By Rajmund Dabrowski– Denver, Colorado … Accepting the nomination, by a special executive session on July 28, of the Rocky Mountain Conference Executive Committee, Mic Thurber will serve as Conference president, replacing Ed Barnett who will be retiring at the end of August.
Announcing his decision today, the new RMC president said, “Jana and I are both thrilled to be invited to be part of the Rocky Mountain Conference. We’ve met so many kind and gracious people from Rocky Mountain both in the past and recently through the decision process. We feel that the Lord has led both us and your conference leadership team in making this possible.”
“We are very excited to see what God will do with our time together in this beautiful place,” Thurber added.
The outgoing RMC president, Ed Barnett welcomed Thurber’s decision. “It has been a privilege to know Elder Mic Thurber for many years. A man of God, he will be a great President for the Rocky Mountain Conference. I want to thank our Executive Committee for a job well done!”
No stranger to RMC, Thurber has served as the ministerial director for the Mid-America Union Conference since 2013. Mic is the brother of former RMC president Gary Thurber.
Doug Inglish, RMC vice president reflected on the news. “I am very pleased that Mic Thurber has accepted the call to be our president. I have always respected his leadership, and the time I have recently spent with Mic and Jana as I have provided information about Rocky Mountain to help them reach an informed decision has been very enjoyable.”
He added, “I believe that with Darin Gottfried, our incoming VP of Finance, we have an administrative team that I am honored to be a part of.” Thurber will assume his duties on September 1.
Following the special session of the Executive Committee, Hubert Morel Jr., Mid-America Union Conference executive secretary, who chaired the nominating committee on July 28, said, “I was very impressed by the way the Executive Committee functioned in selecting or recommending the person they want as their leader–Mic Thurber.”
Nate Skaife, pastor of Grand Junction church, commented, “It was evident it was God’s will to extend a call to Elder Mic Thurber to serve as our new RMC president. It was a unanimous vote. I am very excited to see how the Lord will work through Elder Thurber’s leadership.”
Thurber, a family man, is known for his support of the church’s ministry and is a preacher of Jesus and His grace. Apart from his outstanding engagement with pastoral service, his skills match the age of technology, as he writes software, and is known for his photography.
Mic Thurber was born in Collegedale, Tennessee, when his parents were students at Southern Missionary College. Mic met his partner in ministry, Jana, 45 years ago and they have worked closely together ever since. They have three children and three grandchildren. Prior to serving at Mid-America Union Conference, he served as pastor of the Keene, Texas church. He was also the ministerial director for the Southeastern California Conference, pastor at Pacific Union College church and Calimesa Adventist church in California. Thurber also taught Bible and music at Sunnydale Academy in Missouri and Mount Pisgah Academy in North Carolina, his alma mater.
–Rajmund Dabrowski is RMC communication director; photo by Rajmund Dabrowski
