CHURCH PROFILE FORM Church Information: Name: Cephas Christian Reformed Church Location of church [City, State/Province]: Peterborough, Ontario Classical Church Counselor: Pastor Shawn Brix Search Committee Contact: Name: Adam Van Spronsen Address: PO Box 232, Norwood, Ontario Home: 705-760-5484 Work: Email address: adam.vanspronsen@icloud.com Community Setting: Location Function Growth Rural Industrial Growing Small Town College/University Static Metropolitan Agricultural Declining Suburban Recreational Inner City Military Small City Bedroom Community Approximate population of community: _ 8 _ 4 _, _ 0 _ 0 _ 0
Church Profile: We are open to: Male and Female pastors Female pastors only Male pastors only list all staff positions: Pastor Secretary Position Available: Pastor Date of vacancy: 01/01/18 General Position Description Provide leadership for Cephas as we strive to become a growing and healthy congregation by : 1. Providing Sunday worship service leadership and preaching/teaching 2. Possessing good administrative skills, be capable of leading the church staff, deacons, elders and lay leaders to carry out their respective ministries effectively. 3. Providing for pastoral care alongside others in the congregation 4. Facilitating, teaching and equipping in areas of membership, spiritual growth and service. Full-time Part-time Bi-vocational position? Yes No Number of years preferred of ministry experience of potential candidate: - no preference Required languages: English
Church Demographics: Average Sunday attendance: 120 Active adult professing members: 161 Profile of church members: Age: 9% [ 0-11] 10% [12-18] 9% [19-24] 15% [25-34] 13 % [35-49] 20 % [50-64] 24% [65+] Occupation: 11% Business 17% Professional 4% Trades 3% Stay-at-home parent 2 % Agriculture 37% Retired 19% Student 7% Other Percentage of members belonging to the congregation: less than 5 years = 8% 5-10 years = 15% 10 or more years = 77% Racial/Ethnic composition of congregation and surrounding community: Predominantly Caucasian and the community is beginning to evolve to a multicultural area Composition of congregation: Mono-Cultural Multi-Cultural Specific Ethnicity (specify: List the last three persons in this position: 1. Martin Vellekoop, STM 2. Ken Ritsema 3. William Koopmans
Worship: How are members involved in planning and participation in the liturgy/worship? A volunteer worship coordinator helps coordinate musical talent for the Praise Team consisting of congregational members who lead worship. Song selection and order of the service is arranged through the worship coordinator and Pastor. Church members give feedback through the worship coordinator. Members are also involved through volunteering to run the Power Point / Audio for the service. Describe the worship services in your church: Music is very important to all of us and we try to have a blend of old and new music. Our worship is Christ focused with a traditional reformed structure. We try to have the council members involved in worship. Describe the discipleship practices in your church for all ages of members and attenders: Cadets (boys club for ages 7-11) Gems (girls club for ages 7-11) Young at Heart (people age 55+) Friendship (individuals with developmental differences meeting for worship, learning and fellowship) Vacation Bible School open to children in the community Mary & Martha (Bible Study for adult women) Care Committee (meals and care of congregational members in need) Children's Church Nursery The Congregational Assistance Plan through Shalem
Building/Financial: Present annual budget: 261,423 Last year s annual budget: 278,627 Percentage of financial obligations met (last complete year reported: Budget: 75% Denominational Ministry Shares: 28% Classical Ministry Shares: 100% Amount contributed above budget and ministry shares: 37,597 Specify (optional): Special Collections Facilities Describe facilities: We own the church building and rent out an adjacent property to another church. Major renovations were completed on the main building 15 years ago. Are your buildings adequate for your ministries? Yes No If no, please explain: Is a building program projected? Yes No If yes, describe what and when: Does the church own a parsonage? Yes No Location of office or study: In Church
Compensation: The salary range we are prepared to offer our new pastor is based on the CRC Minister Compensation Survey for our area: If other, please specify: The average annual increase for this position over the past three years is: $ or 1-2 % Housing: Housing allowance Parsonage only Either of the above Benefits and expenses: Pension Medical Insurance life insurance Social Security or Canada Pension Travel/mileage Continuing Education funds Continuing Education time allotted Sabbatical policy in place 4 Annual vacation (# weeks) Other (Please Specify)
Church Characteristics: [Check which one(s) are closest to your church's characteristics] Presently, the FOCUS OF OUR CHURCH'S MINISTRY is Community exclusively Community primarily Community & current members/ participants equally Current members/ participants primarily Current members/ participants exclusively External Internal In our church, the WORSHIP SERVICE IS DESIGNED FOR Designed for unchurched Emphasis on unchurched Unchurched and believers Emphasis on believers Designed for believers Unchurched Churched In our church, the STYLE OF MUSIC used in the worship service is Contemporary Mostly contemporary Blended Mostly traditional Traditional Contemporary Traditional In our church, LEADERSHIP is generally provided by the Predominantly lay leaders Frequently lay leaders lay leaders & pastoral staff share leadership lay leaders function under pastoral staff Predominantly pastoral staff Congregational Pastoral staff members
Our church seeks to ENCOURAGE SPIRITUAL GROWTH through No specific ministries Ministries for a few groups Ministries for selected groups Ministries for most groups Ministries for all group Informal Formal In our church, EVANGELISM STRATEGIES AND METHODS are Predominantly unplanned Generally unplanned Equal emphasis Generally planned Predominantly planned Unplanned Planned
Our church is of the ECONOMIC DIVERSITY of our community Strongly Mostly Moderately Mildly Weakly High representation low representation Our church is of the ETHNIC DIVERSITY of our community Strongly Mostly Moderately Mildly Weakly High representation low representation Our church's RESPONSE TO COMPASSION, MERCY, AND JUSTICE NEEDS is Commitment to church-based action Encouragement of church-based action Church-based and personal action Encouragement of personal action Commitment to personal action Church-based Personal Our church's MISSIONAL FOCUS is All local Mostly local Equally local and global Mostly global All global local Global
Do you have a recently articulated mission/vision for ministry? Yes Transition Team and Council are currently working on this and will be released when ready. In what ways does your church participate in ecumenical activities? We are part of "Church in the City", an organization of evangelical protestant churches in Peterborough. We are involved with Peterborough Ministerial and Youth for Christ. We are open to other Churches in the community and participate with them on Christian initiatives and community outreach. Peterborough Pregnancy Support Services Telecare Brock Mission Cameron House Good Neighbour Care Centre A local food bank Reflect on your strengths/gifts as a church: We are a close-knit, caring church family that is responsive to any congregational needs that arise. We are faithful in Sunday worship and administration. We are active in service to the community (ie. involvement with a local thrift shop, Kawartha Food Share and work with a home for ex-offenders) Reflect on your passions as a church We are passionate about our Sunday morning worship service including music, reflection and some degree of routine. We have a sense of belonging and many members feel passionate about the church because of their historical family ties to Cephas. Strong support for and involvement in local Christian elementary school (Rhema Christian School). Also support Durham Christian Highschool in Bowmanville, Redeemer University College and Calvin Seminary. List specific problems with which your congregation struggles Lack of focus and direction with differing views on topics like worship/music and level of community outreach needed. There is a lack of membership growth resulting in declining numbers leading to limited resources and a deficiency in youth and young adult programs. There is a somewhat clique-ish atmosphere and non functional pastoral districts.
What has been the most interesting and challenging event in the life of your church in the last three years? Change is both interesting and challenging and we have had a lot of change with losing 3 vital staff including pastor, youth director and worship director for different reasons. We also gained but are now losing a Specialized Transitional Minister (arrival Dec '15, departure Dec '17), all over the past four years. List major goals that this congregation has set for itself or opportunities the congregation anticipates: To be healthy and growing Finding a new Pastor Discovering new music gifts, talents and opportunities for our worship gatherings Refining our vision, mission and strategic plan Describe what being Christians of Reformed accent means to you: (Reformed accent means being Christian from a Reformed perspective) We are transformed by Christ. We have the traditional Reformed denomination documents We are conventional in ways such as practicing children's baptism, strong supporters of Christian education and using the Heidelberg Catechism as a template for the order of service and for responsive readings during the service. Describe your understanding of the relationship between the local church and the Christian Reformed denomination We have a healthy relationship with the denomination and are supportive of denominational causes. We have close ties with similar churches and are faithful participants of Classis. Currently, we pay minimal denominational ministry shares.
Identify some of the cultural challenges facing Christians and Christian churches today: Cultural persecution of Christians and many faith based groups alongside an acceptance of immoral behaviours. False Prophets and sensationalized poor examples of Christians acting in a non-christ like manner give Christians a bad reputation. Living the Gospel and loving our neighbours in a world where sin is accepted and in some cases publicly praised. Staying connected to God and/or the Church despite the busyness of our culture. What have been the three most important events in the history of your church? Construction of the first Cephas church building. The beginning of sister church Starting Rhema Christian School in the Cephas church facility Welcoming women to utilize their gifts as deacons, elders and, more recently, as pastors. Leadership: How many council members does your church have? 14 What is the length of term for council members? 3 Years How often does the full council meet? About every 8 weeks What subgroups of council exist, how do they function and how often do they meet? Elders - Meet every 4-6 weeks Deacons - Meet every 4-6 weeks Executive Council - Meets about every 8 weeks