After 31 years of devoted leadership, Chris Norman is transitioning from his role at Grace Gathering. His influence has shaped not only the culture and mission of our church but also the lives of countless individuals, families, and leaders throughout our community and beyond. To hear from Chris, click the video on the right hand side of the page. And to hear from our elders, read the statement below.
Statement From Our Elders
After more than three decades of leadership, Chris Norman plans to transition from his role as Grace Gathering’s Team Leader. By 2/1/26, Grace will officially “send off” Chris to bless the city and the wider church for his next assignment.
Clearly, GG has been fortunate to have only two senior leaders throughout its nearly 60-year history. This is exceptionally rare, and the contributions of Gordon Smith and Chris—characterized by their faithfulness, fruitfulness, loyalty, and stability—have been invaluable and continue to provide a rock-solid foundation for Grace’s future.
The Elders have met regularly over the past few months to evaluate what God might be saying regarding Grace’s vision, structure, and leadership model. To assist with these efforts, Andrew Booth, John Haydock, and Tim Smith agreed to rejoin the Elder team.
As the elders prayed about the future, we felt that our multisite model (East and North) should transition into two separate churches on August 1, 2025. There are two primary reasons for this.
First, through the work of the Holy Spirit and the unique gifting of their respective leaders, the culture and missional emphases of these churches have evolved over the last decade. The Elders now feel like two churches – that will remain friends – is a better model to ensure people in Greater Fort Wayne have even more opportunities to hear, see, and respond to the gospel.
Second, both churches are experiencing growth and need focus and dedicated leadership. To that end, Kyle and Steph Tennant have accepted the role of “North 2.0” leaders. As for GG East, Levy and Allison feel a deep calling to see God’s kingdom advance in New Haven and beyond. Levy will continue in his current leadership role and will increasingly work directly with the Elders, especially once Chris has transitioned.
There are three additional important points to note: (1) Throughout Grace’s history, there have been several distinct seasons (e.g., the early years as a small church in New Haven, the decision to purchase land and build a building, and the decision to expand ministries via multisite, etc.). This is merely another step in responding to what the elders believe God is saying; (2) While this is a significant change, the respective East and North elders plan to remain in their respective churches, continuing to provide oversight for their respective congregations. As such, there will be continuity in the lives of each church; and (3) There likely will be things on which the churches will continue to partner on (e.g., supporting our work in Haiti).
The two churches will have the opportunity to pray and commission one another at a joint service on July 27th, 10am at GG East.
The Elders take great comfort in Jesus’ promise that “He will build His church.” We are also reminded in 1 Corinthians 3 that leaders (e.g., Paul and Apollos) have different roles in different seasons, but God makes things grow. Uncertainty can sometimes cause concern. As Paul reminded Timothy, “God hasn’t given us a spirit of fear but of love, power, and self-discipline (or a sound mind.)” As Grace’s Elders have done for decades, we lead out of faith, not fear. Though we have been praying for months, we now invite you to join us as we collectively seek God’s heart for the future.
Please reach out to the Elders if you have any questions, ideas, prayer prompts, or would like to discuss any of this.
Andrew Booth, Kelly Fair, Brady Koehlinger, John Haydock, Tom Maxwell, Scott Jester, Paul Maconochie, Bill Turnwald, Tim Smith
