Position Title: Lead Pastor
Desired Start Date: Spring 2025
Type: Permanent, Full Time Salaried
Compensation: Commensurate with experience and education.
Reports to: Elders, Members
WestVillage Church is an 8-year-old church in the heart of the Westboro neighbourhood in
Ottawa, Ontario. Westboro is a location with few evangelical churches which is also a trendy,
growing, family-oriented, and affluent community—although Ottawa Community Housing and the
Westboro Region Food Bank also serve the area.
Originally a church plant by the Metropolitan Bible Church, WestVillage began to hold regular
weekly services in January 2016. Through gospel-centred preaching and a heart for reaching the
community, WestVillage has grown into a vibrant and dynamic community of believers. Our
multi-generational, multicultural church has an average attendance of about 150 people with
one-third (50) being children who come together from various parts of Ottawa and the surrounding
region (including those from nearby Quebec).
Over the past year, WestVillage has undertaken a visioning process to seek God’s guidance
and direction, including involving the broader church leadership and congregation. This has led to the
following new purpose and vision statements:
Purpose Statement: We exist to make disciples who love God, love their neighbour, and make
disciples.
Vision Statement: Together, we will reach up, reach in and reach out.
To be an authentic church community radically transformed by Christ, filled
with passion and purpose for the Gospel. Together, we reach out to share the
Good News and care for our neighbours near and far, especially those who are
hurting and in need.
God has continually blessed us with many new faces, faithful leadership, and deeper
relationships. We continue to experience God's faithfulness and steadfast love through those He has
called to WestVillage as we continue to serve Him and share His Good News.
Our Sunday morning services are focused on gospel-centred preaching from our Interim Lead
Pastor; Youth and Young Adults Pastor and other preachers. Elders, other ministry leaders and
volunteers including children also participate in the service in various ways, such as in scripture
readings or by leading congregational prayer.
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Music is also essential at WestVillage. We have a Worship and Media Lead who coordinates
in-person worship gatherings, manages the online content, and leads the musical elements and the
many talented musicians and artists who seek to glorify God with their gifts.
We are blessed with a vibrant children’s ministry of over 50 kids, overseen by our Children’s
Ministry Lead. This ministry offers Sunday School, Monday playgroups, regular weekend events,
and backyard clubs in the summer. Since half our church is young families, these activities play an
important role in their connection and formation.
Regarding one-on-one discipleship, we have many members committed to small community
groups called C-groups, which gather regularly to study the Bible, pray together, and serve their
neighbourhood. There is a women's bible study group, and a monthly prayer gathering at the church
office for all who wish to come. We also have an active young adult ministry and a fledgling youth
ministry led by our Youth and Young Adult Pastor.
Finally, as a church that loves our community, we partner with Ottawa Community Housing
(by providing meals for low-income seniors), the Westboro Region Food Bank, and other new church
plants around Ottawa. We also have many in our community with various special needs and have
engaged in special volunteer training to support these individuals and their families to be full
participants in the WVC body. We are blessed with many hands willing to work, as seen in our over
80 volunteers serving in various roles in our church and through our ministries in the community!
REQUIREMENTS
Are you a humble man of prayer who is longing to know Jesus more and to make Him known? We
seek someone who loves the church,lives out his faith with integrity, has a passion for teaching
and serving, and brings unity and purpose to God's people. We are seeking a Lead Pastor with the
following characteristics:
1. Spiritual maturity
1.1. You are a mature disciple of Jesus with love for His church and its’ mission (Matt
28:19-20; Mark 16:15; Acts 1:8; Matt 22;37-40; 1 John 4:21; Mark 12:30) and, as such,
you exemplify the fruit of the Spirit in your private and public conduct (Gal 5:22).
1.2. You meet the requirements for an Elder or Overseer as outlined in 1 Tim 3:1-7, Titus
1:5-9 and 1 Peter 5:1-11. As an Elder-led congregation, all Elders and Pastors (whether
paid or volunteer) are expected to emulate the Chief Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
1.3. You model a godly life by prioritising family and putting into place guardrails to protect
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against the spiritual, mental, physical, financial, and social demands that may be placed
on them. You encourage others (staff, volunteers, etc.) to develop a trust in God that is
reflected in their routine lives as they served God in His church and the world (e.g.
encouraging the concept of rest and sabbath).
2. Biblical preaching and teaching
2.1. You have experience effectively preaching Biblical truth in an engaging, compelling,
expository manner. This includes regularly leading the preaching for a congregation
and/or other significant teaching experience. You teach others to cultivate their
personal pursuit of God’s truth and apply biblical truths in a way that is easily learned
and utilised in thought, word and deed. You share the Good News in a way that
challenges cultural norms in light of the Gospel.
2.2. You prioritise the ministry of the Word and prayer in your personal life as well as during
Sunday Services, staff meetings, and other contexts where the church is gathered. (e.g.
Acts 6:1–7; 2 Tim. 2:1–2; 4:1–5; Titus 1:9; 2:1, 15; Heb. 13:7).
3. Visionary leadership
3.1. You have a heart and a passion for the local church and sharing the gospel locally and
globally, especially to those in need. You have a gospel-oriented Kingdom mindset with
a godly sense of urgency that prioritises the great commandment and the great
commission (Mat. 6:33; Romans 14:17; Col. 1:13-14; 1 Cor 4:20; Hebrews 12:28-29).
You desire for the local church to grow spiritually and reach out with the gospel through
evangelism and sacrificial service.
3.2. You have experience working with others to develop and implement strategic direction
for a church or other ministries in line with God’s vision for the local church. Through
prayer and meditation on God’s Word, you can identify and prioritise key objectives
that are most important for realising the vision.
3.3. You can navigate change with wisdom and seek to consistently exhibit a positive
attitude rooted in confidence in God’s faithfulness, even in the midst of uncertainty. You
utilise insights from your previous ministry experience and are attentive to seek God
work through the changes he brings to new and existing ministries;
3.4. You collaborate well with others and gain buy-in from staff, volunteers, members, and
the broader congregation. You effectively delegate tasks and responsibilities.
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4. Discipleship
4.1. You have a strong desire to lead the church in seeking the lost and making disciples,
which includes equipping them to grow in Christlikeness.
4.2. You are relationally oriented and able to come alongside others, inspiring, encouraging
and motivating them to accomplish a common goal. You have a strong passion for
discipleship and encouraging the personal spiritual growth of others. This includes
successfully leading, implementing and/or administering programs and or processes to
support discipleship within the church.
4.3. You are welcoming, approachable and empathise with a wide range of people with
different needs, backgrounds and perspectives. You also have a heart for reaching out
to and supporting persons inside and outside of the church who are hurting and in
need. At WVC, this means having a heart for a diverse multi-ethnic church and coming
alongside to support and celebrate those with special needs (neurodiverse, physical
needs, seniors, etc.).
5. Education and doctrinal requirements:
5.1. You agree with and are willing to sign the Statement of Faith for the Associated Gospel
Churches (AGC) of Canada and related policies;
5.2. You must be credentialed by the Associated Gospel Churches or be able to be
credentialed by them. Visit AGC of Canada for more information;
5.3. You have completed a Masters of Divinity or Masters of Theology, or equivalent, and
have a minimum of seven (7) years of pastoral ministry experience.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Our next Lead Pastor will have the following responsibilities:
1. Preaching, Teaching and Doctrine
The lead pastor is responsible for regular preaching and teaching during Sunday morning
services. This is your primary responsibility and the primary task of the church: to preach and
teach the Word of God as written in the Old and New Testaments; call the congregation to
personal faith in Jesus Christ, to repentance, spiritual growth, service and evangelism through
biblically grounded, expository preaching and teaching.
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1.1. You will develop and plan series content for the ministry year ahead, and it is expected
that you will preach approximately 3 out of every 4 Sundays, including the
administration of the ordinances of baptism and the Lord’s supper;
1.2. Where appropriate, you will support other speakers in the development of sermon
material etc. (e.g. interns, Youth and Young Adults Pastor, fellow Elders, etc.);
1.3. As opportunities arise, and as time permits, you may also be requested to teach outside
of a Sunday service;
1.4. Together with the Elders, you will work to develop other teachers and preachers in the
WVC family and equip them to share God’s truth in winsome ways that flows out of a
life of personal transformation in Christ; and
1.5. Together with the Elders, you will equip disciples at WVC to develop a foundation of
good doctrine as they examine, understand and live out biblical truth that provides
answers to the challenges they face and reminds them of God’s promises.
2. Prayer
You will engage in regular personal prayer for the church and encourage a culture of prayer
throughout all contexts where the church is gathered. You will remind the church of answered
prayers, the Lord’s provision, and encourage individual prayer on the part of the congregation.
2.1. You will encourage the church to prayerfully pursue the breadth and depth of spiritual
riches available to them in Christ Jesus, according to God’s word (Col 1:9-12 , Phil
1:9-11, James 5:13-15).
2.2. You will teach others through your words and example how to incorporate prayer into
their personal and corporate decision-making process.
3. Discipleship
Mentor all staff and engage in discipleship relationships with others in the congregation,
particularly Ministry Leaders. Supervise and delegate staff in conjunction with fellow Elders.
Help build healthy discipleship programs and culture across WVC.
3.1. You will support integrating Sunday worship gathering elements with midweek small
groups and one-on-one discipleship opportunities in WVC.
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3.2. You will attend, participate in and strengthen weekly staff meetings, monthly Elders
meetings, and Ministry Leaders meetings.
3.3. You will also work with Ministry Team Leads and other volunteers to provide support
and encouragement, as well as discipleship and mentoring across the church body.
4. Visionary Leadership
In collaboration with the Elders and Ministry Leaders, you will lead in the development,
strengthening and implementation of various ministry plans for the church, including
discipleship, community outreach and global missions. WVC has a new purpose, vision and
motto statements that will serve as a foundation. WVC has also recently launched a new
membership process and is reviewing church bylaws and governance.
4.1. You will lead in developing and implementing a new mission statement for WVC that
will cover the next five to ten (5-10) years and aligns with the recently adopted purpose
and vision;
4.2. You will work with fellow Elders to oversee the refinement of the membership process
and revision of the church bylaws and governance as we transition the corporate
structure to include congregational members;
4.3. You will work with fellow Elders, Staff and Ministry Leaders to develop an integrated
plan for discipleship, community outreach and global missions.
5. Pastoral care and visitation
As opportunities arise, shepherding, caring for, and visiting with those in the congregation who
request it and would benefit from it.
Applicants are expected to live within, or be willing to move to, the Ottawa/Gatineau area.
Apply to: pastorsearch@westvillage.church
Application deadline: January 15, 2025