Northwest District FAQs - News + Resources

We understand this has been a unique season of change, both within Foursquare and in our world at large. To communicate clearly and fully what’s happening in Northwest Foursquare, this FAQ is a working document that will be updated as we continue to build into the future.

If you have questions that aren’t answered below, please contact Northwest Associate Supervisor Molly DuQue.

FOURSQUARE NORTHWEST

:: What states are included in the new Northwest District?

Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, North Dakota, Wyoming and Alaska. Our district includes approximately 283 churches and missional communities.

:: What is the organizational structure of the Northwest District?

The primary purpose of the Northwest District team is to care for and serve local churches and pastors. Within each District, there is a District Supervisor, Associate Supervisor(s), NextGen Coordinator, Mission Mobilizer, Multiethnic Coordinator, and Communication and Events Coordinator. This team exists to lead church transitions and health, mobilize church planting, provide administrative support, provide missions engagement opportunities, support multiethnic and multicultural congregations, plan engaging and helpful events and training, inform local pastors of what’s happening in the District and larger Foursquare community, and more. Here is our District Team:

Dave Edler – District Supervisor
Molly DuQue – Associate District Supervisor
David Eddy – Associate District Supervisor
Jacy Burnett – Administrator
April Nault – Communications + Event Coordinator
Kim Churm – Administrative Support
Reed Sowell – NextGen Coordinator
Kaj Martin – Missions Mobilizer
Monique Handall – Multiethnic Coordinator

Learn More: Meet the NW District Team

Our District is organized into five Regions. Each Region is served by a Regional Pastor. The Regional Pastor is a new role designed to provide an extra layer of support, care, resource and connection to our local church pastors. We also have two Regional NextGen Coordinators that serve our NextGen Leaders. Lastly, each Region has 3-5 areas within them, each served by an Area Pastor, who provides care and connection for 10-20 pastors.

Our five Regions, Regional Pastors and Regional NextGen Coordinators are:

Fawn Cobler, Regional Pastor – Region 1 – Evergreen
Tim Poetzl, Regional Pastor – Region 2 – Pacific
Dave Chandler, Regional Pastor – Region 3 – Inland Empire + Idaho
Molly Cooke, Regional Pastor – Region 4 – Greater Oregon
Steve Poetzl, Regional Pastor – Region 5 – Great Northern Region
Evan Cook, NextGen Regional Pastor
Lori Snyder, NextGen Regional Pastor

Learn More: Meet the NW Regional & Area Pastor team

:: Whom do I call if I have a question?

You can contact your Area and Regional Pastors or Northwest Team.

The Northwest team members each have areas of special focus, so you can reach out to them directly. These include:

Finances, Bylaws and Church Logistics: Jacy Burnett
Pastoral Transitions, new Lead Pastors, Church Health and Ethics Issues: David Eddy
Church Planting, Mergers and Churches coming into Foursquare: Molly DuQue
Multicultural and Multiethnic Churches and Leaders: Monique Handall
NextGen (Kids, Youth, & Young Adults ministries): Reed Sowell
Missions and FMI Workers: Kaj Martin

:: We’re looking to fill a staff role at our church. Is there any way the District can help us find a good candidate?

We have a new Foursquare Local Church Job Board! To submit a job opportunity, contact Kim Churm. Kim will send you a form to gather info about the role. See the new Job Board here.

:: This has been a really challenging season. Does Foursquare have any confidential counseling resources available?

We understand the incredible pressure and strain pastors have endured in this season. You are not alone. We are here to support you and help you in any way we can. If you want to talk or need direction on finding help, please call us at the Northwest District. In addition, we listed some resources below.

Recommended Resources
Paul Kuzma, the Director of the Center for Spiritual Renewal, put together a variety of resources to serve pastors in this challenging season. You can find those here: Foursquare recommended resources for pastoring in a pandemic

Counseling Services
We can help you connect with professional counseling to process your experience in this season. We encourage you to use your church’s resources to pay for this. If you need financial assistance to see a counselor, please contact the District office.

Center for Spiritual Renewal
All licensed pastors have access to the Center for Spiritual Renewal. We have two campuses, one in Los Angeles and one in Virginia. These are spaces designed to both give pastors rest, as well as meet with professional counselors for care and support. Learn more here: Foursquare Pastoral Care.

Urgent Pastoral Care
If you have an urgent pastoral care need, reach out to Paul Kuzma: Call 540.394.7222. All voicemails are confidential, and every attempt is made to return calls within 24 hours.

THE FOURSQUARE CHURCH

:: What is the new organizational structure of The Foursquare Church, also known as U.S. Foursquare/ICFG?

Foursquare is organized into three sections: Culture, Cause and Corporation. Each of these three realms of responsibility is designed to serve a different aspect of the Foursquare Movement, and are all actively working together to focus on our goal of more and growing leaders, together on mission.

Culture: This team promotes a culture of diversity within our unity, and the spirit of lifelong learning and emotional, mental and spiritual health. This team is actively working to support the Foursquare Church in developing a culture of more and growing leaders, together on mission, across all areas of ministry and influence. This team includes Leader Health and Development, the Center for Spiritual Renewal, Women In Ministry Leadership (WIML), Communications, and others.

Cause: This team is focused on recruiting, developing and sending people for mission, both domestically and internationally. This team includes our Districts, local churches and pastors, church planting, Foursquare Missions International (FMI) and our shared mission emphasis.

Corporation: This team provides the infrastructure that allows our other teams to function, including information systems, credentialing, legal counsel, accounting and properties. They are committed to efficiency and effectiveness, prioritizing stewardship, both now and into the future.

:: Practically, how does Foursquare plan to serve and care for pastors well with larger districts?

We understand the concerns that have been raised with the new structure and moving from 11 districts to 6 districts. However, we’re committed to expanding care, providing broader resources, and leveraging our relationships across the Districts to serve pastors well. To do this, we’re working on several things, including:

Consistent Systems across Districts: Our Districts are working on building consistent systems of support and administration. The goal is that a pastor would have a consistent experience and see common values and priorities when moving from one District to another. This will also make it easier to serve transitions and appointments across Districts.

Developmental Workgroups: All our current District Supervisors and Associate Supervisors are participating in developmental workgroups to develop tools, consistent structures and serve different Foursquare people groups. These workgroups include:

Church Health
Leadership Development
Mobilization of Women
Church Planting
Multicultural Engagement and Development
NextGen

Implementation of Regional Pastors: The Regional Pastor is a new role. These Pastors will serve around 50 churches each, and work closely with the Area Pastors. They will support transitions, identify churches that need extra care and support, create realms of collaboration and identify resource churches, support relationships between both majority culture and multiethnic churches, and be a connector of people and resources. Foursquare Northwest now has five Regional Pastors plus two NextGen Regional Pastors.

FOURSQUARE FINANCES AND RETURN OF THE TITHE

:: In this new organizational structure, what is our church’s tithe going towards?

Each Foursquare church in good standing gives 10% of its income from tithes and offerings to the Foursquare Movement. Here’s a breakdown of how that 10% is used:

5% – Funding of Foursquare administration and District teams
1% – Retirement fund for the Lead Pastor
4% – Missional Investment Funds (also known as Return of the Tithe). This is money returned to each church for the purpose of investing in church planting, missional outreach and leadership development.

:: I’m new to the Foursquare Movement. What are the Missional Investment Funds?

Missional Investment Funds (also known as Return of the Tithe) are funds given to US Foursquare churches designated for church planting, missional outreach and leadership development. This corporate decision was made with the belief that the best people to determine how to invest in Kingdom work are local pastors and local churches. This money is dispersed to tithing churches in good standing twice a year. The amount is 40% of each church’s tithe to the Foursquare Movement.

:: It seems like there used to be more money available for support through the district. What changed?

We are now living in the full reality of the Missional Investment Funds. 40% of the income previously available to the districts to utilize for support and care is no longer coming to the districts. Instead, it’s being returned to the local church in the form of Missional Investment Funds. This means that it’s important that our local churches are considering Kingdom opportunities, partnerships and church planting in new and creative ways.

LICENSING

:: I have someone in my church I’d like to see get licensed as a Foursquare minister. What is the process now?

Foursquare now has a centralized licensing process. The purpose of this new national licensing pipeline and team is to ensure consistency and a high standard in the experience and training, as well as the knowledge, skills and pastoral qualifications of the people that we license as Foursquare ministers. Learn more about the licensing process and start the application HERE.

:: I’d like to be involved in coaching my licensing candidates. Can I do that?

Yes! You can be involved in coaching your own candidates. Because of our new national licensing process, we’re asking everyone interested in coaching to go through training. This training includes walking through the new online material, as well as some coaching methodology. If you’re interested in becoming a coach, email Foursquare Credentials Formation Training Coordinator, Jenna Livingston.

TRANSITIONS AND CHURCH HEALTH

:: I’m feeling that my season as the pastor of my church may be coming to an end. What do I do?

Our Supervisory team is here to help process and discern with you the next steps in your ministry journey! If you are feeling a change coming in your ministry assignment reach out and connect with David Eddy or Molly DuQue as your first step. They would love to connect with you, hear from you and help guide you through the transitional conversation and process. It’s never too soon to begin this conversation, even if you envision a transition three to five years out.

:: As we navigate this new cultural landscape, we’re considering partnering with another church and combining our congregations. What do I do?

As we look at the future landscape of the Church in the United States, creative innovation, missional opportunities and Kingdom partnerships will all be key components. We’d love to help you process the idea of a partnership with another church community, as well as questions to ask yourself and dialogue through as you consider this. If you’re considering a partnership and would like to discuss it and learn more, please reach out to Molly DuQue.

CHURCH PLANTING

:: We want to plant a church. What do we do?

Hooray! We want to plant churches, too. We are committed to planting the gospel in new ground and working together to saturate the Northwest with life-giving churches.

If you are a church planter: If you are an individual, couple or team that is feeling called to church plant, please start by talking to your Lead Pastor. We work hard at planting churches in relationship with our churches and pastors. Once you’ve talked to them, you and your Lead Pastor should reach out to Molly DuQue. Molly is working to mobilize church planting and planting partnerships in the NW District. The goal of this initial conversation is to determine the next steps and how to best support you and your sending church.

If you are a sending church: We love that you want to plant a church. Please reach out to Molly DuQue to start a conversation. We want to help you, resource you, and support you in any way we can.

:: What is Foursquare’s development and training process for church planting?

Foursquare Multiply is our church planting pipeline. Multiply is a national team designed to train, connect, resource and fund Foursquare church planters, as well as engage and support sending churches. You can learn more about Multiply at foursquaremultiply.com.

:: Our church would like to help with church planting, but we don’t have the resources to send out our own plant. How can we help?

As we look at the future, working together and forming planting partnerships will be a key component in effective church planting. There are lots of ways to be involved in church planting, including:

Working with another church or a group of churches to plant
Providing non-monetary support, like administration, community, care and prayer
Providing one time or ongoing financial support
Serve on an Advisory Support Team for a church planter

If you want to get involved in church planting in any of these ways (or more), please reach out to Molly DuQue.

NEXTGEN

:: There is a Foursquare Kids’ Curriculum in the works. When will it be ready and how do I get it?

The new Foursquare kids’ curriculum is called Build. It’s a Foursquare distinct curriculum highlighting Jesus as Savior, Healer, Baptizer and King. A new Foursquare Kids’ Curriculum is in development. In the meantime, Reed Sowell, our District NextGen Coordinator, recommends the following kids’ curriculum:

:: In our new Foursquare structure, what do Northwest Summer Camps look like?

In the Northwest, camps are run by local NextGen leaders in collaboration with the District. To learn more about camps, please contact Reed Sowell.

CHAPLAINS

:: How do Chaplains and chaplaincy training fit into the new structure of Foursquare?

We’re committed to supporting and promoting chaplaincy as an incredible mission opportunity and ministry calling. Chaplaincy is a key component to Foursquare collectively pursuing our mission of more and growing leaders, together on mission. To learn more about chaplaincy or to connect with other chaplains, reach out to Foursquare Chaplain Director Jason Reynolds.

MULTIETHNIC

:: I lead a Hispanic church. Who do I connect with?

We now have a dedicated National Hispanic District, designed to serve the unique needs of our Hispanic pastors, leaders and congregations. You can connect with the National Hispanic District by reaching out to their Administrative Support, Francisca Vargas at fvargas@foursquare.org or call 213-201-4816. This entire team is bilingual.

:: We have a multiethnic congregation in our church. What resources are available for us?

Our Northwest District has a new Multiethnic Coordinator, Monique Handall. Monique’s role is to support multiethnic leaders and congregations as they navigate their unique contexts, opportunities and challenges. Monique is developing a variety of resources to serve multiethnic leaders, including licensing in other languages and multiethnic church plant training. To learn more about Multiethnic ministries, contact Monique Handall.

MISSIONS

:: We have folks in our church interested in missions. Who do I connect them with?

Kaj Martin is our Northwest District Missions Mobilizer. He can help you learn about opportunities in Foursquare Missions and connect you with the Northwest Missions team. To learn more about Missions, contact Kaj Martin.

:: We want to send a short-term mission team, but don’t have a missions department in our church. Is there someone in Foursquare that can help me?

Yes! Foursquare sends a variety of short-term teams (called “GO Teams”), primarily to serve with and support our missionary workers around the world. To learn more about opportunities to send a team, please contact servewithfmi@foursquare.org.

:: We’d love to share with our church what’s happening through FMI around the world. How do I learn more?

We have Foursquare missionary workers all over the world doing amazing things for Jesus. We chronicle many of these stories and make them available for you to share in your church. You can learn more at foursquaremissions.org and sign up for the FMI Newsletter.

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UPDATED 11/29/22
This FAQ document is a living document and will be updated. If you have additional questions, please reach out to the Northwest District team.