Pastor Rick Warren announced on June 2 that Pastor Andy Wood will take over leadership of Saddleback Church, a Lake Forest, California, congregation with more than 30,000 weekly attendees.
Warren, 68, who founded the evangelical Baptist church with his wife Kay in 1980, announced plans to retire and search for a successor last year.
Wood, 40, who has led Echo.Church in San Jose with his wife Stacie for 14 years, was selected from more than 100 “potential, purpose-driven pastoral candidates, interviews and countless prayers,” Warren said in a video message on June 2.
“Kay and I believe so much in this couple,” Warren said. “We love them so much, and we are confident that God has prepared and chosen them to take up the baton and run the next leg of the Saddleback marathon. We truly, deeply, confidently, and unreservedly endorse this couple to take our church to the next level of growth and impact.”…