About Coast Community Church of the Nazarene
Coast Community Church of the Nazarene - www.sbnaz.com
Coast Community Church of the Nazarene (CCCN) is located in the foothills of southern Santa Barbara County; a region known for spectacular beaches, natural beauty, and near-perfect weather. The South Coast has a population of 206,000 people in three primary cities (Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria). Alongside the extensive hospitality, dining and retail industry of a renowned tourist destination, major industries include higher education, high tech and healthcare.
CCCN was founded in 1960 as part of the Los Angeles District of the Church of the Nazarene. We are a small (110 active attendees/~75 weekly), loving, intergenerational community that walks together and leans on each other through the joys, challenges and sorrows of life. Our congregation is marked by deep involvement as all areas of ministry (children, worship, hospitality, facilities, setup, etc) are sustained by volunteers working under the coordination of our pastor with historically very few, if any, paid staff.
In the last two years, we have been blessed to have several young families come alongside the long-time core of our church. As our community’s high cost of living make it challenging for families to stay here and churches to thrive, we are grateful for the vibrancy of our fellowship.
Strengths:
Coast Community strives to honor God, love one another and extend His care to our community. While we value our simple facility, we prioritize the people and ministry that takes place therein.
We treasure our fellowship and harmony. We are kind to each other, take an interest in each other and actively involve ourselves in the lives and families of others. This is most profound in seasons of struggle: most congregants who have experienced loss, crisis or tragedy would speak of our church coming alongside them; providing presence, practical service and loving care.
We use our gifts in service of the church. We are engaged and committed to coming alongside our few paid staff. Any ministry and function of church life (Worship, Youth Ministry, Children’s Ministry, Small groups, Hospitality, Facilities and Administration) happens only through individuals stepping forward in volunteer service to each other.
While we strive to do all things well, we are most grateful for the vibrancy of our Worship, Youth and Children’s ministries. Again, these are driven by volunteers and we are blessed to have a large number of musicians, teachers and individuals with hearts to serve young people in our community.
PASTORAL PROFILE:
As we are seeking our next pastor, our congregation is praying for someone gifted in the following areas:
Preaching/Communication: We desire a passionate teacher who loves the word of God, is thoughtful in its application to life in our context, and effective in teaching it across generations, cultures and people at all levels of understanding and maturity in our congregation.
People Skills: We desire someone who loves people and pursues authentic relationships with them. Our ideal pastor would be a central hub in the dear fellowship we enjoy: welcoming people, connecting with them, and weaving them into the fabric of the church. We desire someone who can encourage, challenge, explain and model as would be required of a conscientious leader.
Leadership: We desire our pastor to be someone who seeks God passionately in their own life and seeks His direction for our congregation. We desire someone who embraces our history while seeking and communicating vision for where He might be taking us. We hope for someone who would empower and support lay leaders and competently administrate both new initiatives and the ongoing ministries of the church.
Community Engagement & Involvement: We desire a pastor eager to learn about life in Santa Barbara and become a fully engaged resident in it. As we strive to follow Jesus in this unique community and extends God’s love within it, we desire our pastor and family to be alongside us in this.
Shepherd/Visiting: We desire a pastor who is present and living life with us. We desire our pastor’s family to participate and model healthy relationships that spur each other on in obedience, provide comfort during struggles, challenge us when we need it and celebrate during seasons of joy.
POTENTIAL CANDIDATE PROCESS:
We welcome any qualified Nazarene minister interested in this role to submit the following:
A 1-2 page cover letter of introduction and briefly articulating interest/sense of calling to investigate this role.
Resume (including 3 references1)
Links to 2 recent preaching videos.
Please e-mail submissions to Dr. Mark Lehman, LA District Superintendent, (mark@ladistnaz.org) by November 22, 2024.
1 We do not plan on contacting references in the initial stages of the process and will let candidates know before doing so.
