Welcome
The late Church historian Phyllis Tickle famously said, “About every 500 years, Christianity holds a giant Rummage Sale and changes how they do things.” PneuMatrix was created to affordably bring Adaptive Change Leadership to congregations, clergy, and denominational governing bodies as we face this post-Christendom world. You might say we work on the rummage sale sorting process with you. We offer various services to congregations and denominational bodies across a trans-denominational spectrum.
We specialize in coaching congregations during pastoral transitions, minister search assistance, congregational transformation, conflict prevention/response, and staff “right-sizing” – for individual congregations or larger denominational judicatories. In this post-COVID era, where a classic 5-year strategic plan is impractical, we focus on training church leaders to view their world through a new Adaptive Change lens. This approach helps navigate the ever-changing landscape effectively.
Over half of our PCUSA congregations consist of fewer than 100 members. The initial experience of being unable to afford full-time clergy leadership significantly impacts a church’s mindset. While some adapt, others struggle. PneuMatrix provides opportunities to concentrate on these congregations and clergy in less than full-time pastorates, exploring possibilities for doing something different together.
“Designing for the New Norm” to assist these congregations and their pastors in discerning sustainable paths forward.
How Can We Help You
- Healthy Pastor Transitions
- Mission Study Assistance
- Vision and Mission Development
- Pastor Search Assistance
- Designing for the New Norm
- Conflict Transformation/Mediation
- Adaptive Change Training for Judicatory Leaders
- Clergy Coaching
- Coaching First 100 Days for a New Pastor
- Staff Team Reorganization
- Team Building
- Providing Trained Interim Ministers
- Outreach Strategy Development
- Navigating Mergers and Legacies
Animal Farm Assessment
Animal Farm is a lighthearted assessment tool to help your staff, leadership teams, or congregation identify how you see your church individually and as a group.
Animal Farm has been provided for your use by PneuMatrix without cost.
The PneuMatrix Team
Background
PneuMatrix was founded in 2011 in the secular, post-Christendom context of northern California, where it was already clear that congregations faced significant adaptive challenges. While we initially focused on helping churches engage those adaptive challenges, we soon realized we needed to broaden our range of services to serve churches’ needs.
The name PneuMatrix comes from a combination of the Greek pneuma, often translated as “spirit “in the New Testament, and “matrix,” a term for an array of data points. We are “roll up your sleeves” consultants who believe every church has options for its faithful future and that the Holy Spirit will help us discern which options they are being called to pursue. We have a diverse group of consultants who are more interested in serving the church than making a profit, so we offer lower fees than many of our competitors. Our consultants bring a wide range of skills, allowing us to offer carefully tailored services to the congregations who engage us.
Rev. Dr. Deborah Wright and Rev. Jim Kitchens established PneuMatrix in 2011 and served as the exclusive leaders until 2023. That year, Rev. Michelle Snyder was appointed as the director of PneuMatrix. Dr. Wright and Rev. Kitchens continue to consult and coach congregations and clergy.
What Our Clients Are Saying
PneuMatrix has supported Pinnacle Presbyterian Church on three pastoral searches, two associate pastor positions and a Senior Pastor (HOS) search. Jim Kitchens and the PneuMatrix process of setting expectations, identifying, and vetting candidates was invaluable in our search for two associate pastors. After our Senior Pastor announced his intent to retire in early 2024, we immediately contacted PneuMatrix and again Jim Kitchens and Michelle Snyder provided excellent counseling and vetting throughout our search. The Senior Pastor search resulted in an excellent slate of candidates and was brought to closure in a timeframe that eliminated the need to hire an interim pastor.
– Chuck Goldthwaite and David LeMoine Co-chairs, Pinnacle Presbyterian PNC, Scottsdale, AZ
Our Presbytery hired PneuMatrix to evaluate our current leadership/staffing structures and help us make appropriate compensation recommendations as we move into this “new normal.” Additionally, PneuMatrix worked with some of our smaller congregations to think about new designs, structures, and opportunities, as many of our congregations’ attendance and membership numbers are dwindling. I would highly recommend PneuMatrix, as they bring a wealth of information and experience with lots of different congregations to the table. – Ariel Mink, Associate Presbyter and Stated Clerk of Redwoods Presbytery
Highly recommend! PneuMatrix worked with a dozen congregations in our Presbytery. These congregations were struggling with buildings too big for the membership to support, with neighborhoods changing and congregations being disconnected, with no clear path forward for the leading of God’s Spirit. PneuMatrix led and trained local leaders in a process that brought clarity, direction, and hope for ministry and mission .
– Jay Wilkins, retired General Presbyter, Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley
I want to thank PneuMatix for excellently supporting the Pinnacle Presbyterian Church’s PNC in their search for two associate pastors. They expedited the search timeline while correctly discerning the needs of the congregation. Early returns suggest rave reviews across the board!
- Dave LeMoine, co-chair, Pinnacle Presbyterian Church PNC
Our presbytery began a relationship with PneuMatrix in June of 2022, asking them to lead mission study discernment processes for five of our congregations. We’ve been very pleased with the ownership of the process and resulting mission study by the congregations. In addition, PneuMatrix is providing support for mission and ministry discernment conversations between congregations that may lead to mergers. We feel all of the consultants we’ve worked with are professional, pastoral, and do a good job of keeping the presbytery in the loop. I would highly recommend their services.
- Debby Brincivalli, Executive Presbyter, Presbytery For Southern New Jersey
In October of 2021 Pinnacle Presbyterian Church engaged PneuMatrix and Jim Kitchens to assist in our search for two pastors - an Executive Pastor and a Family Ministries and Congregational Life Associate Pastor. These positions required distinctly different skills and background experience. Through Jim's leadership and counsel, the search committee identified the key position skill requirements and defined the methodology for the interview and evaluation processes. Once these processes were clearly defined, Jim assembled and vetted candidates for both positions that met our established criteria through his contacts throughout the country and personal relationships. At this writing, we have filled both positions with truly experienced and capable pastors that will help Pinnacle Presbyterian Church achieve its dreams for the future. The search committee believes the success of the search was largely due to the guidance and support of Jim Kitchens and PneuMatrix.
Highly Recommend! PneuMatrix worked with a dozen congregations in our Presbytery. These congregations were struggling with buildings too big for the membership to support, with neighborhoods changing and congregations being disconnected, with no clear path forward for the leading of God’s Spirit. Deborah Wright and Jim Kitchens led and trained local leaders in a process that brought clarity, direction, and hope for ministry and mission.
– Jay Wilkins, retired General Presbyter, Presbytery of Sheppards and Lapsley
In September of 2022, our church began a search for a co-pastor to work alongside our existing senior pastor and head of staff. That December, we engaged PneuMatrix to assist in that search. That engagement energized and focused our search, and it gave our pastoral nominating committee and our congregation confidence that we would identify and interact with a strong, diverse, and nationwide pool of candidates. In addition to that exceptional candidate pool, our PneuMatrix consultant walked our committee through a process designed to identify the key qualities and characteristics that we sought in our new pastor. Our church is thrilled with the outcome of that search, and we think that the focus, guidance, and ongoing consultations provided to us by our PneuMatrix consultant played a critical role in that successful outcome!
- First Presbyterian Church, Lake Forest, IL
Jim and the team at Pneumatrix led us through an incredibly challenging but necessary staff reorganization. Jim diligently learned about our organization and listened to our staff and lay leaders in order to assess what kind of staffing structure would be needed in the future while still honoring our past. His organizational expertise coupled with his pastoral sensibility made him the perfect person to guide our church through this daunting task. As the head of staff, I never felt alone in this process and couldn’t have asked for a better partner during this time.
– The Rev. Dr. Charlene Han Powell Senior Pastor | Head of Staff, First Presbyterian Church of Berkeley
I’ve worked with Deborah Wright, a PneuMatrix principal, in a couple of different capacities… our Presbytery hired her as a consultant to evaluate our current leadership/staffing structures and to help us with making appropriate compensation recommendations as we move into this “new normal”. Additionally, I worked with her and some of our smaller congregations as part of a grant to think about new designs, structures, and opportunities as many of our congregations’ attendance and membership numbers are dwindling. I would highly recommend Deborah to you – she is very insightful. She has a wealth of information and experience with lots of different congregations in a variety of settings, and coupling that with her organizational design and change management expertise she brings a lot to the table.
– Ariel Mink, Associate Presbyter and Stated Clerk of Redwoods Presbytery
I write to thank you for the tremendous job you did supporting the PNC of Pinnacle Presbyterian Church. For the third time (out of three) you successfully guided one of their PNCs toward a pastor that is the right fit for their ministry and mission. Because this third time was for the position of head of staff, I had a bit more hands on work with your process. I am impressed with the support you provided; the discernment questions you asked the PNC to answer at the beginning of the process were more thorough and insightful than what our COM ordinarily requires and led to stunning results. The six candidates you recommended were all outstanding.
– Brad Munroe, executive, Grand Canyon Presbytery
How to Hire Us
PneuMatrix suggests an initial conversation at no charge, to hear the presenting needs, discern best approaches and review consultation options. Once we have reached an agreement about the challenge/opportunity to be dealt with, we will create a proposal for services – a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) detailing the deliverables by each party.
Our commitment is to provide help and hope to congregations and clergy in as economical and affordable a way as possible. We will work diligently with every opportunity to work within your financial boundaries and offer a variety of options to that end. We welcome the opportunity to discern with you how our abilities and your needs or interests might intersect
"*" indicates required fields
