Berean Baptist Church - Canada (Sudbury, ON) – Pastor

The Big Picture

Berean Baptist Church (bereansudbury.ca) is seeking a Pastor who will preach the Word of God, equip the Saints for works of service and reach the lost for the glory of God.

The Church

Berean Baptist Church is located in downtown Sudbury, Ontario, about 4 hours north of Toronto. The city is centred on mining, and is a university and hospital centre for Northeastern Ontario, and has a population of about 160,000 people. As “Bereans” (Acts 17:11), we value strong Bible preaching and teaching, and are eager to reach out with the Gospel in our area of service. Over six years ago, we purchased and renovated a new building in a more residential neighbourhood. The impact of social issues common to the downtown core of most cities hurts many around us, and we are eager to find ways of sharing the good news with them.

We will, of course, discuss these things in more detail in person, but the following is something of an overview of our beliefs and practices. There are certain non-negotiable elements to underline beginning with acceptance of our statement of faith. In light of the fact that there are a range of opinions that have become accepted under the general label of “evangelicalism”, it is good to be clear on a number of points that we believe are vital:

• the Bible is to be accepted as our rule of faith and practice; we believe in the inspiration, inerrancy and infallibility of the Scripture
•we understand justification as a forensic act of God that declares the sinner not guilty on the basis of the merit of Christ; in that light we reject the “new perspective” • we believe in the doctrines of sovereign grace, and accept that election is that of individuals unto salvation
• we believe in a literal 6-day creation

• the teaching concerning “last things” is to be essentially consistent with that often labeled “amillennial”
• we hold that the Lord's Table properly follows believers' baptism, and so restrict participation at the Table to those baptized by immersion as believers, who are walking with the Lord

Requirements

The Candidate

1. Teaching and Preaching at the stated services
2. Outreach including children's ministry, youth, adult and senior as opportunity arises; the gifts of the Pastor will determine where he can devote his time, and where help is needed. There is the possibility of participation in a television outreach, Focus on the Bible, which, while not a ministry of the church directly, has been supported by the church and previous pastors.
3. In this church, the Pastor is expected to be the regular chair for matters of business, although that can be changed if needed.
4. The pastor does need to be ready to take care of some aspects of administration and “running the office” in the absence of other staff; although this must never become onerous, there should be a willingness to pitch in
5. The goal is that of Ephesians 4:11-16: that the pastoral ministry will stir up others to serve; none of what we have said implies that these matters are exclusively for the pastor!

Expectations regarding character and family:

This is a pastoral role, and therefore the requirements governing elders and overseers in texts like 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 will form an important part of the discussion. The importance of godly character is highlighted in these texts. Because of the youth work involved, some basic matters like police checks will be required, but far more significant is evident growth of the fruit of the Spirit as applied in these and other texts.

To that extent, we do know that the support of the pastor's family is absolutely essential in the ministry! Elders are to be given to hospitality, and to be exemplary in their family life, and so to that extent, we would like to see happy participation in the life of the church. The pastor's wife is expected to be a member, attending the Sunday services including Sunday School, and happily sharing in the work of the church as gifts and time allow.

BenefitsTBD