Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec

At Central Baptist Church, we are a vibrant congregation searching for an enthusiastic lead pastor who is eager and willing to accept the challenge of targeting church growth.  We are looking for an approachable, caring, and spiritually mature person of God with strong communication skills.

We are asking God for a lead pastor who is effective and powerful in their biblically-oriented preaching, teaching, and evangelism, to effectively create disciples and help us fulfill the Great Commission.

Musical talents and an interest in joining the worship team are also assets.  Willingness to live within the Oakville community is encouraged (with our parsonage potentially available), and involvement in the community is required.

A passion and ability to reach out and contact people within our local community, and to engage with them in seeking a relationship with Jesus Christ is definitely an attribute that would be valuable.

The ability to use social media, and to network with those outside the church community, would be helpful.

Founded in 1953, Central Baptist Church is a congregation with a rich history of participating in the life of the local community. We have created partnerships with several local charitable organizations to work together to serve our community. Over the years we have sponsored refugee families from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. As followers of Jesus Christ, we strive to offer all who gather among us an opportunity to discover their place, their faith, and their purpose in Christ. Through inspiring worship, intentional fellowship, biblical discipleship, and integral missions, we strive to reveal Christ to the world around us. We are working hard to build up our church as we seek to create opportunities to reach out to and connect with our local community. Our goal is to attract between 5 and 10 new families to Central in the next twelve months.

REPORTING RELATIONSHIP

The Lead Pastor is:

• a voting member of the church congregation;
• accountable to the church membership through the Church Council;
• a non-voting participant at Church Council meetings;
• a non-voting member of all church boards and committees.

TIME COMMITMENT

• The position requires great flexibility in hours available for work, including evenings and weekends.
• The pastor should be in the office from Tuesday to Thursday for at least half the day, for accessibility to members of the congregation and for regular communication with members of the church staff.
• The church will provide office space, a telephone, a laptop computer, and internet access.

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Work experience: Minimum 5 years of pastoral experience
• Ordination within the CBOQ, or possessing the qualifications to be credentialed by the CBOQ
• Education: Masters of Divinity from a recognized institution
• A love for the intercultural context, recognizing that Oakville is experiencing a great deal of growth of people from around the world
• Strong computer skills
• Confidentiality: must be able to maintain confidentiality
• Statement of faith: must be able to articulate his/her Christian faith and theology and an understanding of Baptist distinctives to the satisfaction of the Pastoral Search Committee
• The Lead Pastor must agree to be governed by the pastoral ethics policy of the CBOQ, the Sexual Abuse Policy of Central Baptist Church, and the Christian principles laid out in Scripture
• The Lead Pastor must submit to a Vulnerable Sector Police Check

CHURCH LEADERSHIP & ADMINISTRATION

The Lead Pastor shall:

• provide visionary leadership for the church;
• lead the church through the process of visioning, strategic planning, and implementation of its strategic plan;
• act as the primary spokesperson for the church’s ministries and work with the Church Council and the Board of Ministry and Outreach in developing plans for ministry and church growth;
• act as pastoral team leader overseeing, developing, and motivating the pastoral team and shall ensure healthy interpersonal dynamics among the church staff and between the various ministries of the church;
• conduct regular staff meetings and deal with personnel issues;
• be responsible for the day to day church management and operations;
• ensure the implementation of church policies and procedures;
• have input on the content of church advertisements, printed material, and social media, in conjunction with the leadership of the church;
• work in collaboration with the Board of Finance and the Budget Committee to prepare and manage the church’s approved budget;
• oversee and manage the work of the church secretary (position presently vacant).

INSPIRING WORSHIP

The Lead Pastor shall:

• oversee and coordinate all worship services, working in collaboration with the worship team and the Board of Ministry and Outreach;
• promote lay leadership and congregational involvement in worship and provide appropriate training and resources where necessary;
• edify, equip, and challenge the congregation through regular preaching in worship services;
• work with the Board of Ministry and Outreach to arrange guest speakers as necessary;
• work with the worship team, and the Board of Ministry and Outreach to plan the music ministry of the church;
• coordinate Lord's Supper celebrations, baptisms, infant dedication, weddings, funerals, and other church ceremonies.

INTENTIONAL FELLOWSHIP

The Lead Pastor shall:

• work with the Board of Ministry and Outreach to provide for the congregational care of its members and adherents;
• provide pastoral care and counseling around personal, marital and family issues, as time permits, and provide referrals when deemed appropriate;
• provide crisis care for those who are hospitalized and emotional/spiritual support to those who are grieving or shut-in;
• oversee church discipline and manage conflict in the church, consulting the Board of Ministry and Outreach or Council as appropriate.

BIBLICAL DISCIPLESHIP

The Lead Pastor shall:

• be responsible for overseeing the “equipping of the saints for the work of ministry”, in collaboration with the pastoral team, the Board of Ministry and Outreach, and the Sunday School Superintendent (position presently vacant);
• Supervise the process of development and implementation of an intentional and integrated discipleship program that guides the congregation from birth through conversion, baptism, church membership, and active ministry through service, leadership, and missional engagement;
• motivate, equip, and nurture the believers through example, teaching, mentoring, coaching, and spiritual counselling;
• oversee the development of current and future church leaders;
• assist the boards and nominating committee in recruiting and training leaders for the various ministries of the church;
• cultivate their own process of spiritual discipleship and emotional health through a regular routine of prayer, reading, devotional Bible study, and sabbath rest; and
• seek opportunities for continuing education. One week intensive study per year is considered part of the pastor's responsibility in continuing education.

INTEGRAL MISSION

The Lead Pastor shall:

• be the example of leading people to Jesus;
• assist the Board of Outreach and Ministry to organize and oversee the outreach ministries of the church;
• promote a vision of integral missions that extend beyond the church through missions giving, missions trips, local missions initiatives, and outreach events that seek to build missional bridges with the community and empower members to share their faith as committed Christians.

Please submit your application to office@cbcoakville.ca

Central Baptist Church welcomes and encourages applications from people with disabilities. Accommodations are available on request for candidates taking part in all aspects of the selection process.