Position Description

The Role:

High Level Evangelical Church (HLEC) is looking for a Lead Pastor with a shepherd’s heart. This man will model a strong walk with Christ, have a clear calling to pastoral ministry, and under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the board, will lead the church to a closer and deeper relationship with God. He will do this through solid Bible-based teaching and preaching that has application at all levels of maturity. The Lead Pastor will also guide the church by demonstrating the love of God through his own servant leadership and shepherd care for those around him. He will assist the board in casting vision for the future, in training and discipling leaders, as well as demonstrate a strong commitment to prayer, and actively promote reaching out to the lost with the gospel. Though this position requires a self-starter with a strong work ethic, we desire our pastor to maintain a healthy balance of ministry and family life.

Our Church:

We are a multi-generational congregation with a weekly attendance of about 200. In addition to our weekly worship services, we have many active ministry teams including women’s ministry, Sunday School and youth. Our church family is involved in community support, as well as local and global missions. Effective ministry to the many young families who attend our church is a high priority for us. We have a heart for truth and strive to be a gospel-centred church that shares Christ’s transforming power with those around us. HLEC is also a part of the Evangelical Free Church of Canada and our mission is We love because He first loved us. Worshiping, caring, teaching, reaching, serving - Christ in All.

Our Town:

The Town of High Level, often referred to as “The Hub of The North”, is located 3 hours north of Peace River, 4.5 hours from Grande Prairie, and 8 hours from both Edmonton and Yellowknife. It is a community of approximately 3000 people that serves a trading area of about 20,000. There are multiple school options including a private Christian school. We are blessed to enjoy local recreation such as golf, an indoor pool, parks and a splash-park, basketball and tennis courts, baseball fields, indoor and outdoor ice-rinks, and local markets and events. There are many opportunities to get involved in the local community in addition to enjoying God’s great outdoors with camping, hunting and fishing, and nearby trails for snowmobiling and cross-country skiing. Life here is all about the people and building relationships.

If you think your gifts and abilities are a good match for our church’s needs, then please let us know by sending us your resume to info@hlec.org. Please note that only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.

Thank you for your interest.

OVERALL RESPONSIBILITY

The Lead Pastor, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit and the board, will lead the membership to a closer and deeper relationship with God. He will do this through ensuring solid Bible-based teaching and preaching that has application at all levels of maturity. The Lead Pastor will also lead the church by demonstrating the love of God through his own servant leadership and shepherd care for those around him. He will assist the board in casting vision for the future, in training and discipling leaders, demonstrating a strong commitment to prayer, and actively promoting reaching out to the lost with the gospel.

Responsibilities

Responsibilities to the board (20%)

• Attend board meetings and contribute in a non-voting, advisory capacity.
• Participate with the board in the development of the ministry plan.
• Carry out the decisions of the board.
• Regularly report to the board concerning his responsibilities.

Oversee the preaching and teaching ministry of the church. (60%)

• Preaches on Sunday morning as scheduled
• Prepares the preaching schedule of staff, church members and missionaries.
• Teaches Bible studies, Sunday school or other classes as needed.
• Oversees the baptismal and membership process.
• Oversees the observance of communion.

Member Care (20%)

• Prays regularly for the people and the ministry of HLEC (Acts 6:4; 1 Tim 2:1.)
• Available for pastoral counseling as needs arise and abilities permit.
• Oversees premarital counseling.
• Oversees weddings and funerals.
• Spiritually exhorts and renders Biblical guidance to church members and addresses wayward and non-resident members.

Personal Development and Care

• Takes adequate time each week to study Scripture, books, periodicals etc. which keep him informed on matters of ministry and which provides care for his own soul.
• Attends a college/seminary course, retreat, seminar or conference yearly for ministry development or for personal spiritual refreshment. This is encouraged yearly and is mandatory every two years.
• The Lead Pastor is to take two days off a week.

Accountability

• The Lead Pastor is directly accountable to the board and takes ministry direction from the board.
• The Lead Pastor oversees any other Pastoral Staff
• An annual evaluation will be conducted by the board of the Lead Pastor’s effectiveness in his responsibilities.
• High Level Evangelical Church – Profile
• Evangelical Free Church of Canada: Alberta Parkland District
• High Level Evangelical Church is a young congregation, the majority of which are under the age of fifty. We have a weekly attendance of around 200. Ministry to families is a high priority. 

History

High Level Evangelical Church was planted in the late 1970’s by the La Crete Bergthaler Church to minister to Mennonites who had moved to High Level. Initially they met in a home. In 1982 they built their first building. Growth caused the church to relocate several times. Today a large building with seating capacity over 400 is located on five acres just east of town.

While started by the Bergthaler Mennonite Conference in 1977, the church withdrew from the Conference in 2003. The departure was handled well and we left in peace. It operated for six years as an independent church, joining the Evangelical Free Church of Canada (Alberta Parkland District) in 2009. While the church still enjoys its Mennonite foundations, today the congregation represents a much wider group of people.

The last number of years has been a period of transition and we are looking forward to the next chapter that God has in store for us.

The Community

High Level, while fairly remote, attracts a young population. Most of the 3,000+ residents are under the age of 55, so there are many young families. Farming, the lumber industry and trades employ many residents. Surrounding the town are many First Nation Reserves. The church supports a number of persons and organizations that minister to local First Nations communities.

While HLEC has a well-known presence in the community, evangelism and outreach are not strengths. Finding a way to connect with First Nations and multiple ethnic groups would benefit the church in fulfilling its responsibility to the Great Commission.

Mission Statement

We love because He first loved us. Worshiping, caring, teaching, reaching, serving - Christ in All.

"We proclaim him (Jesus), admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ".    Colossians 1:28

Because God loves us so much, it is the purpose of High Level Evangelical Church to love and worship Him, to care for one another, to bring every person to maturity in Christ, and to reach out to the world.

We will WORSHIP God for who He is and what He has done —

• Through exalting His Son, Jesus Christ, our Saviour, both individually and together.
• Through recognizing the priority of preaching and teaching the Word.
• Through praising God in music and in prayer.
• Through offering all we are and all we have to Him.

We will CARE for one another —

• Through sharing each other's joys and burdens.
• Through sacrificially serving one another.
• Through recognizing, developing and using our spiritual gifts.
• Through exercising redemptive discipline.

We will DISCIPLE believers to become holy, Spirit-filled men and women —

• Through teaching them to obey God's Word.
• Through making disciples, baptizing and bringing people to maturity in Christ's body, the Church.

We will REACH OUT to our community, nation, and world —

• Through declaring the gospel both in deed and in word.
• Through equipping all members to serve in their sphere of life.
• Through praying for, sending, giving, and going to the unreached peoples of the world.

This we will do to the glory of God, through the grace of Jesus Christ, and by the empowering of the Holy Spirit.

Statement of Faith

The Evangelical Free Church of Canada is an association of autonomous churches united in a common commitment to God’s evangel—the gospel of Jesus Christ, who died and rose again to give us eternal life. To God’s glory, the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. Our essential theological convictions are vitally connected to this gospel.

God’s gospel originates in and expresses the wondrous perfections of the eternal, triune God.

We believe in one God, Creator of all things, holy, infinitely perfect, and eternally existing in a loving unity of three equally divine Persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Having limitless knowledge and sovereign power, God has graciously purposed from eternity to redeem a people for Himself and to make all things new for His own glory.

God’s gospel is authoritatively revealed in the Scriptures.

We believe that God has spoken in the Scriptures, both Old and New Testaments, through the words of human authors. As the verbally inspired Word of God, the Bible is without error in the original writings, the complete revelation of His will for salvation, and the ultimate authority by which every realm of human knowledge and endeavour should be judged. Therefore, it is to be believed in all that it teaches, obeyed in all that it requires, and trusted in all that it promises.

God’s gospel alone addresses our deepest need.

We believe that God created Adam and Eve in His image, but they sinned when tempted by Satan. In union with Adam, human beings are sinners by nature and by choice, alienated from God, and under His wrath. Only through God’s saving work in Jesus Christ can we be rescued, reconciled and renewed.

God’s gospel is made known supremely in the Person of Jesus Christ.

We believe that Jesus Christ is God incarnate, fully God and fully man, one Person in two natures. Jesus—Israel’s promised Messiah—was conceived through the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. He lived a sinless life, was crucified under Pontius Pilate, arose bodily from the dead, ascended into heaven and sits at the right hand of God the Father as our High Priest and Advocate.

God’s gospel is accomplished through the work of Christ.

We believe that Jesus Christ, as our representative and substitute, shed His blood on the cross as the perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for our sins. His atoning death and victorious resurrection constitute the only ground for salvation.

God’s gospel is applied by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We believe that the Holy Spirit, in all that He does, glorifies the Lord Jesus Christ. He convicts the world of its guilt. He regenerates sinners, and in Him they are baptized into union with Christ and adopted as heirs in the family of God. He also indwells, illuminates, guides, equips and empowers believers for Christ-like living and service.

God’s gospel is now embodied in the new community called the church.

We believe that the true church comprises all who have been justified by God’s grace through faith alone in Christ alone. They are united by the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ, of which He is the Head. The true church is manifest in local churches, whose membership should be composed only of believers. The Lord Jesus mandated two ordinances, baptism and the Lord’s Supper, which visibly and tangibly express the gospel. Though they are not the means of salvation, when celebrated by the church in genuine faith, these ordinances confirm and nourish the believer.

God’s gospel compels us to Christ-like living and witness to the world.

We believe that God’s justifying grace must not be separated from His sanctifying power and purpose. God commands us to love Him supremely and others sacrificially, and to live out our faith with care for one another, compassion toward the poor and justice for the oppressed. With God’s Word, the Spirit’s power, and fervent prayer in Christ’s name, we are to combat the spiritual forces of evil. In obedience to Christ’s commission, we are to make disciples among all people, always bearing witness to the gospel in word and deed.

God’s gospel will be brought to fulfillment by the Lord Himself at the end of this age.

We believe in the personal, bodily and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ with His holy angels when He will bring His kingdom to fulfillment and exercise His role as Judge of all. This coming of Christ, at a time known only to God, demands constant expectancy and, as our blessed hope, motivates the believer to godly living, sacrificial service and energetic mission.

God’s gospel requires a response that has eternal consequences.

We believe that God commands everyone everywhere to believe the gospel by turning to Him in repentance and receiving the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe that God will raise the dead bodily and judge the world, assigning the unbeliever to condemnation and eternal conscious punishment and the believer to eternal blessedness and joy with the Lord in the new heaven and the new earth, to the praise of His glorious grace. Amen.