Some Q and A...

How would you best describe the condition of your current worship ministry?

We would say its in good condition, not in disarray or excellent

The team has exhibited a lot of flexibility, creativity and maintained the worship experience since the last leader left, they transitioned us to online services within two weeks of the pandemic church closure

The core team has remained stable

For the first year and a half since the worship pastor left (May 2019), the ED help support the team and then John took the “interim” worship pastor-team leader role in September 2020, leading and shepherding the young team well.
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What is the general consensus of your staff about the worship in your church?

All of our staff would say we are a “worshipping” not performance-driven worship church and our congregation eagerly joins us in worship 

On other topics, there is not a consensus, but there are times when everyone loves all aspects of Worship at Willingdon

Brooklyn tab versus Phil Wickam/Chris Tomlin

Although, we do have the opportunity of catering to both styles.  This has worked for us over the past ten years by providing different styles in two different venues
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What are your hopes and dreams for whomever takes this role?

That they would start tomorrow!

That they would be deeply in love with Jesus, truly be a worshipper and fall in love with our intercultural, multi-generational church

They would take the lead in shaping the next long season of worshipping at Willingdon (both previous worship pastors did 25-year tenures)

They would shepherd our WAM team and lead the WA ministry in discipleship as per our Ministry Philosophy 

That they would be humble and sensitive to the Holy Spirit and called to this ministry and location to serve Jesus

That they are able to lead a staff team of creatives (gifted, passionate, emotional and sensitive Millennials and Gen Z’s – who also have a second-generation immigrant world view, this is a unique aspect of our entire staff team)

That they will be able to bridge the generations – find ways to help all generations worship eagerly

Humility is important

Strong musicianship and desire for excellence

That they would have the gifts to build on what exists already including the ability to lead worship every weekend and produce large outreach productions 

That they would love what they do, feel welcomed and their whole family would become part of the church family
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In six months why will you be thrilled that you have hired this person?

They “fit” – the current worship arts team is eager to work with them – the leadership team (team leaders/elders) enjoys working with them

They are leading the ministry in alignment with our ministry philosophy and unity with our staff and leadership teams

They are thriving and love being part of the entire Willingdon Team!

The church family loves to be led by them and the WAM team!

They have a sense of calling to serve at Willingdon long term, they love what they do, are excited about the future and what God will do through the Worship Arts Ministry at Willingdon.

The ministry is growing, drawing people to Christ, discipling believers and encouraging all into the presence of the Lord while worshipping Jesus
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What does it take to “win” on your staff team?

You need to be a mature believer with a healthy relationship with Jesus and a regular devotional and prayer study life – you need to be grounded in the Word and a self-motivated follower of Jesus

As a Team Leader – you need to be a mature believer, a self-starter, humble and confident, a leader, a communicator and team player

Visionary for the ministry, but also need the Strategic skills and ability to execute

Willingness to work hard, an eagerness to try new things, humility to relate to a wide variety of people of different ethnicities and ages

Good sense of humour - don’t take yourself too seriously

Try things – but they are well thought out – creative and willing to be flexible

Willingness to serve – no job too big or small – in all ministry areas – 

Think of yourself as a team player with the whole team, not just siloed to the one ministry area of Worship Arts
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What are three singular words that would describe what it is like to be on staff at your church?

Fun and energetic

Passionate about the mission

Challenging but in a positive way
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How would you describe your church’s musical/worship style?

Contemporary

God honouring and Jesus focused

Well executed and professional

Multi-generational

Celebratory (in person)

Sometimes BIG (choir/orchestra)
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Are you hoping to see the worship style change?

We are uncertain?

We would like our new Worship Pastor to help us figure out how to do this, while still appreciating the past

We would love to see us become more intercultural (a huge part of our church) and appeal to a younger generation, who are also second-generation Canadians, which is a unique part of our church

We want to continue to be a ‘worshipping’ church with many opportunities for outreach
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What is your church’s philosophy regarding reaching people who are de-churched, unchurched, or anti-church?

We want to home for all people – “We are a family, where everyone is on mission with Jesus”

We are always mindful of the nonchristians amongst us and speak in such a way they will understand

We preach Jesus and train our people to share their faith in Jesus

Our approach is to share the gospel with clarity and hope

We preach expositionally and believe that as people hear God’s word and experience musical worship the holy spirit can transform lives

Our mission for 60 years has been “to know Jesus Christ personally and carry on His ministry”

Every weekend we have many visitors who do not know Jesus visit us
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Does your church’s website state the mission, vision, values and key distinctives of your church? If so please insert the link here.

Yes https://willingdon.org/ministry-philosophy
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How does worship or the arts play a part in reaching people?

Over the years, God has used the musical worship at Willingdon to draw many people to himself. 

People have been deeply touched by the spirit in the midst of the music

We have used music very intentionally as an outreach tool – producing musical productions which attract over up to 12,000 people over 5 days

We have a gifted creative arts team of videographers, photographers, graphic designers and set designers communicate the gospel through the arts
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What is your annual church budget? 

2021 – $5,750,000 

2020 - $6,800,000 (precovid)
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How many full-time pastors do you currently have?

15-17
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How many people currently serve in the worship ministry?

Paid – 1 Pastor-Team Leader; 6 full time paid staff

Volunteers - 100 volunteers (up to 200 pre-covid)
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What are the different teams that fall within the realm of the worship department?

Music

Tech production

Video production (cross over with the Communications department)
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What is the “squeaky wheel” right now as it pertains to worship ministry? Is there a chronic issue that you are hoping is dealt with through this hire?
​We need a leader, we have been without a long-term leader for two years
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Who will this person report to?
​They will report to the Lead Pastor
​Through the Lead Pastor, they are accountable to the elders board
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Are there particular assessment tools that you prefer when exploring potential staff people? 
​Birkman and Disc
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How long has senior leadership been serving in your church?
​Lead Pastor – 6 years
​Executive Director – 14 years
​Team Leaders – six of them (20 years, 15 years, 10 years, 7 years, 4 years, 1 year)
​Elders model – 40 years 
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Are you affiliated with a particular denomination or association of churches? If so, what websites could one investigate to gain further understanding?
​BCMB – British Columbia Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches https://bcmb.org/
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What are the key doctrinal and theological issues where alignment is essential?
​Our statement of faith  https://willingdon.org/sites/default/files/page/downloads/Statement_of_Faith_2020.pdf

Elder led church
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What is your average weekend attendance (pre-COVID)?
​4000 (3400 adults/360 kids/240 students)
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In general, what is your church demographic?
​80% live in Burnaby/Vancouver – our church reflects the surrounding neighbourhood – it is an “ex-urban” neighbourhood filled with upper-middle-class professionals living in an expensive city.  

Intercultural – we translate in 10 languages – our largest language groups are

Mandarin

Cantonese

Korean

Russian

Portuguese

Multigenerational

To find out more about our church demographics and stats, please see this link

https://extranet.willingdon.org/annualreport/?_ga=2.127061389.1841282732.1625444524-1736881328.1535226908

​Is there more than one site or venue? If so, please describe.
​One site – two service venues (pre-covid) on Sunday run simultaneously
​Sanctuary (holds 1400 people)
​Sunday services 8:30am, 10:00am, 11:45am
​Connection (holds 500 people)
​Saturday night service 5:00pm and 6:30pm
​Sunday 10:00am, 11:45am
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What percentage of people in your church have been a Christian for 5 years or less? 
​9%

​What percentage of people are involved in a small group?
​32%
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How many current staff members have been there 3 years or more? 
​80% - 40 out of 50 full-time staff.  Although the number would be a little lower, as we laid off most of our part-time staff when the pandemic began, we usually have approximately 80 staff, therefore it would probably be closer to 70%

​What three ministries of your church will receive the most resources next year?
​Admin, Ops and Pastoral Min (which includes payroll)
​Global and local outreach
​Worship

​Are there any non-negotiables in your church in regard to worship & art?  If so, describe them.
​Must focus on Jesus

Must be a worshipper, not a performer – they can not use this position as a platform for self-promotion

A level of excellence in all that we do 

They must adhere to our statement of faith – a non-negotiable for elders

They must be able to go through the credentialing process 

Able to work well with the leadership team and staff – we have worked hard to eliminate previous silos and be ONE team
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What did you try artistically (before COVID) that failed or didn’t happen the way the team had hoped?
​From a leadership point of view - we tried group leadership and it failed.  We need a strong leader who can bring out the best in the talented and gifted staff that we currently have – they have served well and worked hard over the last two years, but need a leader.
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What is your church known for in the community? 
​We are one of the largest churches in BC and the largest in Burnaby

We are known for excellent preaching, outreach productions, musical talent and high-quality music

We are known as an intercultural church that worships all together, not with separate language services – translating services in 10 languages

We are known for our local community partnerships with schools, food programs, refugee family support and community outreach programs

​Does your church lean toward being an intrinsic (internal focused) or extrinsic (outreach focused) church? 
​We are trying to do both well
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​We put a lot of resources into internal resources and programming for discipleship and also have significant partnerships for outreach opportunities locally and globally

We are launching a new website this Fall which will be much more user friendly for the seeker, first time visitor and an intercultural crowd both in the lower mainland and around the world
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What is the Sr. Pastor/Teaching Pastor’s role in designing services?
​Design of the services is determined by the Worship Team, with input from the Lead Pastor

The order of service is determined by the Production Director 

Song selection by the Worship Leader based on the sermon series

Over the past two years, we have worked towards being much more collaborative for designing services and special presentations between the Worship Arts Team (led by the Worship Team Leader), Preaching Team (led by the Lead Pastor) and Communications Team (led by the Executive Director).
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What is the Sr. Pastor’s leadership style?
​Collaborative and has strong convictions

Visionary and analytical

Passionate about saving the lost

Prayer warrior

Shepherd who loves Jesus and our church family
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How much is creativity and art valued?
​Creatively in music – as long as it's done well - we have a congregation which looks to excellence in music – however, there has been more openness to try new things online since covid

In terms of art – creativity is embraced, we have a gifted team of designers in graphics, video production, photography, set and event design
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What are the expected work hours and what does a typical workweek look like?  
​For a team leader position – anywhere from 40 to 50 hours per work, depending on the season

It is a fairly fast-paced environment that requires flexibility in the schedule, pre-covid we did 7 weekend services and 220 special events a year

This position will require evenings and weekends – 5 days a week with 2 days off – the schedule is determined based on need.  Here is a sample:

Saturdays – rehearsal day and evening services

Sundays – multiple services throughout the day 

Wednesdays – regular team, staff and leadership meetings throughout the day/evenings with volunteers or leadership meetings

Days off are determined by the Team Leader – in Worship Arts (pre-covid) it was usually Monday and Tuesday