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The Church 

Bear Creek Community Church is a dynamic and exciting nondenominational church that is committed to reaching people with the life-changing story of Jesus Christ. Bear Creek Community Church was founded in 1989 at Delta Sierra Middle School, by Pastor Bill and Dotti Cummins, for people who were “turned off to religion but not to God.”

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In 1992, Bear Creek was in need of more room, and we expanded to Bear Creek High School. Over the next few years, God continued to bless Bear Creek and the need for more space became very apparent. Through much prayer and seeking God’s guidance for His growing church, God provided prime real estate between Lodi and Stockton. The leadership at Bear Creek feels that God has intentionally led us to make our home on this 10 acres of prime real estate between Lodi and Stockton, so we could reach people from both communities.

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In 1999 our current campus on N. Lower Sacramento Road was launched in the “Tent”. Fast forward to 2019, twenty years after the launch of the campus, Pastor Bill officially “passed the baton” of Senior Pastor to Pastor Paul Earwood following a three-year intentional transition.

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Over the years, the locations have changed but our mission has not. We are still as passionate as ever about reaching our community and beyond with the practical love of Jesus. Our commitment remains centered with a focus on prayer, His presence, and caring for people.

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Bear Creek continues to strive to be an authentic community where people can experience God, be encouraged in their spiritual journey and empowered for service. The reach of Bear Creek is felt in the community and beyond as more people are connected to Jesus and each other.

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Ultimately, Bear Creek knows that “church” isn’t really about a building, location, or leader. The story of who we are as a church is always growing, ever evolving and we’d love for you to be part of it.

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Our Mission (Why do we exist?):

AS STATED BY BEAR CREEK COMMUNITY CHURCH

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Bear Creek Community Church exists to LOVE God, LIVE for God, and LEAD people to God through Jesus.

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Our Vision (Where are we going?):

Reach, Re-Engage, Restore: Bear Creek Community Church will effectively fulfill missions by REACHING families, RE-ENGAGING families, and RESTORING families.

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Our Message (What do we regularly say?):

We are a Bible believing church
We love you enough to tell you the truth
It’s okay to not be okay, but it’s not okay to stay that way.

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Our Strategy (How do we accomplish the mission?):

Weekly Bible Teaching
Weekly Prayer
Weekly Community
Regular Outreach
Annual Gatherings for MEN, WOMEN, and NEXT GEN

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THE LEADERSHIP

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Our Leadership Structure (Who is on the team?):

Senior Leadership Team: Helps the Senior Pastor with future goals and planning

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Board of Elders: Provide spiritual guidance, and discernment. Responsible for ensuring that the church remains on a true course biblically, that its members are being appropriately shepherded, that the body is being fed through insightful and accurate biblical teaching.

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Board of Directors: Provide counsel to the Pastor(s) in maintaining the effective and efficient operation of the Church. Prepares and oversees the budget, manages the membership roll.

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Staff-Directors & Coordinators: Lead the day-to-day ministries of the church Volunteers: Help to serve within the ministries of the church

            

THE HEART

What We Believe

God is the Creator and Ruler of the universe. He has eternally existed in three personalities: The Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. These three are co-equal and are one God.

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Jesus Christ is the Son of God. He is co-equal with the Father. Jesus was conceived by God the Father through the Virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus lived a sinless life and offered Himself as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all people by dying on a cross. He arose from the dead after three days to demonstrate His power over sin and death and to reconcile us to the Father. He ascended to Heaven's glory and will return again someday to earth to reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

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The Bible is God's Word to us. It was written by human authors, under the supernatural guidance of the Holy Spirit. It is the supreme source of truth for Christian beliefs and living. Because it is inspired by God, it is the truth without any mixture of error.

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People are made in the spiritual image of God, to be like Him in character.

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People are the supreme object of God's creation. Although every person had tremendous potential for good, all of us are marred by an attitude of disobedience towards God called "sin". This attitude separated people from God and causes many problems in life.

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Salvation by Grace is God's free gift to us, but we must accept it. We can never make up for our sin by self- improvement or good works. Only by trusting in the bloodshed of Jesus Christ, as God's offer of forgiveness, can anyone be saved from sin's penalty of eternal separation from God. When we turn from our self-ruled life and turn to Jesus, we are saved by faith through the grace of God. Eternal life begins the moment one receives Jesus Christ into his life by faith.

Eternity is for everyone. People were created to exist forever. We will either exist eternally separated from God by sin, or eternally with God through forgiveness and salvation. To be eternally separated from God is Hell. To be eternally in union with God is life in Heaven. Heaven and Hell are real places of eternal existence.

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The Church is the Body of Christ, the dwelling place of God through His Holy Spirit. Every person who is born again by the Spirit is an integral part of the church as a member of the Body of believers. The Church is commissioned to carry the Gospel into the world. There is a spiritual unity of all believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Jesus Christ will physically and visibly return to earth for the second time to establish His Kingdom. This will occur on a date undisclosed by the Scriptures.

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COMMUNITY

Bear Creek Church is strategically and centrally located between the cities of Lodi and Stockton, California. There is a four mile wide agricultural buffer that separates the two communities and the church is located in that area.

Lodi is a smaller town of 68,000+ residents. Lodi is home to several large businesses including Sutter Home Winery, Constellation Wines, Blue Shield of California, Archer Daniels Midland and the birthplace of A&W Root Beer and A&W Restaurants established in 1919. In recent years, Lodi has become a world class wine center. There are 14 downtown wine tasting rooms and 85+ wineries in the community. The Mokelumne River is the northern boundary of the city and supplies the picturesque Lodi Lake. The charming downtown area is the home of numerous restaurants and shops, a 12 screen cinema and many tree lined streets.

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Stockton is the 11th largest city in California (out of 482) with a population of 320,000+. A city rich in culture, creativity and diversity. Stockton is home to the oldest California University, the University of the Pacific, established in 1851, and the largest inland seaport in California. It is also the home of a minor league baseball team, the Stockton Ports and a minor league hockey team, the Stockton Heat. There are numerous marinas throughout the community that provide boating and fishing access all the way to San Francisco Bay and the Pacific Ocean.

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Both Stockton and Lodi border the eastern edge of the Delta Waterway system. The Delta is an area consisting of 57 islands and tracts surrounded by 700 miles of levee waterways. There are 7 golf courses in the immediate area. Stockton is conveniently located 100 miles from Lake Tahoe, 95 miles from Yosemite and 80 miles from San Francisco. Sacramento International airport is a 45 minute drive.

  

CANDIDATE

POSITION OVERVIEW

The following describes many of the characteristics of the ideal candidate for the Executive (Director or Pastor):

We are looking for a person to come alongside our Senior Pastor who has the ability to take the vision of Bear Creek and break it down into the details so that we can continue to run towards the mission to glorify God by believing in Jesus and obeying His Word.

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The Key Word for this position is “Implementation”. We are looking for a person who has an eye for the vision, and can understand the big picture, but whose heart is in the details of how to get the job done. If the Senior Pastor sees step 1 and step 100, the Executive (Director or Pastor) should possess the ability to fill in steps 2 thru 99. In short, we are looking for a person with a servant's heart who can get things done.

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The Executive (Director or Pastor) will work in harmony with the Senior Pastor, in a complementary fashion. The Executive (Director or Pastor) will be the primary support person for the Senior Pastor and will work to carry out the church mission by having a firm grasp on the purpose, values and strategy working to equip key leaders to carry out the Bear Creek mission. They will accomplish the expectations of this role by developing robust systems of relational & spiritual trust amongst all staff, financial health for the entirety of the church, project management for large and small projects, and continued innovation of already established systems to ensure the church is vibrant, growing, and healthy.

   

EXPERIENCE

EDUCATION

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field

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We seek someone with at least 5-10 years’ experience leading a staff team in building and growing a church. Significant experience in developing and successfully implementing a leadership development model is preferred.

The successful candidate will have a strong background in operations, finance and strategy, with a heart for ministry. A humble leader who will develop and equip the staff to carry out the vision.

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They must be relationally minded with the skills and ability to embrace and promote innovation through collaboration. Strong interpersonal communication, ability to listen empathically, articulate clearly, and initiate communication appropriately. Must be able to communicate persuasively and compassionately both orally and in writing.

In addition, the individual will show an ability to connect across generations, possess the ability to lead positively and graciously in conflict management and proven fiscal responsibility. Must be competent in the review of budget reports and be able to spot and correct errors in reporting, with the flexibility to take on new tasks and to deal with a multiplicity of personalities.

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The right candidate will have strong biblical character and theological foundation for wise management in a church setting and be able to establish and maintain appropriate standards for the accomplishment of ministry in a way that honors both God and people. Competency with computer hardware and software, including GSuite, Excel, project and church management programs (Planning Center, Asana, Monday, etc.) is a must. Experience in a medium to large church setting along with any corporate and supervisory experience in a multi-staff setting is preferred.

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CHARACTERISTICS

Leader: Models servant leadership, empowers and positions others for growth and wins, and actively builds a culture of Leadership Development. Initiates and effects meaningful change. Participates in generating and accelerating organizational momentum leading to excellent performance. Identifies, develops and empowers leaders and fosters a culture of leadership development. Models servant leadership and collaboration in decision making.

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Strategist: Clearly defines the “end goal” and establishes short and long term strategies that will actualize that end goal. Demonstrates big picture thinking and can clearly articulate the vision and mission of an organization/ministry. Clearly and accurately identifies the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in his/her organization/ministry. Works with the end result in mind, drives for excellence and continually evaluates progress.

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Developer: Demonstrates a passion for strategic leadership development. Enjoys leading spiritual formation opportunities (1 on 1 meetings with other staff and leaders, performance management, evaluations and reviews, volunteer recruitment and development, etc.) History of leading staff and/or leaders in selection and alignment to effectively accomplish the goals and purposes of the church.

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SKILLS

• Strong Collaborator Developer of People Structure Implementor Ministry-Minded

• Content in the Second Chair

• Administratively gifted

• Strong interpersonal skills

• Long-term thinker

• Attention to detail

• Solution-oriented

• Organization and project management.

           

RESPONSIBILITIES

Bring Cohesion to the Strategy & Vision

We are looking for an Executive (Director or Pastor) who will take the vision and apply it to the boots on the ground ministry of the church. The Executive (Director or Pastor) will be responsible for:

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• Maintaining cohesion between various ministries, so that they do not become “silos” that develop a life or culture of their own, apart from the vision of the church

• Ensure that as the vision continues to develop, it is implemented well through events, programs, discipleship, and life groups.

• Write out processes for new and existing initiatives that can then be assigned to others, or carried out more effectively.

• Creates and implements the strategy and goals of the church, strengthening culture, and improving communication.

• Develop & Lead

 

The Executive (Director or Pastor) will work with the Senior Pastor in managing staff, specifically by translating the broad vision and strategy (developed by the Senior Pastor) into executable action plans for the staff.

Work with paid and volunteer staff to formulate measurable goals for their ministry that are in line with the vision and strategy of the church. Follow-up to ensure these goals are met.

Work with the Senior Pastor to write job descriptions for additional staff, perform staff reviews, etc.

     

Oversee Operations

The Executive (Director or Pastor) should have a working knowledge of organizational operations, including best practices for human resources and financial management.

• Work with the Board of Directors and Financial Committee directly to set budget priorities and ensure wise stewardship.

• Manage special events and projects as they come up by setting timelines and expectations and ensuring excellent and timely execution.

• Work with the Operations Team to manage the church’s property.

• Consistently evaluate systems and structures, asking questions like: “How are we raising up new leaders?” or “What are the strengths and weaknesses of our membership process?”

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The Director does not need to personally lead or manage each of these processes, but should be able to identify them and assist other leaders in formulating a better plan.

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APPLY HERE