Timberline Church
- Denomination: Assemblies of God
- Location: Fort Collins, CO
- Size: 2700
- Website: www.timberlinechurch.org/
- Hiring for: Senior Pastor
The need
Timberline Church was a small congregation with about 100 members when Dary Northrup became its Senior Pastor at 27 years old. Over the next 38 years, under the leadership of Pastor Dary, Timberline Church grew exponentially to over 2,700 members and multiple campuses. In early 2025, Dary knew his time as Senior Pastor was coming to an end, leaving behind big shoes to fill, but he was prepared to help his team find the perfect candidate to fill them.
This season of transition had potential to unite the Timberline church congregation as well as attract new members to the church family. While many members were a part of the same generation as Pastor Dary, the church had been seeing growth in the younger Millennial and Gen Z groups, and Dary believed it would serve the church well to find a younger pastor who could speak differently and confidently lead the church into the future.
About Timberline Church
Timberline Church is a vibrant and welcoming community rooted in the love of Jesus and driven by a deep commitment to authentic, relational, and responsive ministry. Founded with a heart to create disciples in both Fort Collins and around the world, Timberline brings together people from all walks of life with varied stories, backgrounds, and questions, all united in a shared pursuit of Jesus Christ. At its core, Timberline exists to “spend our lives sharing the life and love of Jesus,” a mission that is evident in every gathering, ministry, and outreach effort.
The church’s identity extends further than straightforward Sunday services. With a strong emphasis on missions—local, national, and global—Timberline equips and empowers its congregation to respond to God’s calling through service, generosity, and intentional relationship-building. This heart for impact is reflected in their core values: being real, relevant, relational, responsive, and respectful.
As Timberline embarked on the search for a new Senior Pastor, it was not about simply finding a new leader, but about identifying someone who could shepherd this diverse and passionate community into its next season of living out that mission. This moment was pivotal for Timberline as they continued to be a transforming presence in their city and beyond, boldly sharing the life-changing message of Jesus with authenticity and love.
The ideal candidate
For this all important role Timberline church was looking for a down-to-earth, charismatic leader with a strong biblical foundation and a gift for casting vision, as well as a passion for service in the community. They were looking for a candidate with:
- A pastor’s heart, whose preaching connects people of all ages
- The ability to lead, engage with staff, and cast vision
- A personal, approachable, and outgoing personality
- Authenticity, humility, and transparency; charismatic but also down to earth
- The experience of a strong biblical teacher able to mentor and coach staff
- The passion to be engaged in the community
Strategy and timing
When faced with the daunting task of finding a new Senior Pastor, Timberline Church turned to Foundations Church in the nearby town of Loveland, Colorado for advice. Foundations Church recommended Vanderbloemen, who had successfully found the church’s Pastor of Spiritual Growth in a 2020 search. Timberline took the advice and reached out to Vanderbloemen, and soon Senior Executive Search Consultant Jay Mitchell was assigned the case. With over 14 years of experience at Vanderbloemen and an additional 15 years of pastoral experience, Jay Mitchell was the perfect consultant to help Timberline Church find their next leader. Having served as an executive pastor himself, Jay knew the importance of finding the right candidate for this role, especially after the resignation of a long-standing pastor like Dary Northrup. Joining Jay on the search was Recruiting Operations Manager, Emily Hernandez-Basquez, which made for a fantastic team.
The team launched the search and carefully reviewed the incoming applications. It wasn’t long before they assembled a solid group of well-qualified candidates. Prior to introducing the finalists to Timberline Church, the Vanderbloemen team conducted thorough vetting to ensure each candidate’s authenticity and alignment with the church’s mission and vision. This process ultimately led Timberline to connect with the candidate they had been hoping to find on the very first slate presented to them.
About Aaron Hanson
Aaron Hanson came across the position at Timberline Church and truly felt God’s direction. Aaron had felt that the Lord had been preparing him for a transition long before he applied, and when he followed the call, he felt a strong connection with Timberline. Aaron was presented as a first-slate candidate to Timberline Church, and it turned out he was exactly the person they were searching for. They were ecstatic to hear that Aaron felt called to serve their church and matched the type of new leader they had prayed to find, Aaron was:
- An experienced pastor with over 20 years in ministry
- Extremely spirit-led and in-tune with his relationship with the Lord
- Able to balance pastoral duties with managing church staff and budgets
- Experienced as a Youth Minister, having the ability to shepherd believers of all ages
- In direct alignment with Timberline’s values and vision
- Passionate about mission work and giving back to the community
Timberline Church, after a thoughtful and deeply prayerful transition process following the retirement of their longtime Senior Pastor, found their ideal next leader in the very first slate of candidates presented by Vanderbloemen. Aaron Hanson, a seasoned and spirit-led pastor with a heart for missions and multigenerational ministry, was quickly recognized as the perfect fit to lead Timberline into its next chapter. With Pastor Aaron now in place, the church looks ahead with great hope and excitement for the future.
