Phil Anderson Retirement

Dear Northway Church,

Almost three years ago, I wrote the following article for our newsletter:

Just before Christmas of 2007, I called my friend and former colleague Phil Anderson. At that time, he was the Family Life Minister at First Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, a place he’d served for 15 years. We had a good conversation about the possibility of joining our staff in the area of adult discipleship. The next month, Phil and Penny interviewed with our Personnel and Lead Ministry Teams. At the end of those conversations, we all sensed that this was the Lord’s leading. In April of 2008, Phil moved to Macon and began serving as the Connections Pastor at Northway. 

For the past decade and a half, Phil has faithfully served our church in innumerable ways. Chiefly, he has led our small group ministry, and through him the Lord has graciously blessed Northway. When Phil began in this role, we had only a handle of Home Teams with just a few dozen involved. Today, there are nearly 750 adults actively participating in small groups. 

Moreover, Phil has led in our local, national, and international mission efforts. We have teams serving in our community throughout year because of his leadership, as well as sending teams to North Georgia, Baltimore, and Haiti. We are so incredibly grateful for his efforts in opening doors for us to serve Middle Georgia and the world. 

Earlier this year, Phil expressed to me and Stephen Howard, our Executive Pastor, his desire to both retire from his current full-time position and to remain on our staff in a part-time capacity. Our Personnel and Lead Ministry Teams have met and discussed this plan. 

In June of this year, Phil will transition to a role as our Missions Pastor. He will continue to serve our church in helping us minister to our community and beyond. As well, he will remain on our staff and will be a tremendous resource for the individual who will lead our small group ministry.

Since June of 2023, Phil has faithfully served as our Missions Pastor. On December 31 of this year, he will officially retire, although he plans to remain an active member of Northway.

As many of you are aware, Phil recently underwent major surgery and has to be careful about interactions with crowds (especially during cold and flu season). Therefore, we are planning a retirement celebration for him sometime in the early spring of 2026. You will see more information on this after the first of the year.

We are incredibly grateful for Phil’s many years of service to Northway Church and plan to properly honor him as soon as possible. As well, we are thankful he will remain in our church and look forward to the Lord continuing to use him in his retirement years!

Your Pastor,

Kevin