Overview
Objective:
Located within a Northwestern Ohio rural lakeside community, Celina Church of the Nazarene is searching for pastoral candidates feeling called to serve as a senior leader/lead pastor/missionary presence within a small/midsized, lakeside/rural community environment. All interested candidates please email Andy Monnin, District Superintendent for the Northwestern Ohio District Church of the Nazarene at andy.monnin@nwoteam.church.
Understanding the Context:
Celina, Ohio, has all the charm of a lakeside community and the close-knit relationships of a midwestern rural community. Celina is located in Mercer County, in the northwestern part of the state. Situated along the shores of Grand Lake St. Marys, one of Ohio’s largest man-made lakes, the lake is a central part of the city’s identity, attracting visitors for boating, fishing, and other recreational activities.
Celina serves as the county seat of Mercer County and has a population of around 10,000 residents (with easy accessibility from surrounding communities of 10,000+). The city’s economy is largely supported by manufacturing, with prominent companies like Crown Equipment Corporation, which produces forklifts, playing a significant role. Agriculture also remains a key part of the region, with the surrounding countryside dominated by farmland.
In addition to its economic activities, Celina is known for its community events, such as the annual Lake Festival, which celebrates the city’s connection to Grand Lake St. Marys. This event features boat races, parades, and fireworks, drawing residents and visitors alike. The city is also home to a range of parks and recreational facilities, as well as local schools within the Celina City School District.
Celina combines small-town charm with a strong sense of community and connection to its natural surroundings, making it a notable hub in western Ohio.
Living in the Celina area requires leaders/pastors who can embrace a close-knit, relational mindset, but in an increasingly post-Christian and formerly Catholic faith environment. Pastoring a community means stepping in with a missionary mindset. It requires high relational capacity, generosity, hospitality, and keen capacity for contextual theology. One must be able to articulate the Gospel in a contextualized way, cognizant of cultural barriers and contextual resistance.
The Church:
Celina Church of the Nazarene is eager and open for vibrant church renewal. They are a strong church with a regular attendance of 80+ that has been pastored well in the recent decade. They had just entered into a process of revitalization when the pastor decided to retire to provide care and support for family. The process has been suspended in pursuit of the next leader, but the eagerness remains. They long to reach those disconnected from the hope of Jesus and make a significant impact in their community. In recent years, they’ve launched an Alpha Course that has the support of the entire congregation. There is a hunger and anticipation from the leadership team and a congregation open to being led into greater missional connections in their community.
With a great building and great location (located next door to community parks and across the street from a growing local neighborhood with many young families), they’ve cared for the facilities well. There is little to no deferred maintenance on the building. They have very little debt and a strong core of financial support.
They are a warm, hospitable, faithful congregation. Their members come predominantly from Celina and the immediate surrounding smaller communities. They understand that the church will grow and become missionally effective as it seeks to reach the local neighborhoods.
They are eager for a leader that will build on its rich history with a fresh vision for community impact and longing to reach those disconnected from Jesus. With great potential to be a catalytic church in the Northwestern side of Ohio, impacting communities up and down highway 127, the church continually confesses the need to change, adapt, be stretched, and reach young families, teens, and young adults throughout Celina.
The Call:
Celina Church of the Nazarene is seeking a pastor whose passion for the rural environment is matched with a passion for the least, the last, and the lost, a true missionary mindset, a willingness to lead the church into new territory, a shepherding heart, and the patience and longevity to settle in and call this Ohio community home. Celina Church of the Nazarene is looking for a leader that has capacity to help them discern their unique mission and vision for this next season of ministry and the ability to develop and deploy a fresh expression of the church to the broader community. This leader should be:
– An ordained elder in the Church of the Nazarene or seeking ordination.
– Committed to support the broader mission of the Northwestern Ohio District to develop a network of interdependent, healthy, multiplying congregations.
– Culturally humble, recognizing that ministry in rural environments requires a learner’s heart and trust is given slowly and earned over time.
– Generous, hospitable, and socially engaged with people disconnected from the hope, message, and story of Jesus.
– Thrive in interconnected settings where culturally things move at a measured pace.
– Be a starter. This leader operates from an “opportunity mindset” rather than a “scarcity mindset.” They must have the capacity to see what could be.
– Faithful and diligent with financial stewardship.
– Committed to architecting a culture of discipleship and leadership development, multiplying the number of people committed to the mission of Jesus.
Again, if interested, please contact Andy Monnin at andy.monnin@nwoteam.church
Church Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CelinaNaz
