Job Overview
Introduction
Grace Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church located just outside of Grafenwöhr Training Area which is the largest U.S. military training facility in Europe. Our church body primarily consists of U.S. Army personnel and contractors along with a small but growing number of local nationals who join us weekly for worship. A typical duty assignment for Army personnel is a three-year term, so our ministry context is a highly transient environment with people regularly coming and going. Although the context is transient, Grace is financially stable and regularly maintains an attendance of 100-150 any given Sunday. Our church trends younger, and our community is tightly knit and eager to give of their time and resources.
History
Grace Baptist Church began in 2003 under the leadership of Chuck Sligh. It began as a homegroup, and as God gave the increase the church was eventually large enough to be established in its own building. In 2006 the church purchased and remodeled its present building located just a couple of doors down from the walk-in gate of Tower Barracks. Since its founding, the church has been autonomous and self-supporting, and it has been a steady anchor of Christian influence in the Grafenwöhr area.
Doctrine
In the past, Grace has historically embraced what one might call a general and traditional set of Baptistic beliefs. However, in the last two years, Grace has moved from a broad Baptist doctrinal statement to embracing a more Reformed flavor of Baptistic doctrine that emphasizes God's work in salvation. This narrowed focus has helped create unity and like-mindedness among those who have sought membership at Grace. Along with this, we are distinctly complementarian and emphasize this in the way our services and ministries are structured. Although our church has not yet transitioned to elder polity, we are actively exploring this model of leadership to better align our governance with scripture. The congregation is primed and ready to take this step with the support of our deacons.
Ministries
Grace Baptist Church currently has the following active ministries:
- Men's Ministry – Monthly men's breakfast, weekly men's discipleship groups (each group meets 1 hour per week, 4-6 men, work through a book)
- Women's Ministry – Weekly women's group on Tuesday nights, women's book club 1x per month
- Children's Ministry – Every Sunday morning during the sermon we have two children's church classes
- Youth Ministry – The last Sunday of every month we have youth group. Currently working through the book of James. Our youth group has 6 volunteers and regularly has 12-15 kids.
Job Description
Candidate Profile
We are looking for a pastor who is first and foremost a man of character who is in known in his present ministry context to be a man who emulates the qualities outlined in 1 Timothy 3, and Titus 1 in his public and private life. Along with this, we desire someone with a shepherd's heart who not only exercises administrative oversight but invests relationally with those under his care. We also desire that our next pastor have doctrinal integrity that is evidenced through sound exegetical preaching, reflecting a tactful resolve that graciously communicates the whole counsel of God to the congregation for their good. Lastly, our hope is that our next pastor be local church centered, prioritizing the congregation as the primary center for spiritual growth, community, and outreach.
To add to these, we desire that our next pastor have strengths in the following areas:
Discipleship – Our church context is a hotspot filled with opportunities to disciple young people who are coming to faith, new to the faith, and eager to learn. We especially hope that our next pastor has a heart to disciple young people and see them make strides in their walk with Christ.
Problem solving – Our church is constantly getting new people whose giftings and availabilities differ, and as a result we are regularly thinking through the best way to structure our ministries and plug in the people we have.
Leadership development – To go along with problem solving, a big part of the pastoral work here is identifying capable leaders to train up and head up ministries while they are here. Many at our church have been given first time opportunities to begin leading ministries, teach, and even preach under the close guidance of our leadership.
Delegation – Our congregation is eager to serve and has thrived because of the people who have given of themselves for the good of the church. We desire that our next pastor have an eye for seeing and creating opportunities for people to exercise their respective giftings, and plugging people in respectively.
Discernment – Due to the constant turnover and the regular influx of new attenders and members, we believe it is important for our next pastor to have discernment as he gets to know new attenders and seeks to plug them into the church appropriately. Furthermore, the next pastor will need to possess the ability to hold firm to the word as he teaches while also recognizing that not everyone who attends the church comes from the same church background.
Flexibility – We are looking for someone who is flexible, who understands the dynamic nature of the military community and adapts as things change.
Worship – Ability to lead worship is a huge plus but not required.
Primary Responsibilities
Faithfully preach and teach weekly
Administer the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper
Guard the doctrinal integrity of the church
Shepherd the congregation and tend to their spiritual needs
Oversee and administrate all church ministries
Raise up and appoint leaders to church ministries
Provide biblical counseling as needed
Exercise church discipline as needed
Work cooperatively with deacons and ministry leaders
Tend to other administrative needs of the church
Special Considerations
Although the church is in a place to financially support a full-time pastor, the former pastors of Grace Baptist Church (who are American citizens) have historically worked a minimum of 20 hours per week on the U.S. Army base in order to attain SOFA status. SOFA status allows one to live in Germany without having to integrate into the German economy and be subject to German taxes. With SOFA status there are many benefits including cheaper gas prices, the freedom to come and go on base, and the freedom to homeschool. The next candidate must understand that if they wish to homeschool in Germany, they will need to have SOFA status because it is illegal to homeschool on the German economy. Our church understands that the pastor may need to work on base, and they are more than willing to accommodate the work schedule of a bi-vocational pastor.
These things being said, we especially ask that any candidate planning to homeschool their children understand the time commitments that bi-vocational ministry will likely require.