The Free Church of Lander, Wyoming is conducting a search for its next Senior Pastor. The Pastoral Search Team (PST), appointed by the church Elders, has been tasked with discovering, evaluating, and interviewing potential pastoral candidates in a prayerful effort to bring one qualified candidate before the Elders and then to the congregation for their vote. In seeking a candidate best suited to serve as the Free Church’s next Senior Pastor, the PST conducted a survey of members and regular attenders to assist us with the pastoral search and to help us plan future ministries. We value our strong relationship with the Evangelical Free Church of America while maintaining our autonomy as we tend to the needs of our congregation.
This opportunity profile offers an overview of our church as well as a description of our preferred pastoral candidate. This profile is a celebration of the work God has done in The Free Church as well as a call to our next Pastor with great hope for what God has planned for us serving together in Lander Wyoming.
Congregational Profile:
The Free Church’s Vision and Values:
Our mission: To reveal God and His glory through His Word.
Our Vision:
To glorify God and reach people as we love each other in unity as the family of God.
Our Values:
• Upholding the Word• Equipping the Saints• Building Strong Families & Relationships• Devoted to Prayer• Worshipping the Lord• Reaching the Lost• Committed to Unity - We highly Value Grace and Peace
History
The Evangelical Free Church of Lander was founded in 1981 under the leadership of Mike Williams with a group of about 30 people who met in private homes. A central motivation for the formation of a new church was a conviction to teach the entire Scripture as the inerrant Word of God. Over the past nearly four decades the church has grown with a current average attendance on Sunday morning of 175. We have a wonderful mix of seniors, young families, and singles that call the Free Church home.
Since our founding, God has used each of our five Senior Pastors to bring vision and guidance to our fellowship. Each, unique in character, have been men who know and love God’s Word. They have focused on equipping us for the work of the Kingdom. Under their leadership, God has blessed us, grown us, and at times stretched us. We are confident that our next Senior Pastor will continue the mission set out for us by God here in Lander and distantly. Our goal in all we do is to bring glory to His name. The incoming Senior Pastor will be assisted by a Church Life Director, two micro-staff positions (Worship leader and Youth Director), and hourly office staff.
We are governed by our church constitution and bylaws. We are Elder led and congregational ruled. We utilize the affirmation process of governance with all issues that come before the membership and require a vote. This process is defined in our bylaws. Current Ministry Teams are Deacons, Christian Education, Connections, Missions, Trustees, Worship, and Youth.
Missions have always been an important focus of the Free Church in Lander. Through the years, members of our fellowship have gone on numerous short-term mission trips. We have sponsored an AWANA Club in our fellowship hall since 1994, a program that involves Pre-K through 12thgrade. We support financially and are actively involved with Child Evangelism Fellowship, Jesu Ministries to Zimbabwe, Mavuno Village in Tanzania, Bible Institute for Pastors in Nicaragua (IBAC) an outreach of the EFCA, and Christ Church – a church plant in Sterling, Illinois.
Recently, we have had a strong emphasis on our partnership with IBAC. We send members of our congregation twice a year to teach local church pastors in Granada, Nicaragua. In addition,we send a compassion team to work in the community and with various established ministries. We have made a seven-year commitment to IBAC Granada and are now in our fourth year.
We know how important it is to train up our youth in the Lord. On Sundays, we have nursery and Children’s church classes for ages preK-2nd grade. We also have Busy Bags, Treasure Seekers, and journals available as resources for children up to their teen years. The Middle School and High School Youth group and Awana meet on Wednesday nights during the school year. We also strive to include the older youth in service opportunities at church working in our different ministries.
Facility
At our founding in 1981 our services were held in the Lander 7th Day Adventist Church. We moved into our current building in 1987. Many remodels and two significant expansions have happened since to accommodate the churches growth and changing needs.
In the fall of 2009 work on our first expansion, mostly done by members and friends of the church, was completed. The educational wing included classrooms, as well as a new kitchen, restrooms, and baptistry.
Our second major expansion, a new sanctuary and multipurpose facility, was completed in 2015and has the capacity to hold 550 people.
Demographics:
The Free Church is located in Lander, Wyoming. Lander is a welcoming community of 7,758, nestled along the eastern slopes of the Wind River Mountain Range. Lander is a gateway for many outdoor adventures including world-class lake and river fishing, cross country skiing, mountain and rock climbing, snowmobiling, hiking and backpacking.
The medical community in Lander is substantial and provides broad based medical care to the community as well as the surrounding area. Our hospital, Lander Valley Medical Center, provides 24-hour emergency room coverage. It is staffed by physicians trained and certified for emergency room medicine.
Our historic tree lined Main Street has unique, locally owned shops and businesses that host block parties, street dances, art fairs and concerts in the park. We're a community that loves sports, strolls along the river and front porch swings. Our county is home to diverse cultures and community groups including the National Outdoor Leadership School's headquarters and Rocky Mountain Branch, and the Wyoming Catholic College. Central Wyoming College’s main campus is in Riverton, 25 miles away. There is a new CWC classroom facility in Lander. The Wind River Indian Reservation, home to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Native Americans, borders Lander to the north and east.
From days gone by Lander has been known by many catchy phrases including "Where the rails end and the trails begin" and the "Banana Belt of Wyoming". People move to this area for many reasons including employment and the aesthetics. However, to understand Lander is to appreciate its vast amenities and wonderful attributes including the following statistics:
Population 7,758
Elevation 5,358
Number of sunny days 239
Average snowfall 92"
Median Income $53,000
Median Housing Cost $201,800
Median age 41
Population breakdown:
Caucasian 75%
Native American 21%
Other 4%
Schools:
Lander Valley High School 455 students
Lander Middle School 378 students
Baldwin Creek Elementary (4-5 grade) 350 students
Gannett Peak Elementary (K-3 grade) 593 students
Cornerstone Christian School (K-8th grade)21 students
Fremont County includes the following cities/communities: Arapahoe, Atlantic City, Dubois, Ethete, Fort Washakie, Hudson, Jeffrey City, Lander, Pavillion, Riverton, Shoshoni, and South Pass City.
The following are on the Wind River Reservation: Ft. Washakie, Arapaho, Ethete
Lander is a community where newcomers and "old timers" mingle happily in the shadow of the mountains where we enjoy an active lifestyle and the fresh mountain air.
Current Strengths:
The Word of God is preached boldly and in context with personal application.
• We emphasize doing redemptive acts; serving in our community and with the people we come in contact with – individually and corporately. • There is emphasis on training up our Youth in the Lord.• Our fellowship is multigenerational with strong committed young families.• We take care of each other and care for each other.
Current Challenges:
• Our desire is to develop a strong men’s ministry.• We hope to strengthen, build, and maintain our already functioning small groups.• We are developing methods for connecting new believers, new visitors and those who attend services regularly, to become involved and committed members of our fellowship. • We desire to maintain and even grow our attendance at worship services and other church activities during this time of transition.
Senior Pastor Profile:
The Free Church is seeking a full time Senior Pastor who is committed to delivering a deep understanding of the Bible in its entirety as God intended it and as Jesus brought it to life. Our congregation desires to be challenged in God’s word and to further understand His Kingdom and how we fit into it by directly applying his teachings into our lives and the lives of others. As a congregation we understand that God is the point of the Bible; we prefer sermons that take an exposition approach rather than a topical one.
We are searching for a visionary shepherd who will lead our fellowship with integrity of heart and skilled hands (Psalm 78:72). Our shepherd must have the ability to reach members of the congregation on a personal level while helping individuals meet their own needs through spiritual nurturing. He must be unwaveringly aligned with the doctrinal statement of the Evangelical Free Church of America. We pray for a man of God who is inspired by the Word of God. Our congregation desires a man with a solid prayer life, and a man who loves people and has a heart for the unsaved. The commitment to our local community is essential as well as the programs and missions we support abroad. We are looking for a man who will be involved in church activities and able to connect with all ages of people within the congregation including the teams that are already available for support. He must also possess the ability of natural leadership to help develop and mobilize other leaders within the church. Our Senior Pastor will be supported by 3 strong director positions focused on Worship, Youth and Church Life along with 9 existing ministry teams geared to grow the health of our church.
Our preferred candidate will have earned a master’s degree that includes evangelical theological education. This will mean a profound Biblical understanding of the Word. Sermons must be life-giving, relevant, and challenging to encourage growth in Christ not misinterpreted, misrepresented or legalistic in nature. His strengths must include being fiscally wise and a responsible steward of all God has entrusted to him.
The Free Church possesses strong continuity and has invested the mental and financial resources to strengthen the body of believers and the place in which we worship. However, we understand imperfection and our own self-imposed limitations. We don’t expect our next Senior Pastor to make changes for the sake of change, but to be empowered to push our congregation in directions that challenge us with spiritual growth.
Along with meeting the criteria for an Elder in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1:5-9, it is important to us that our next Senior Pastor loves his wife well (if married) and purposefully works to have a healthy relationship with each of his children (if a father). We have historically enjoyed intentional involvement in church by the wives of our pastors, and we hope that our future pastor’s wife also has a heart for ministry.
Summary:
The Free Church in Lander is at a transitional time in its story, and the pastor God provides will have an amazing opportunity to partner with a precious and beautiful congregation for the glory of the Lord and the furthering of His Kingdom.
Interested potential candidates please:
1. Submit your cover letter and resume to landerefree@gmail.com 1. In order to seriously evaluate a potential candidate, we require a submitted personal profile to www.MinisterConnection.net. This is not a requirement for consideration of one’s inquiry or resume, but will be a necessary step if further dialogue is pursued by the search team. 1. Pray for The Free Church and for the Pastoral Search Team. We are praying for you.
The Free Church
1215 Highway 287, Lander, Wyoming 82520
307-332-6767