Job Description for Senior Pastor
West Point Grey Baptist Church
Mission: We are followers of Jesus, seeking to live as a community of refuge, welcome, and transformation, so that we might generously share God’s love with our neighbourhoods and beyond. We strive to be an intergenerational and multicultural congregation.
Summary: We are looking for a Senior Pastor to provide Biblical teaching and spiritual leadership for all core aspects of ministry at West Point Grey Baptist Church (WPGBC).
Recent history: Our pastor of 10 years followed God’s call to become a chaplain in health care settings in 2018. Under interim pastoral leadership, we began a transition period exploring who we are as a church body and God’s particular calling for us. As part of our discernment, we discovered that another local congregation, Lord’s Peace Chapel, was engaged in its own discernment process regarding its future. Over six months of leadership and corporate conversation, we discovered a set of shared convictions and a desire to join together in a multicultural, multiethnic and multigenerational community. In September 2020, we welcomed almost 80 members from Lord’s Peace Chapel, roughly doubling the size of the original WPGBC congregation. Together, we seek to bring people to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through the Word and to equip each saint for service in the Kingdom of God. Under interim pastoral leadership, we continue to be devoted to shared leadership, shared service, shared fellowship and shared mission. (A full history of both WPGBC and LPC is available upon request)
The challenge: We are looking for a senior pastor who, through word and deed, will support our spiritual growth in community, cultivate in us Christ’s heart for missions and shepherd us to discover our part in God’s mission to our neighbourhood and to our world. He/She will have good communication skills and a heart for cross-cultural/multicultural ministry to support us in creating a flourishing multicultural and multigenerational community.
Responsibilities and Duties:
Communicating Biblical truth in the context of the current challenges of today’s postmodern world.
Provide leadership and encouragement for the staff.
Provide direction over, guidance for and engagement in the spiritual care of the congregation.
Be able to guide the congregation in realizing a vision for their future.
Qualifications & Skills:
Master of Divinity or equivalent.
Ordination in the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC) is preferred. A successful candidate from outside the CBWC will be required to seek ordination in the CBWC or meet the standards of the CBWC.
Able to teach and lead a congregation in evangelism, discipleship and mission in an urban context, including communities associated with a major Canadian university.
Able to manage, support, and encourage volunteers in fellowship and shared mission.
An understanding and appreciation of congregational governance and how this structure can best adjust and align itself to accomplish WPGBC’s part in God’s mission in this location of the Point Grey neighbourhood.
Five years experience as a senior pastor or senior associate pastor. A multicultural, multigenerational context or overseas experience would be an asset.
Terms of Employment:
Starts: September or TBD
Position: Permanent
Hours: full-time
Pay: According to CBWC salary grid, details available upon request
Benefits: Extended health, pension and professional development, and housing support, details available upon request
How to Apply:
Please send a cover letter, your C.V. and a 3-5 minute video introducing yourself and describing your experiences As well, please take time to fill in the Ministry Information Profile of the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC). Please send application to pastorsearch@wpgbc.org. The application deadline is March 31, 2023