Pastor (Part-time, 24 hours per week)  

 

DESCRIPTION   Next Church, a small grassroots neighbourhood church, has an opening for a part-time pastor (0.6-time, approximately 24 hours per week). Founded in 1997, by a passionate group of 20somethings who wanted to do church differently, Next has grown into an offbeat, mature community dedicated to living for Christ. Operating without a pastor since September 2012, everyone works together as the body of Christ to plan and lead Sunday morning gatherings and church events.  

 

MORE ABOUT US   We’re letting everyone in on God’s big secret – God’s changing everything and you’re invited. You’re invited to be changed. You’re invited into a changed community. You’re invited to be part of changing the world. Our core values, our endearing qualities, are Centred, Neighboured, Familied, Needed, Moved, Created and Gived, which can be explained like this:  

 

If Next Church was a tree… (Psalm 1:3)   …it would be planted in the firm foundation of God's word and grace. Jesus, the Son, would be its gardener, cultivating new life as the Holy Spirit produces good fruit.   ... it would live in an eclectic neighbourhood. There it would be a part of community events and welcome the company of local residents. It's many branches would reach out into the surrounding space and give shelter to friends and strangers.   ... it would hold in its branches a large tree house. That tree house would provide a place for people to share there lives. Anyone who came could belong and take part in community. There they could invest in others, have accountability and work together toward God's calling.   ... it would feed the hungry and give shade to the weary. As the gardener prunes its branches, it would share with those in need. God would use its branches, its leaves, its bark, its fruit – everything it has – for God’s purposes. And it would then give life, create life, and know life to the fullest.   ... it would move in the breeze of God's warm breath. It would grow and be transformed as it responds to the sun's light. It would slowly become what it was created to be – changing from the inside out.   ... its leaves would make music in the blowing wind. The children and adults would swing from its branches and decorate it with colourful flags and balloons. They would invent new games to play, and create new songs to sing to express their joy in the Lord.  

 

Next Church at a glance...   • Approximately 75 adult attendees (30 of which are partners – aka members), and they bring with them their 50 children (ranging between 0 to 12).   • Of the 75 attendees:   58% are families/married couples, and 42% are single/unmarried (including roughly 12 postsecondary students and 4 single parents)   • Vocations include:   Students, homeschooling/homemaking, social services, arts+media, engineering, teaching, various minimum wage jobs, computer technology, nursing, and military service   • Average age of adults: 30s and 40s   • Approximately 50% have been attending Next for 5+ years.   • 66% have attended church since childhood, while 21% have returned to church after taking a break.   • Approximately 75% of Nexters live within walking distance of the church building.   • Next Church has produced two full-length albums featuring the music from Sunday mornings.   • Nexters describe Next as family friendly, laid back, focussed on the neighbourhood, accessible to non-Christians, and welcoming. Plus, the music is great and it has solid bible-teaching.  

 

 

A brief history of Next Church…   In the mid-90s, a group of young adults at Polson Park Free Methodist Church in Kingston started a Christian café in the downtown area called ‘The Pool’. The Pool was a music venue for Christian musicians, and a place for generation X’ers to explore Christian faith outside of a traditional church environment. Over the course of a few years, the founding group (including Al Doseger) felt led to start a church instead – this was the beginning of NeXt. Al took on the role of founding pastor, and was soon joined by Jared Siebert, a young Bible college student (who was still in school at the time). The Free Methodist Church in Canada (FMCiC) generously offered NeXt a downtown building that was previously home to Colborne Street Free Methodist Church (which had recently closed its doors). It didn’t take long to discover that the untraditional approach to church services was appealing to more than just generation X’ers; drawing hurting people who had been burned by previous church experiences. During the next seven years, Next Church grew from its meager 25 members to over 120 people attending each week. At the end of 2004, Jared accepted the position of Director, Growth Ministries with the FMCiC. Soon after, Garry Castle (a member of Next) was hired as the Assistant Pastor to work in partnership with Al. But, in 2006, Al led a group from Next Church in planting a neighbouring church (known as Rustle) in a poor area just 12 blocks to the north. At that time, one-third of Nexters went to Rustle to help with that church plant, another one-third remained at Next, while the last one-third took the church’s paradigm shift as the time to start a new chapter in their own lives. Garry led Next Church on his own until 2012 when he resigned amicably and continues to attend weekly (as well as live across the street). During his time pastoring at Next, Garry fostered a culture of member participation. ‘Squads’ were developed as small committees to oversee and lead each ministry at Next; they’ve been highly successful. These squads consist of three to six Nexters and each have two co-leaders. There’s a squad for everything; themes/topics/teaching (T3’s), Next kids, music, small groups/soul care, Next and neighbourhood events, hospitality, and the building squad, plus one ‘squid’ (the space squid is a name of the squad who develops art exhibits for each sermon series). All church community decisions are made through group consensus (either at a squad level or community level, depending on the issue). Most recently, Next has adopted an eldership model of leading and are in the process of appointing elders. This decision was made to further recognize the personal ministry of individual members and to ensure that Nexters are well shepherded. The vision moving forward is that a hired pastor would serve as an elder along with the other appointed elders.  

 

Where we are:   Next Church is found in Kingston, Ontario. Located in Southeastern Ontario between Toronto and Montreal, Kingston is at the mouth of St. Lawrence River where it flows into Lake Ontario. It’s a beautiful and scenic city, just a stone’s throw from the famous Thousand Islands, with the largest of the islands (Wolfe Island) directly across from the downtown core. Known as the ‘Limestone City’, Kingston has a very rich history. It was the first capital of Canada and home to Sir John A. McDonald, Canada’s first Prime Minister.  

 

Today, Kingston has three postsecondary institutions; Queen’s University, St. Lawrence College, and the Royal Military College. The large student population infuses the downtown core with energy and youthfulness. The rhythm of student life has a subtle impact on the city; creating a slower pace in the spring just as Kingston begins to welcome tourists as the weather gets warmer.  

 

Other unique aspects to the city are the military and large prison presence. The Canadian Force Base (CFB) Kingston employs over 9,000 people in a broad range of disciplines. CFB Kingston is the largest public employer in the Greater Kingston Area.  

 

Kingston has the largest number of federal correctional facilities in Canada with eight prisons found in various areas of the Greater Kingston Area. Not only do the prisons have a physical presence, but a social and economic one as well. As a result, Kingstonians have a heightened awareness of the Canadian Justice System.  

 

 

Due to the natures of the universities, military base and prisons, Kingston is a diverse and transient city, which is certainly reflected at Next Church.  

 

Next is nestled in a historic neighbourhood that has gone by many names – the Inner Harbour, Picardsville, and North of Princess. It’s a decidedly checkered neighbourhood with a range of residents. One can easily find a Queen’s professors living next to a block of low-income apartments, or a young married couple with kids living next to house full of international exchange students.  

 

At the heart of neighbourhood is a beautiful green space known officially as McBurney Park, but affectionately coined ‘Skeleton Park’ by locals. Once a decrepit graveyard, the park is now the revitalized playground, which is full of kids and old trees, and is home to the Skeleton Park Music Festival that takes place every June.  

 

For more info on us, visit our website (www.nextchurch.com) or like us on Facebook!  

 

WHAT YOU WOULD DO:   - Serve with Next Church elders and work with the church board to lead the congregation towards our vision and mission   - Develop gifts and talents in others, and calling them into leadership as the Holy Spirit leads   - Support church ministries/squads (T3 – themes/topics/teaching, Next Kids, creatives, music, small groups/soul care, Next and neighbourhood events, hospitality)   - Help coordinate and lead Sunday morning gatherings; working with T3 squad to develop sermon series, preaching roughly twice a month, leading Sunday morning service, delegating tasks to attendees (known as Nexters), mentoring lay preachers   - Provide pastoral care to Nexters; this includes crisis intervention, visitation and intercessory prayer   - Lead the community in thinking ahead and visioning for the future   - Assist with the growing needs of the expanding Next Kids ministry   - Work closely with the church staff and provide leadership in that area   - Represent Next Church in the neighbourhood and Kingston area including the local student population, engaging with locals who rent the church building, developing connections with neighbours and visitors   - Liaise with Free Methodist Church in Canada  

 

QUALIFICATIONS:   Our ideal candidate…   - Holds a Bachelor Degree or has of six years experience as a pastor   - Is a disciple of Jesus, living out the reality of God’s grace, sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s leading   - Encourages a praying/listening culture, and one that relies on God through faith   - Possesses sound biblical knowledge; lives it out and is able to teach and equip others   - Has relevant experience with: camp, community-based organizations; social services and/or non-profit sector; marginal populations;   - Thrives in a collaborative environment working together with the whole body; is not just a team player, but also a team rallier, willing to work within an eldership model of leadership with two or three other church elders;   - Excels at coaching others, helping them to build gifts and capabilities needed now and in the future   - Is a self-starter who can work with little supervision   - Is people-oriented. Focused on serving and loving people; connects with new people; is friendly, warm, approachable; engages with others in a manner that builds high morale and commitment   - Communicates effectively both verbal and written; proactively keeps others well informed; effectively presents ideas and documents activities  

 

- Creative and inventive, thinks outside the box, able to inspire vision, birth new ideas, and present them in an engaging way - Excellent and active problem-solver, seeing situations from a broad perspective, showing great judgement and capacity to navigate complex issues   - Is organized, but flexible; develops realistic action plans while being sensitive to time constraints and resource availability; defines realistic, specific goals and objectives; prioritizes objectives  

 

EXTRA NOTES:   - The successful candidate is required by the FMCiC to undergo its ordination process   - A compensation package including salary, benefits and pension will be provided.   - A beard is considered an asset. Just kidding. We have enough facial hair to go around. HOW TO APPLY:   Candidates should send their fascinating resumes and cover letters to [email protected] before February 28, 2014.