Job Overview

WestVillage Church is an 8-year-old church in the heart of the Westboro neighbourhood in Ottawa, Ontario. Westboro is a location with few evangelical churches which is also a trendy, growing, family-oriented, and affluent community—although Ottawa Community Housing and the Westboro Region Food Bank also serve the area.

Originally a church plant by the Metropolitan Bible Church, WestVillage began to hold regular weekly services in January 2016. Through gospel-centred preaching and a heart for reaching the community, WestVillage has grown into a vibrant and dynamic community of believers. Our multi-generational, multicultural church has an average attendance of about 150 people with one-third (50) being children who come together from various parts of Ottawa and the surrounding region (including those from nearby Quebec). Over the past year, WestVillage has undertaken a visioning process to seek God's guidance and direction, including involving the broader church leadership and congregation. This has led to the following new purpose and vision statements:

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

Vision Statement: Together, we will reach up, reach in and reach out. To be an authentic church community radically transformed by Christ, filled with passion and purpose for the Gospel. Together, we reach out to share the Good News and care for our neighbours near and far, especially those who are hurting and in need.

God has continually blessed us with many new faces, faithful leadership, and deeper relationships. We continue to experience God's faithfulness and steadfast love through those He has called to WestVillage as we continue to serve Him and share His Good News. Our Sunday morning services are focused on gospel-centred preaching from our Interim Lead Pastor; Youth and Young Adults Pastor and other preachers. Elders, other ministry leaders and volunteers including children also participate in the service in various ways, such as in scripture readings or by leading congregational prayer.

Music is also essential at WestVillage. We have a Worship and Media Lead who coordinates in-person worship gatherings, manages the online content, and leads the musical elements and the many talented musicians and artists who seek to glorify God with their gifts.

We are blessed with a vibrant children's ministry of over 50 kids, overseen by our Children's Ministry Lead. This ministry offers Sunday School, Monday playgroups, regular weekend events, and backyard clubs in the summer. Since half our church is young families, these activities play an important role in their connection and formation.

Regarding one-on-one discipleship, we have many members committed to small community groups called C-groups, which gather regularly to study the Bible, pray together, and serve their neighbourhood. There is a women's bible study group, and a monthly prayer gathering at the church office for all who wish to come. We also have an active young adult ministry and a fledgling youth ministry led by our Youth and Young Adult Pastor.

Finally, as a church that loves our community, we partner with Ottawa Community Housing (by providing meals for low-income seniors), the Westboro Region Food Bank, and other new church plants around Ottawa. We also have many in our community with various special needs and have engaged in special volunteer training to support these individuals and their families to be full participants in the WVC body. We are blessed with many hands willing to work, as seen in our over 80 volunteers serving in various roles in our church and through our ministries in the community!

Job Description

Position Title: Lead Pastor Desired Start Date: Spring 2025 Type: Permanent, Full Time Salaried Compensation: Commensurate with experience and education. Reports to: Elders, Members

REQUIREMENTS Are you a humble man of prayer who is longing to know Jesus more and to make Him known? 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. 1.1. You will develop and plan series content for the ministry year ahead, and it is expected that you will preach approximately 3 out of every 4 Sundays, including the administration of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's supper; 1.2. Where appropriate, you will support other speakers in the development of sermon material etc. (e.g. interns, Youth and Young Adults Pastor, fellow Elders, etc.); 1.3. As opportunities arise, and as time permits, you may also be requested to teach outside of a Sunday service; 1.4. Together with the Elders, you will work to develop other teachers and preachers in the WVC family and equip them to share God's truth in winsome ways that flows out of a life of personal transformation in Christ; and 1.5. Together with the Elders, you will equip disciples at WVC to develop a foundation of good doctrine as they examine, understand and live out biblical truth that provides answers to the challenges they face and reminds them of God's promises.

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. 2.1. You will encourage the church to prayerfully pursue the breadth and depth of spiritual riches available to them in Christ Jesus, according to God's word (Col 1:9-12 , Phil 1:9-11, James 5:13-15). 2.2. You will teach others through your words and example how to incorporate prayer into their personal and corporate decision-making process.

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. 3.1. You will support integrating Sunday worship gathering elements with midweek small groups and one-on-one discipleship opportunities in WVC. 3.2. You will attend, participate in and strengthen weekly staff meetings, monthly Elders meetings, and Ministry Leaders meetings. 3.3. You will also work with Ministry Team Leads and other volunteers to provide support and encouragement, as well as discipleship and mentoring across the church body.

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. 4.1. You will lead in developing and implementing a new mission statement for WVC that will cover the next five to ten (5-10) years and aligns with the recently adopted purpose and vision; 4.2. You will work with fellow Elders to oversee the refinement of the membership process and revision of the church bylaws and governance as we transition the corporate structure to include congregational members; 4.3. You will work with fellow Elders, Staff and Ministry Leaders to develop an integrated plan for discipleship, community outreach and global missions.

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: [email protected] Application deadline: January 15, 2025