Equipping Pastor Job Notice Wawasee Community Bible Church of Milford, Indiana is actively seeking qualified candidates for the position of Equipping Pastor. The opening is immediate. Salary is commensurate with training and experience. Description of Wawasee Community Bible Church Wawasee Community Bible Church is a growing evangelical church located in north-central Indiana between the communities of Milford and Syracuse (also known as the Wawasee Community due to the proximity to Lake Wawasee, Indiana s largest natural lake. Wawasee is pronounced wa-wuh-see.). Wawasee Bible is 29 years old with a 22,000 square-foot facility that is debt free. Our Sunday worship service is contemporary. In 2010, Wawasee Bible affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America. Our Purpose The purpose of Wawasee Community Bible Church: We exist to see people transformed into fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God. Our Mission We are sent to love people and invite them to follow Jesus with us. Attendance Worship attendance currently ranges from 250-300 each Sunday. However, close to 340 attend at least twice per month. Our membership is 139. Our Sunday morning Kids Ministry averages 50-60 each week, and our Jr/Sr High Ministry averages about 20-25 students each Sunday. Staff Wawasee Bible currently employs four full-time positions: Lead Pastor, Pastor of Kids & Family Ministries, Administrative Secretary, and is currently looking to fill the position of Equipping Pastor. How To Apply 1. Read through the following material in this document. 2. Send a copy of your resume (include 2-3 personal/professional references), personal statement of faith, and cover letter to: Wawasee Community Bible Church 2035 East 1300 North Milford, Indiana 46542 You may also fax your materials to: 574.658.9199 or email them to hiring@wawaseebible.com. You can expect to hear back from us within two weeks of your initial submission. For more information please visit our website: wawaseebible.com or email hiring@wawaseebible.com with any questions.
Profile for the Position of Equipping Pastor at Wawasee Community Bible Church General Description Basic Information Contact Person: Josh Weiland Contact's Email: josh@wawaseebible.com Church Phone: 574-658-9161 Mailing Address: 2035 East 1300 North Milford, IN, 46542 USA Web Page: wawaseebible.com Fax: 574-658-9199 Church size: 270 actual weekly attendance; 330-340 twice monthly attendance Church setting: Rural ( Rurban ) We re in a rural setting, with generally rural values. However, the nearby presence of the orthopedic industry and other factors make for a more suburban feel in terms of pace of life and vocation. You might say, then, that we re rurban. The rural aspect is manifested in a very high value on relational leadership among people within our church and community. A domineering personality will probably not thrive in this setting. Change happens strategically and slowly. Languages used in church: English (Spanish translation on preaching slides.) Position Title: Equipping Pastor Description of Position: This pastor will have the people of Wawasee Bible and their spiritual growth as his primary focus. He will be responsible for connecting people into ministries and service, and then for building, equipping, releasing, and overseeing ministry teams at Wawasee Bible. Some specific areas of focus will be 1:10 Community Group Leaders, Student Ministry Team, Welcome/Connections Team, and others. This person will manage the creation and implementation of effective ministry structures in these areas as well as fostering a culture of spiritual leadership development from identifying goals, to creating training resources, to managing the implementation of those things. Expectations Role Summary We look to Ephesians 4 to understand what a church leader s primary role is And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ We are creating this position because we see a growing need to connect people to meaningful ministry within our church. Many desire to connect and to serve, but we do not have a good process or path for them to follow. This leader will connect with the people of Wawasee Bible, plug them in to ministries, identify and invest in the lives of potential leaders, raise them up and release them to do what they ve been called by God to do. Candidate Expectations True believer in Jesus Christ, who as a growing disciple, has a history of making disciples who make disciples. Clear call into ministry through the local church. Ability to manage, team with, and oversee other ministry/volunteer staff. Has obtained or is willing to work toward ministerial credentialing within the EFCA. Healthy family relationships; able to balance priorities between home and ministry. Ability to communicate clearly and effectively both interpersonally as well as in public settings. Minimum of five years experience in a ministry position
Responsibilities & Accountability The Equipping Pastor will report directly to the Lead Pastor. He will oversee most ministry teams at Wawasee Bible. He will be a relational leader, intent on knowing people within our church and shepherding their spiritual growth, assimilation into community, and equipping for ministry service. The scope of responsibilities can be roughly divided as follows: Ministry 45% Personal investment into people with a process for spiritual formation and multiplying disciples. Implement and regularly evaluate an effective plan and strategy for ongoing disciple-making. Facilitate ongoing training and equipping to enhance active involvement into relational ministry opportunities both within, outside, and through Wawasee Bible. Engage with teams of people who bring life, action, and synergy to these initiatives. Leadership 40% Oversight, leadership, and development of volunteer Ministry Leaders at Wawasee Bible. Directional guidance of relational ministries such as 1:10 Community Groups, Connections Team, Student Ministries, Men s Ministries, Women s Ministries, Counseling, Visitation, etc. Primary strategist for volunteerism. Maximize internal ministries toward being a sending externally-focused church that invests into equipping and sending people for works of service. This will include a focus on developing relationships within the geographic community. Pastoral 15% Occasional involvement in a Pastoral role toward: public prayer, visitation, weddings, funerals, counselling, etc. Ability to preach periodically. Various other special assigned responsibilities as called upon. Preferences for Candidate Ministry Experience: Because this position will focus on attracting, building, equipping, and releasing ministry teams, we re looking for someone with at least five years of experience doing this within the local church. The candidate should be someone who has a track record of both building and maintaining a healthy ministry. Experience in other areas of healthy church ministry are also of benefit as the position will necessitate working as part of a greater team and will include a variety of responsibilities and interaction with multiple ministries. Marital and Family Status: Single and married candidates (with and without children) will be considered. In the case of a candidate who has been divorced, a statement as to the circumstances of divorce will be required. Candidates with unbiblical reasons for divorce will be excluded from consideration. Education: Ideal candidates will have at least a bachelors degree, preferably in biblical/ministry studies. Gender: Only male candidates will be considered due to our biblical convictions that only men are allowed to serve in the role of pastor/elder. Ordination and Licensing: Candidates do not need to be ordained or licensed. Those who have been ordained/licensed outside of the Evangelical Free Church of America will be asked to transfer their ordination to the EFCA within 4 years of hire. Those without ordination or licensing will be asked to begin pursuit of a ministry credential with the Evangelical Free Church of America within 4 years of hire.
Our Statement of Faith Wawasee Bible is affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America. The EFCA is an association of autonomous churches united around these theological convictions: God 1. We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory. The Bible 2. We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavor should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises. The Human Condition 3. We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed. Jesus Christ 4. We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus Israel s promised Messiah was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate. The Work of Christ 5. We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, allsufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation. The Holy Spirit 6. We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christlike living and service. The Church 7. We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer. Christian Living 8. We believe that God s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God s Word, the Spirit s power, and fervent prayer in Christ s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed. Christ s Return 9. We believe in the personal, bodily and premillennial return of our Lord Jesus Christ. The coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.
Response and Eternal Destiny 10. We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen. Other Doctrinal Positions of Wawasee Bible Miraculous Gifts: We see these gifts as non-normative. We do not promote or encourage the pursuit of miraculous gifts, but do not see sufficient evidence in Scripture to declare they have ceased. Some might describe this as an open but cautious position. Church Polity: By definition we are congregational. However in practice we are very much elder-led. Elders are empowered to lead and make nearly all decisions. Only major issues such as the annual budget are officially voted up or down by the congregation, whereas other things (appointment of elders, for example) are presented to the congregation for input and affirmation. Eternal Security: We believe in the perseverance of the saints. Role of Women: We hold to a Complementarian view where women are encouraged and allowed to serve in any role according to their gifting other than pastor/elder. The role of pastor/elder is reserved solely for qualified men according to Scripture, and is rooted in the creation order. Marriage & Sexuality: We hold to a biblical view of marriage being the union of one man and one woman for one lifetime before God. More information on our position on Marriage & Sexuality can be found in Appendix C of our Constitution & Bylaws. Tribulation: We do not have a defined position on the timing of the tribulation/rapture. We do hold to a pre-mil position on the millennium. Some elders lean towards pre-trib rapture while others lean towards pre-wrath and post-trib. We do not see the timing of the rapture as a closed-fisted issue of theology that we need fight over. We can agree to disagree in a loving way. However, we hold tightly to the fact that Jesus will return bodily to judge, rule, and reign. More About Our Ministry This is a new position for our church. We previously had a Pastor of Student Ministries on staff who left for another ministry, opening up this staff position. We determined a move toward hiring an Equipping Pastor would be more strategic at this time for the overall health and continued growth of our church. We have a 22,000 sq. ft. facility that is debt free. We have a team currently in active meetings with a local design/build firm looking at future renovation and expansion. As a church, we avoid regular weekly programs that would interfere with our 1:10 Community Groups (i.e. small groups; the 1:10 comes from Colossians 1:10). As a result, all regular weekly ministry programing happens on Sundays, not during the week (Sunday Worship, Kids Ministry, Student Ministry, etc.). We still have occasional events and other meetings that happen during the week, but they are not the weekly norm. We ve worked hard in recent years to not be over-programed and have cut many programs. We are willing to say no to many good things so that we can say yes to our 1:10 Groups. (Learn more about 1:10 Groups on our website.) In September 2014 we launched a full Kids Ministry (Wawasee Kids) that runs concurrent to our Sunday morning worship service for ages up to Grade 4. Four or Five times a year we cancel our Kids Ministry (excluding the nursery) and have entire families together in the main worship service. Culturally and ethnically our setting is primarily white/caucasian, as a result there has been little in terms of ethnic or cultural diversity within the church. However, the Hispanic population of our community has grown tremendously in recent years and as a church we have done little (mostly due to ignorance of culture and language) to reach that demographic. We and our community would benefit greatly to learn and grow in this area. As a church we rarely (read: almost never) promote political/social justice issues from the platform. Members of the church who are passionate about these issues are encouraged to engage personally as
they are so led, but we will rarely engage corporately. We work hard to promote and maintain unity within our church and would rather focus our efforts on disciplemaking. Our primary focus of missions has been non-local. 12% of our annual church budget goes to national and global missions. We have fully supported a boys orphanage in India since 2006 and in 2014 provided funds to construct a new building for the 60 boys. We have also provided funding to build two buildings for church plants in India since 2007. We are currently making efforts to increase our local missional engagement, and hope to make significant strides here in the coming years. Brief Church History Wawasee Bible began in September 1986. It was planted by five families. Each family was originally part of another local church that had very legalistic tendencies. A small bible study was founded in one of their homes, which later developed into a church plant. About 70 people attended on the first Sunday at Milford School. Over the next 10-13 years, the church grew to over 300. In that time there was a major focus on evangelism and many made first time professions of faith in Jesus Christ. During this time a 22,000+ square foot facility was built almost entirely by volunteer workers. Great unity of fellowship developed as the church worked together to serve each other and the community. One major problem that emerged, though, was that the church often grew faster than its lay leadership could handle. There was no vocational staff for the first 10 years, only volunteer lay leaders and workers. As a result, discipleship suffered, turnover was great, and lay leaders burned themselves out. The next 7-10 years were marked with turnover and an adolescence of instability. In recent years health has gradually returned to the church and its leadership. The current health and unity of the body is maybe as strong as it has been in its 29-year history. In the fall of 2010 Wawasee Bible affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America. Currently we employ 4 full-time employees in our secretary, Lead Pastor, Pastor of Kids & Family Ministries, and Equipping Pastor and a part-time janitor. The Pastor of Kids & Family Ministries position was created in January 2014, and the position of Equipping Pastor was developed over the winter of 2015-2016 in lieu of hiring a new Pastor of Student Ministries.