Associate Pastor Ministry Description: To assist and support the Lead Pastor of Prairie Flower Baptist Church (PFBC) with the overall leadership and administration of the church, advancing the church’s Mission and Vision “to be a strong church that makes disciples for the glory of God.” The Associate Pastor of PFBC will be the Lead Pastor’s Chief Advisor and Prayer Partner on all matters related to the church. The Associate Pastor will actively participate in the Teaching Ministry, Visitation Ministry, and Outreach Ministry of the church. Specifically, the Associate Pastor of PFBC will be given direct management and oversight of the Children’s Ministries, Youth Ministry, and Small Group Ministries of the church. This ministry, on average, will consist of 45-50 hours of work per week, with some weeks being far more with emergencies, funerals, etc. Also, as with any job or ministry, there will most certainly be other duties as assigned.

1. How passionate are you about this type of full-time pastoral ministry? Would you have any competing interests or conflicts of interest as you enter this type of ministry? “Since my sophomore year in college I have felt the continual call of God in my life. I have had multiple secular jobs that I excelled at, but even though I mainly enjoyed the work, I was never satisfied as I always found more joy and fulfillment in whatever ministry I was participating in. The struggle has been always wanting to represent Christ through my work at my secular employment while also trying to give my best to the church. Ultimately, I believe I need to be using my gifts in a full-time vocational ministry.”
2. How does your wife feel about you being in this type of full-time pastoral ministry? Is she excited about the possibility of moving to southeast Iowa? “My wife has always participated with me in most of the ministries I have performed. She has always been a huge source of encouragement and a great partner. I can confidently say she and I are excited to continue to walk down this road together.”
3. All pastoral ministry is Gospel ministry. Describe both your Gospel conversion and your calling into the Gospel ministry. “I grew up in a Christian home where we were regularly taught the Gospel. I accepted the Gospel at a very young age when my mother explained that my sin separated me from God and condemned me to an eternity in Hell. However, through the free gift of Christ because of His work on the cross, God offers forgiveness to all who repent and call on His name. I did that at age four and have been trusting Christ’s finished work on the cross ever since. The reason I believe that I am called into the Gospel ministry is that I recognize that God uses the faithfulness of believers to bring the Gospel to the lost. Because I am so thankful to have grown up in a setting where I could hear the Gospel, and that was the means that God used in my own conversion, I in turn want to be an instrument to further God’s work in the lives of believers and non-believers for the Gospel.”
4. Let’s talk church polity: What is the ideal relationship between pastors, deacons, and the congregation? “The pastors (both vocational and lay pastors) should be men of the highest quality. They should be men who embody the qualifications in 1 Timothy and Titus. These men should be the ones who provide the vision and primary leadership for the church, but their primary role is to care for the spiritual needs of the church. Deacons should also be men who meet the deacon qualifications laid out in 1 Timothy and Titus, but their role differs somewhat from that of the pastors/elders. The deacons should play an advisory role to the pastors as well as looking out for the physical needs of the flock. They should also be ‘shock absorbers’ in that they are promoting unity through their words and actions. The congregation should take an active role in searching the Scriptures to hold their leadership accountable to abide by biblical mandates. Everyone involved needs to humbly seek God’s will and be looking out for other’s interests and viewing others as more important than self. The pastors should never try to lord it over the flock or ram things down their throat that the congregation is not on board with. They should lovingly lead the flock not exercise dominion over them.”
5. What are your greatest strengths in ministry? Conversely, what are your greatest weaknesses in ministry? “I believe that my greatest strength in ministry is that I have a passion to see believers grow and become more sanctified. It is that passion that drives me to love and want to spend time with Christians. Because I often wonder what my life would be like if I didn’t know Christ, it makes me strive to push others around me to find joy and fulfillment in walking with Christ themselves. When it comes to my greatest weaknesses, I would say that I have the propensity to allow weariness to lead to procrastination with tasks that I am not passionate about.”
6. Describe the most painful moment of your entire life/ministry. What did you learn? How was God faithful? “We recently had a miscarriage. I love being a father and was looking forward to another child so much. I had to constantly remind myself (and still do) that none of my children, or future children ,or really anything I have for that matter truly belongs to me. Everything I have belongs to God and He has promised that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. I think for me, I have never struggled having faith in God’s omnipotence. I know God can do whatever He wants. I guess where my faith is demonstrated to be weak is trusting that even the things that don’t feel good, God allows it, and it really is good. I think coming to grips with this will be a continual lifelong process.”

CANDIDATION WEEKEND DETAILS

Saturday, Feb. 9, 2019

5:30 PM = Opening Remarks/Prayer/Food Fellowship

6:30 PM = Q & A Time: Text Questions to 850-776-5504

8:00 PM = Game Night: Family Feud!

9:00 PM = Final Remarks/Prayer/Dismissal

Sunday, Feb. 10, 2019

9:00 AM = Combined Sunday School: “Being a Doer of the Word”

9:45 AM = Prairie Time/Name Tag Sunday

10:15 AM = Morning Worship Service: “Mission, Vision, and Leadership” w/Mini Q & A to Follow…Sermons by Tim O’Tool Found at http://highpointealtoona.com/sermon-speaker/tim-otool/

12:00 PM = Growth Groups/Small Group Time