Reverend Stuart Bond

Transitional Pastor

Stuart Bond has served in ministry his entire adult life. This will be the second time he has served as a Transitional Pastor. He completed his prior assignment in August in Corinth, New York outside of Saratoga Springs (where he notes the temperature has been 0 degrees!).

Prior to this, Stuart has served in a number of capacities. He was a youth pastor for a decade in Southern California. “It was the most exhausting and exhilarating ministries of my life. One of my favorite tasks was leading youth groups of over a hundred on many home building projects in Mexico. Seeing the youth come together as teams and seeing the faces of the families as we handed them the keys at the end of the week was spectacular.”

His next, major assignment was in the Pacific Northwest. “I became the Executive Pastor for a church that grew from 250 to 1700 during my time there. It was such a complete ‘God thing.’ It was God who got me the job. Long story, but true. It was God who introduced me to Cindy there. And it was God who allowed that ministry to prosper.”

Since then he returned to Southern California to serve a church. During that time, ECO was born. Stuart was there for the “Inaugural Address” by John Ortberg. “I thought, this really could be exciting!” However, it was not to be. After a protracted discussion, that church chose to stay within the PCUSA. Stuart then moved to Southern Oregon where the church he served chose to move into ECO.

It was two years afterwards that Stuart sensed the call to seek out Transitional Ministry. His time in Corinth, NY was a great opportunity. “This loving, quirky, delightful church in Upstate New York turned out to be a great place for us. We met friends there, like everywhere we have been, that we hope to stay in touch with for life.”

When that position was filled, Stuart considered retirement. “But I knew I still loved doing this and that I was gifted. And Cindy was tired of having me hang around the house.” He responded immediately when the committee placed the opportunity on the ECO Job Board. Over a period of two and a half months, the Session’s discernment led them to invite Stuart to our church.

“I am impressed by the genuine faith and the good hearts of the people of this church. There are a lot of names to learn and stories to hear, but I am ready and willing!”

Stuart wants his preaching to help us apply God’s Word to our everyday lives. To accomplish that, he combines the insights from study with observations about the craziness and beauty of life. “I want people to take a journey with me. I start from where we are. I get at that through humor, through honesty, through simply being an observer of life. But then we move into the truth of the Word, and how it speaks to this very moment in our lives. My great hope is that we leave with ‘something in our pocket.’ I want people to be able to answer the question, ‘What am I supposed to do?’ and/or ‘What do you want me to know?’” when the sermon is over.

Stuart considers Cindy his greatest support and most wise counsel. “Cindy is just an amazing sounding board for me.” Cindy has worked with young moms and taught parenting and sometimes joins Stuart in counseling. “She is also a fantastic cook.” says Stuart.

They have been married for 25 years and have raised four kids together. “When we met, I had two and she had two,” said Stuart. “So we became a blended family.” Those four kids are now adults living in Oregon, California, New York and Virginia Beach. Cindy and Stuart have three grandchildren–two in Virginia and one in California. And there is one more child they share: Max is a Labradoodle who is excited to wear his new, NC State scarf!