Brinson passes baton to Hoffman at Two Rivers

 Michelle Hollenhead farragutpress.com

Two Rivers Church has a new senior pastor in the Rev. Mark Hoffman, after former senior pastor and church founder the Rev. Brad Brinson officially stepped down from his role earlier this month.

Brinson announced his intentions to leave the post to Two Rivers members Jan. 12 and Jan.13 during the church’s Saturday and Sunday services, and revealed he and his wife, Beth, would be “transitioning … to what God has called us to do next in life.”

Hoffman was recommended to the post by the church’s elders and approved by congregational vote during the Feb. 9 and

Feb. 10 meetings. Brinson officially “passed the baton” to Hoffman during Feb. 16 and Feb. 17 services.

Hoffman has been with the Two Rivers staff since 2012, when he was called to serve as executive pastor. In that capacity, he has worked “side by side” with Brinson since that time.

Hoffman and his wife, Teri, have two daughters. He served in various ministry roles in Connecticut and in Charlotte, North Carolina, before coming to Two Rivers. Brinson will remain part of the church’s teaching team through May 2019 and will take some time apart from the church family

as the pastoral transition is made, according to the church’s web site.

The couple also plan to enter a different ministry sometime in the future and will rejoin church participation at a later time.

The couple moved to Knoxville in 1997 from Southern California after being asked by Fellowship Church to start a new church in the Farragut area. Two Rivers began in 1998, first meeting at Farragut High School, and within eight years had begun construction on the building located at Dixie Lee Junction on the Knox-Loudon county lines.

Since that time, the church has not only grown and flourished, it also has planted churches in South Florida and Chattanooga, and began a second local campus in Roane County in 2017.

Plans call for a third local campus to open in the Northshore/Rocky Hill area within the next year, the press release stated.