Job Overview

First Baptist Church of Mansfield (Mansfield, CT) – Pastor

The Big Picture

First Baptist Church of Mansfield (https://fbcmansfieldct.com) is seeking a full-time Pastor.

Job Description

The Church

The First Baptist Church of Mansfield (FBCM) is a small-town church with a long history. Established in 1807, we are located in Mansfield, CT, also home to the University of Connecticut. Half of our church family lives within 5 miles of our worship center, while the rest travel a distance to participate in church activities. Blessed with church family and friends of diverse cultural backgrounds, educational levels, and political beliefs, we are a family through our shared love of God.

Our current active membership is mostly older, with half of our members retired and 40% of our members having a yearly income of over $100,000. Our church has a wide variety of talents, with approximately half our members involved in teaching or office work. In contrast, others include engineers, therapists, human resource officers, and IT folk (to name a few). Since COVID restrictions were lifted, we average about 20 people in church on Sunday, with several others watching online. We rent our building to the Storrs Chinese Christian Church (SCCC), and our two church families have cultivated a relationship in which we meet once a month to discuss plans and share events.

Our worship service at FBCM is primarily traditional, with congregational singing, responsive reading, scripture, and sermon. Congregational singing is mostly hymns or sometimes more modern music, accompanied by piano or sometimes organ. We have a small choir that sings three times a month and soloists or groups who sing the other Sunday. A congregation member leads a responsive reading, and children walk up to the front of the church for a children's message. We recite the Lord's Prayer during the service, and there are two singing responses for the congregation. We take the offering by our ushers passing the offering plate. We have many prayer times during the service, where members may bring prayer praises and concerns to the congregation. There are Old and New Testament scripture readings at different points during the service and a sermon the Pastor preaches.

FBCM celebrates communion on the first Sunday of the month and is open to all believers. The Pastor presides with assistance from the Deacons. Assigned Deacons receive the Communion elements from the Pastor and serve them to the congregation in the pews, and then we all partake of the elements together. We receive a Communion Fellowship collection the Pastor uses for church, family, and community needs. During each communion service, we read our church covenant (see appendix) in unison and end our service by making a circle, holding hands, and singing "Blest Be the Tie That Binds."

The Community

When thinking about our neighbors and those we want to serve through mission, FBCM's location is somewhat unique. Our Church building sits on a hill along the main road between the University of Connecticut and Eastern Connecticut State University.

To our south is the town of Windham/Willimantic, which has many ethnic communities and 30% of its population living below the poverty level. The town of Mansfield is home to UCONN, and 62% of the residents work in the field of education, yet many farms still exist in the area. Unsurprisingly, the highest age group in Mansfield is youth, with 62% of the population between 18 and 24 years old. Seniors make up 9% of the Mansfield population and 9% of the Windham/Willimantic population, with 42% of those seniors living alone.

The Candidate

Our church is excited about the future and moving forward with our Lord. We seek a Pastor who can lead us in our journey to become better Christians and help us develop a deeper relationship with Christ. We need spiritual feeding and want a Pastor who will preach and teach the bible, feeding His sheep. We need someone compassionate who will join us in our deep concern for each other. We are ready to serve and step out in faith. We seek someone enthusiastic about spreading the gospel and doing God's work.

The Compensation

Our church is offering a competitive compensation package. The salary range of $50,000 – $70,000. This figure is Salary & Housing to be determined at the discretion of the candidate. In addition there is Social Security offset. Health care benefit of $10,000. Retirement contribution. reimbursed expenses (mileage, hospitality etc) and continuing eduction and sabbatical leave options.