If you've been coming to New City for a bit, you know that we've been looking for a second full-time staff member. We're very excited to have Brian Ferry join our staff team as the Director of Worship and Equipping. Brian started work this week, and you'll see him up front playing with the worship band this Sunday.

We'll try to give you several opportunities to get to know Brian and his family. The easiest way, of course, is to talk to them on a Sunday. We'll also have a meet and greet next week (1/15) after church at Izzy's. Real informal - just come out to lunch after the worship gathering, and the Ferrys will be there.

And then over the course of the next few months, Brian and Cheryl will be making visits to all the community groups so you can get a chance to meet them.

In the meantime, we sat down with Brian this week and asked him some questions so you could learn a little about he ans his family.

Brian, tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

Cheryl and I have three little girls: Meka (soon to be 6), Eden (4) and Quinn (2). Needless to say, we have a very pink home. Cheryl and I met at a church in northern KY where I was serving as the Youth and Worship Pastor. She was working for Kroger downtown in dairy packaging.

I'm a longtime Cincinnatian - my parents moved us here when I was in elementary school. And I've lived in the tri-state area ever since. Cheryl is orginally from Chicago but, as she tells it, when she flew over Cincinnati the first time, she got the impression that this was home.

How did you hear about New City?

I met Josh at Miami University in the mid 90's, and we've been friends ever since. We spent a summer together in Tokyo on a mission project with Campus Crusade and were rommates our senior year. When New City was in its pre-launch stages, Cheryl and I had the privilege to come out to some of the events. I even played drums in the first worship service back in the fall of 2009. We've been following New City's progress ever since, and are delighted to become part of the New City community.

How did you get involved in ministry, and what were you doing before you came here?

I felt the call to ministry in my late teens, but I knew I did not want to do two things: 1.) work in a church, and 2.) work with teenagers. Sure enough, after my junior year in college I was doing both, and really enjoying it. Save a year and a half stint as the director of a camp and retreat center, I've been working in the local church since 1997.

Most recently I've been the Pastor of Student Ministry at Anderson Hills UMC in Anderson Township. Last May I graduated from Cincinnati Bible Seminary with an M.Div, and am working on my Doctorate through George Fox Evangelical Seminary.

What will your role be at New City?

Primarily I will be helping to coordinate/facilitate the Sunday worship gatherings, both in helping to craft the worship service and playing music with the rest of the team. Communication will also be a priority as well as doing whatever needs doing, sharing some of the organizational leadership with Josh and other leaders. I'll preach and teach regularly. And eventually the plan is to work on a process for helping us all discover how God has made us, and then work that out by connecting to or starting new ministry efforts. That's the equipping piece.

How are you going to transition into life at New City?

I've been spending time with Josh getting acclimated to the New City ethos. I'll be playing with the band in various capacties over the next few months, eventually taking over some of the leadership responsibilities that Mike Brown has shouldered so well over the last few years. Beyond that, a big goal will be getting to know people in the church and the community.

We put our house up for sale in mid-December and we hope to move to Oakley as soon as we can sell the house. We can't wait to live in the neighborhood!

Anything else you want to tell us about you and your family?

Our girls are delightful, but have the energy of an army of princesses! Cheryl loves to run. I do too, but I prefer to combine it with cycling and swimming and I've done several triathalons over the past few years. I love books and coffee (and even roast my own).

If you'd like another window into our family, check out our video Christmas card we made this year.

2011 Ferry Christmas "Card" from brian ferry on Vimeo.