Ministry Position:  Lead Pastor
Application Deadline: January 15, 2025
Desired Start Date: Spring 2025
Employment Type: Permanent, Full Time Salaried
Compensation: Commensurate with experience and education.
Reports to: Elders, Members

Preamble
WestVillage Church (WVC) Ottawa is a gospel-believing church family that gathers on Sundays in Westboro.

• Our Purpose: We exist to make disciples who love God, love their neighbour, and make disciples.

• Our Vision: To be an authentic church community that is radically transformed by Christ, filled with passion and purpose for the Gospel, together reaching out to share the Good News and care for our neighbours near and far; especially those who are hurting and in need.

Position Objectives

We seek someone who loves the church, lives out his faith with integrity, has a passion for teaching and serving, and brings unity and purpose to God's people. We are seeking a Lead Pastor with the following characteristics:

1. Spiritual maturity

1.1. You are a mature disciple of Jesus with love for His church and its’ mission (Matt 28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; Matt 22;37-40; 1 John 4:21; Mark 12:30) and, as such, you exemplify the fruit of the Spirit in your private and public conduct (Gal 5:22).

1.2. You meet the requirements for an Elder or Overseer as outlined in 1 Tim 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Peter 5:1-11. As an Elder-led congregation, all Elders and Pastors (whether paid or volunteer) are expected to emulate the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ.

1.3. You model a godly life by prioritising family and putting into place guardrails to protect against the spiritual, mental, physical, financial, and social demands that may be placed on them. You encourage others (staff, volunteers, etc.) to develop a trust in God that is reflected in their routine lives as they served God in His church and the world (e.g. encouraging the concept of rest and sabbath).

2. Biblical preaching and teaching

2.1. You have experience effectively preaching Biblical truth in an engaging, compelling, expository manner. This includes regularly leading the preaching for a congregation and/or other significant teaching experience. You teach others to cultivate their personal pursuit of God’s truth and apply biblical truths in a way that is easily learned and utilised in thought, word and deed. You share the Good News in a way that challenges cultural norms in light of the Gospel.

2.2. You prioritise the ministry of the Word and prayer in your personal life as well as during Sunday Services, staff meetings, and other contexts where the church is gathered. (e.g. Acts 6:1–7; 2 Tim. 2:1–2; 4:1–5; Titus 1:9; 2:1, 15; Heb. 13:7).

3. Visionary leadership

3.1. You have a heart and a passion for the local church and sharing the gospel locally and globally, especially to those in need. You have a gospel-oriented Kingdom mindset with a godly sense of urgency that prioritises the great commandment and the great commission (Mat. 6:33; Romans 14:17; Col. 1:13-14; 1 Cor 4:20; Hebrews 12:28-29). You desire for the local church to grow spiritually and reach out with the gospel through evangelism and sacrificial service.

3.2. You have experience working with others to develop and implement strategic direction for a church or other ministries in line with God’s vision for the local church. Through prayer and meditation on God’s Word, you can identify and prioritise key objectives that are most important for realising the vision.

3.3. You can navigate change with wisdom and seek to consistently exhibit a positive attitude rooted in confidence in God’s faithfulness, even in the midst of uncertainty. You utilise insights from your previous ministry experience and are attentive to seek God work through the changes he brings to new and existing ministries; 3.4. You collaborate well with others and gain buy-in from staff, volunteers, members, and the broader congregation. You effectively delegate tasks and responsibilities.

4. Discipleship

4.1. You have a strong desire to lead the church in seeking the lost and making disciples, which includes equipping them to grow in Christlikeness.

4.2. You are relationally oriented and able to come alongside others, inspiring, encouraging and motivating them to accomplish a common goal. You have a strong passion for discipleship and encouraging the personal spiritual growth of others. This includes successfully leading, implementing and/or administering programs and or processes to support discipleship within the church.

4.3. You are welcoming, approachable and empathise with a wide range of people with different needs, backgrounds and perspectives. You also have a heart for reaching out to and supporting persons inside and outside of the church who are hurting and in need. At WVC, this means having a heart for a diverse multi-ethnic church and coming alongside to support and celebrate those with special needs (neurodiverse, physical needs, seniors, etc.).

5. Education and doctrinal requirements:

5.1. You agree with and are willing to sign the Statement of Faith for the Associated Gospel Churches (AGC) of Canada and related policies;

5.2. You must be credentialed by the Associated Gospel Churches or be able to be credentialed by them. Visit AGC of Canada for more information;

5.3. You have completed a Masters of Divinity or Masters of Theology, or equivalent, and have a minimum of seven (7) years of pastoral ministry experience.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Our next Lead Pastor will have the following responsibilities:

1. Preaching, Teaching and Doctrine

The lead pastor is responsible for regular preaching and teaching during Sunday morning services. This is your primary responsibility and the primary task of the church: to preach and teach the Word of God as written in the Old and New Testaments; call the congregation to personal faith in Jesus Christ, to repentance, spiritual growth, service and evangelism through biblically grounded, expository preaching and teaching.

2. Prayer

You will engage in regular personal prayer for the church and encourage a culture of prayer throughout all contexts where the church is gathered. You will remind the church of answered prayers, the Lord’s provision, and encourage individual prayer on the part of the congregation.

3. Discipleship

Mentor all staff and engage in discipleship relationships with others in the congregation, particularly Ministry Leaders. Supervise and delegate staff in conjunction with fellow Elders. Help build healthy discipleship programs and culture across WVC.

4. Visionary Leadership

In collaboration with the Elders and Ministry Leaders, you will lead in the development, strengthening and implementation of various ministry plans for the church, including discipleship, community outreach and global missions. WVC has a new purpose, vision and motto statements that will serve as a foundation. WVC has also recently launched a new membership process and is reviewing church bylaws and governance.

5. Pastoral care and visitation

As opportunities arise, shepherding, caring for, and visiting with those in the congregation who request it and would benefit from it.

Applicants are expected to live within, or be willing to move to, the Ottawa/Gatineau area.

Apply to: pastorsearch@westvillage.church