews and meet and greet opportunities across the Presbytery revealed John’s strong personal faith in Jesus Christ, his passion for building up the local church and the collective presbytery. He demonstrated extensive experience both in congregations and at the mid-council level, skills in strategic leadership and cross-cultural ministry, and creativity and energy in serving the Lord.
John will begin his role as executive presbyter for the Presbytery Genesee Valley in mid-October. He comes from Mid-Kentucky Presbytery, where he led innovation and growth for the past nine years. Prior to his mid-council work, John served for 19 years in congregational ministry as pastor in a variety of contexts and congregations. He has held national leadership roles, including service on the Presbyterian Mission Agency Board and with the Steering Committee of the Lilly Church Transformation Grant Program. He has worked ecumenically with the Kentucky Council of Churches, written for These Days Daily Devotionals, and served as a workshop leader at the Stewardship Kaleidoscope Conference.
John earned his D.Min. from Columbia Theological Seminary, his M.Div. from Union Theological Seminary in New York, and his B.A. from Davidson College, and completed a semester of undergraduate study at Madras Christian College in India. John has been trained in interim ministry with the Calvin Center, as a conflict mediator with the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center, and he has basic proficiency in American Sign Language.
Reflecting on his call to the role of executive presbyter, John shares, “This is an exciting time to be called to leadership with God’s people. In the midst of a rapidly changing culture, the opportunities for growth are virtually limitless. Dreaming the church of tomorrow, while attending to the present and real needs of God’s people today, requires constant prayer, daily grounding in God’s Word, and continual attention to the intersection between faith and action.”
The eight-month search process for executive presbyter included researching and writing the job description and Ministry Discernment Profile; three rounds of interviews among candidates reflecting a broad diversity in the areas of race, gender, and theological disposition; background and reference checks; and daily prayer for God’s guidance.
Members of the search committee—Rev. Laura Fry, Rev. Vinod Gnanaraj, Elder Bill Haake, Rev. Rebecca Segers, and Elder Hezekiah Simmons—posed personal discipleship questions about faith in Jesus Christ and life of prayer; theological questions about Scripture, the church’s role in God’s plan of salvation, and the church’s mission in the world; practical and leadership questions about supporting the vision and mission of the Presbytery.
“We were impressed by John’s visionary, wise, and faith-filled responses, and felt energized and inspired by each of our conversations with John,” summarized Rebeca Segers, search committee convener.
Likewise, one key question John posed during the process was this: “I love to cast a vision, but I also want to do the work of construction and bring the vision to life. Is the Presbytery of Genesee Valley truly ready to move into the future, and build something new together?”
And the response was: “Yes. We are ready.”
