Position Description

Charlie Lake Community Church is a multi-generational faith community. Our vision is “Building contagious followers of Christ by growing in faith, living in community, and engaging in missions.” The Pastor will work with our church leadership to develop and disciple spiritual leaders, who will in turn work to build “contagious followers of Christ,” and reach out to our local community. We are looking for a motivational shepherd who wants to know and engage with his flock to help them be the best they can be for Christ.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Develop and deliver bible based preaching and teaching in weekly sermons
• Administer the Lord’s Supper, baptism, weddings, funerals, and baby dedications
• Assist in running the church office in collaboration with the church administrator
• Active participation in pastoral care for members of the Charlie Lake community, which includes but is not limited to; visiting the sick, offering support and Godly counsel to members of the community during difficult times.

Desired Skills:

1. Practical biblical teacher
2. Disciple maker/equipper
3. Pastoral Care Desired

Personal Characteristics:

1. Shepherd
2. Relational
3. Motivational

Hours per Week:

This is a full-time position.

Compensation:

Will be commensurate with training and experience; to be fairly negotiated with guidance from the compensation guidelines of the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada.

Application Submissions:

We invite candidates to apply with a Ministry Information Profile (MIP – download from the CBWC webpage http://cbwc.ca/leaders/pastors/) to the pastoral settlement office (pastoralsettlement@cbwc.ca), or to apply at clccsearchcommittee@gmail.com.

Application Deadline:

Will remain open until a suitable candidate is selected.

Who Were We?

A History of Charlie Lake Community Church In 1987, a committee of interested people from Calvary Baptist Church in Fort St. John, as well as some other area churches, was organized to consider the possibility of a church plant. The committee met regularly for about one year and included Al and Sue Stebing who later became the pastor couple for the new church.

Several of the founding members lived in the Charlie Lake area, and many community members, both churched and unchurched, were supportive of the idea of a church for the growing Charlie Lake area. The first public worship service was held at the Charlie Lake Community Hall in September 1988. On September 11th a Covenant and Induction service was held, and Al Stebing was inducted as pastor. Al‘s background in ranching, trapping, guiding, and logging along with his passion for evangelism helped prepare him to minister to a wide variety of people in Charlie Lake and outlying areas. In 1989, the church voted to become affiliated with the Baptist Union of Western Canada.

The foundation service and official church status were celebrated on May 27, 1990. The number of people attending Sunday morning worship increased steadily, and in the period of about 3 years, the average Sunday attendance had grown from thirty-something to more than a hundred. The church reached out to families in the community with Sunday School, Kids Club, gym nights, youth club, Bible study groups, and special community events such as music nights and Thanksgiving dinners. Sunday School space was very limited at the hall, it was soon clear that the group needed better facilities for the children and youth programs. After looking at various options, money was borrowed from the Baptist Union to help purchase a 4.5-acre lot adjacent to the Community Hall, which is the location of the church building today.

In the fall of 1991 office buildings used by Esso Resources at Boundary Lake were donated to the church for the cost of moving them and cleaning up the site. Since the building was too wide for the bridge it was brought across the Beatton River on the ice and broke through, creating some interesting publicity. In addition to these units which would serve as offices and Sunday School rooms, four Atco trailers were purchased to use as a sanctuary. Many local businesses and individuals contributed labor and materials to the building project. The dedication service for the church buildings was held in January 1992. Over the next few years, people came and stayed to become a part of the church. Sunday worship services, Sunday School, Vacation Bible School, youth group activities, and Kids Club put the facilities to good use. Bible studies were formed and a counseling service began as a ministry of the church. For about four years there was an outreach to the community of Wonowon.

As the 1990s progressed, time was set aside for Vision Days and discussion began about the next step, a larger building. The log chalet at the Big Bam Ski Hill of Taylor, BC became available for purchase in 1997 and in April 1998 the logs were transported to the church property. An architect was hired to produce the blueprints and a local building supply retailer gave a complete Styrofoam form system for the basement at cost. They then organized local contractors to come and erect, prepare, and pour the basement in a two-day “training clinic”, all at no cost to the church. Once the basement was complete, the logs were set in place. Businesses, individuals, and churches in Charlie Lake, Fort St. John, and the surrounding area came through again and again with supplies, labor, and funds. It was a long process before the church building was completed. Work proceeded as the funds were available. Eventually the wiring, plumbing, and heating systems were in place and the finishing work got underway. During this season the church added Nick Vanderlin as a youth pastor who then became an assistant pastor to work with the youth and assist Al in other duties. In the fall of 1999, there were some tensions over theology. A soft economy and several families leaving the church led to declining finances. This resulted in the laying off of Ann Loewen who served as administrator as well as Nick Vanderlin.

The ministry recovered, a new secretary, Francie Hancharuk was hired in 2001 and the construction project continued. It was with much excitement and thanksgiving that on December 14, 2003 the congregation enjoyed their first “official” service in the log church. On Sunday March 7, 2004 the congregation came together with community members and those from other churches for the dedication service. The theme of the area pastor’s message to the congregation was that the new building should be “a launch pad, not a landing pad.” During a vision process in 2005, the need for an associate pastor was raised. Also, though Al was planning to stay for several more years, he wisely raised the issue of succession planning. In 2006, Pastor Alfred Reschke along with his wife Maria and family came to Charlie Lake with Alfred to serve as Associate Pastor to work alongside Al. Having two pastors with different sets of gifts enabled the church to continue to grow in its effective service to the community. Additional programs like Moms & Tots Bible study, DVBS, missions trips, support of short and long-term missionaries from the church, and the annual Ft. St John area Mission Vision event rose out of CLCC. Due to the unique and attractive facility, the church building became and still is a desired location for weddings and funerals, leading to many opportunities to serve the area. It has also consistently been a place where people are welcomed on Sunday mornings no matter who they are or what they are wearing. The average attendance of the church got over 200 for the first time in 2010.

On January 22, 2011, the church held a celebration service to thank Al and Sue for their service, to thank God for the previous 23 years, and to bless Al and Sue in the future endeavors God had for them. A search process was initiated, which included the retaining of interim pastor Bob McKenzie along with his wife Myrtle serving for most of the rest of 2011.

In January 2012, Alfred Reschke became the new Lead Pastor. Jared Braun was hired as associate pastor in February 2013. During Alfred’s tenure as pastor, the church’s ties with the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (formerly the Baptist Union of Western Canada) were strengthened. Also during his time Alfred worked with the board to establish an eldership model. Alfred and Maria enjoyed a three-month sabbatical through the summer and early fall of 2015 while interim pastor Lloyd Alstead and his wife Marti served in an interim role.

In the winter and spring of 2016, the church held a series of facilitated Sunday potluck meetings to explore vision-related questions. However, before this process was fully complete, Alfred took medical leave for burnout in the fall of 2016.

In January 2017, the board announced that Alfred would not be returning to his role as Lead Pastor, and they began laying the foundations to begin a search process for the next Lead Pastor. The long-term secretary Francie Hancharuk retired and moved away in 2017. Throughout the next year, Jared led the church until March 2018, when Joshua Goetz was hired. He, along with his wife Sandra and four children moved from their small church in Saskatchewan to lead the church. Bonnie Bruvold filled the position as administrator for a year to be followed by Sandra Goetz in Aug 2018. Around this time, Jared expressed that he felt that he was being called elsewhere, and he began the search for another position. Finally, after a year of searching, he moved on from his position as associate pastor, eventually finding work as leader of the local Salvation Army.

During the summer of 2020, Letisha Koop worked as a youth and children’s worker. In the summer of 2021, the church hired Joy Doerksen, a recent Bible School graduate, to lead the children’s ministry over the summer. The church invited her to stay on for the winter, and she ran the Sunday school and youth programs over the course of the winter. The church’s finances were somewhat decreased by Covid, and in the spring of 2021, the board decided not to renew her contract. The church stayed open as much as possible during the covid epidemic. The congregation met outside when it was permitted, in the summer of 2021, and tried to comply with masking and distancing rules. There were disagreements about how much to comply with government rules, and it was sometimes hard for the board and elders to decide how to lead the church. They decided not to open in January 2022 when the government announced that the church could open for people with vaccine passports.

The church opened again in February when all were permitted to attend. Sandra Goetz moved on to another job in April 2023 and then in May of 2023, Josh announced that he was being led to move himself and his family to Edmonton, where he could be close to his and Sandra’s elderly parents and where he had been offered a job in counseling. Josh finished his tenure at Charlie Lake Community Church in July 2023. Racquel Gauthier began in May 2023 to temporarily fill the position of part-time administrator. She was only available for the summer, so in October of 2023, Janet Klassen took over as administrator. The church has been filling the pastoral role in a few different ways since Josh’s resignation. Several men from within the congregation have formed a preaching rotation. Alfred Reschke, one of CLCC’s former pastors, was hired part time for two separate interim periods of roughly three months each, consisting of preaching half time and visitation.  His first interim period began in September 2023, and the second began in late January 2024.

Who Are We Now?

Mission: Building Contagious Followers of Jesus Congregation

• Average attendance 2023: 108
• Total number of people - church directory: 192
• Congregants come from Charlie Lake, Fort St. John, and the surrounding area. Current Paid Staff
• 1 Administrator Big Picture Observations – Strengths
• A rich history of local ministry
• A young demographic (~50% under 40!)
• A stable committed core (50%+ more than 10 years!)
• Outstanding facility location and visibility. It’s a landmark
• Values foreign missions
• Strong sense of community in the church
• A desire to serve and reach out
• Very committed, hard-working volunteers Big Picture Observations – Challenges
• A high percentage of long-term attendees (a “pro” in that this adds stability; a “con” in that the long-term established relationships can make it difficult for newcomers to integrate.)
• Lack of organized community outreach

Our Community Context

The community of Charlie Lake is situated 9 km northwest of Fort St. John on the Alaska Highway (Hwy 97 North). It is governed by the Peace River Regional District and represented on that board by an elected person from the area known as Electoral Area “C”. The region is the traditional home of the Dunne-za people. The industrial base is strong and diverse – agriculture, forestry, and tourism complimented by the oil and gas service sector. The community is serviced by a general store (with gas and propane), a post office, a fire hall, a golf course, a 150-seat pub/restaurant with a lakeside patio, a community hall, an elementary school, two private recreation RV campgrounds, walking trails, several baseball diamonds, and two provincial parks.

The Charlie Lake marsh is located at the sound end of Charlie Lake. Built by Ducks Unlimited Canada, the marsh supports a wide variety of waterfowl and other water-associated birds such as sandpipers and Goldeneye ducks. Scenic Charlie Lake provides a variety of recreational activities such as canoeing, sailing, water sports, and the “best walleye fishing” in BC. Winter activities include ice fishing, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, and dog sledding. The community of Charlie Lake, Fort St. John, and the surrounding areas offers their residents a friendly location in which to raise a family. While Charlie Lake Community Church is set in Charlie Lake, our congregation comes from a much larger area and population, including FSJ.

Note: Charlie Lake is included in the Ft. St John census area. The data below is from the 2021 census data.

• Population Growth Fort St. John Metro Area
  • 1981 14,337
  • 2006 25,136
  • 2011 26,380 
  • 2016 28,396
  • 2021 28,730
• Education Levels Fort St John BC
• Did not complete high school 19% 13% High School Certificate 35% 30% Apprenticeship 13% 8% College 16% 17% University 17% 32%
• Fort St John Families – 7,710 Married 4,825 63% Common-law 1,660 21% Lone Parent 1,225 16%
• Average Household Income - $119,700
• Average Housing Cost - $400,000 Other FSJ Area
• Demographic Data Male 52% Female 48%
• Median Age Canada 42 British Columbia 43 Fort St John 34

What Kind of Pastoral Leader Do We Need?

We (Charlie Lake Community Church) are looking for a pastor who is a man of God in family life, work life, and church life. He will demonstrate a high degree of moral character in line with biblical teachings. This pastor will be relatable, hospitable, and will not be afraid to know and be known.

The pastor will help shepherd our flock of believers to grow deeper in our faith and walk with us through our faith journey. This pastor will engage in down-to-earth, practical biblical teaching, with a strong emphasis on how to serve Jesus in our day-to-day lives. He will work with our church leadership to equip and disciple spiritual leaders, as well as motivate and lead us to reach out to our local community with the gospel message.