Pastoral Position
The International Baptist Church of Düsseldorf is in need of a new pastor. A Pastor Search Committee has been formed, and we are now in the process of seeking an individual who, in accordance with God’s will, desires to be the spiritual leader of our congregation.
At this time we are no longer accepting new applications.
Please read below our Church and Pastor Profile.
IBCD Church Profile
The purpose of IBCD is to spread the message of Jesus Christ by being a visible witness through outreach to locals and expatriates in the Düsseldorf area. Our message is the biblical message of God’s love, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). The church encourages spiritual growth, fellowship and willingness to serve (Ephesians 4:11-13).
IBCD is an English speaking church located on the outskirts of Düsseldorf, a city of about 600,000 people along the Rhine`River in north-western Germany. The church began in March, 1984. The congregation met in three different facilities before purchasing its own in 1996. Three pastors and their wives served at the church as missionaries before the church was able to call a full-time pastor in 2001.
The church grounds were formerly used as a retreat centre in a wooded area; the main building including a sanctuary, a fellowship hall, a full size kitchen as well as a nursery and an office for the pastor. In addition the complex includes one building that holds Noahs Ark Preschool, and another as the Sunday school wing with multiple school rooms and a three bedroom apartment for the Noah’s Ark teaching staff.
Currently, the church is set up with a pastor, a church council, treasurer, clerk and Elders as well as a church administrator.
IBCD is made up of a core group of permanent and semi-permanent resident members. There are many different nationalities and cultures represented in the church, including expatriate individuals and families working for international companies who are assigned to the area for one to three years. The church currently has close to 110 members while the attendance on a Sunday morning is around 200.
A fair amount of the congregation speaks English as a second language. Students, au pairs, and other short term residents are also part of the congregation. A minority of the attendees are from a Baptist background. Other denominational backgrounds include Methodist, Lutheran, Anglican, Catholic and others. However, many simply know us as an English-speaking Christian church.
There are several other English speaking churches as well as Christian and secular organisations in the Düsseldorf area alone.
Regular services and ministries at IBCD include:
- 10am Sunday worship service
- Inside Out (youth ministry) and Awana
- Praise and worship team for young people called Boanerges
- Sports ministry
- Men’s Bible study
- Several ladies Bible studies
- Sunday school for ages 3-11 years
- Home groups
- Age 18-30 young adults ministry
- Children play group
- Summer church retreat
Church address: Am Bauenhaus 30
40472 Düsseldorf, Germany
Email: PSC.IBCD@live.de
IBCD Perspective Pastor Profile
The most important quality we are seeking in our pastor is an abiding personal relationship with Jesus. Furthermore, it is essential that he has a deep and thorough knowledge of the Bible in order to preach and proclaim directly from scripture to the congregation, in other words, undiluted Biblical truth.
As a Baptist church with an open worship style, we are looking for a pastor with knowledge of and a commitment to the Baptist tradition (see Baptist Faith and Message, 1963).
We need a pastor with a vision to lead a unique type of international body to a God centered, warm, active, and spirit-filled evangelistic church by using the potentials we have within the congregation. It is important that he be a leader with spiritual authority, able to inspire and encourage, as well as motivate church members to use their time, talents, and spiritual gifts to take an active role in church.
The pastor should be strongly compelled to create unity, using it as an opportunity to start new ministries and lead the church into spiritual growth. It is also desired that he is a promoter of discipleship training and home groups, as well as having the ability to provide biblical counseling.
Our congregation is diverse in terms of cultures, nationalities, denominational backgrounds, Christian expressions, and traditions. The pastor preferably has previous international and intercultural experience. Some foreign language ability, particularly German, is valuable to communicate and network with other churches in the area to help build relationships within the body of Christ.
As the congregation includes a large number of children and youth we are in search of a pastor who relates well to young people. We would like for our pastor to take an active role in promoting youth ministries and family activities.
In addition, the personal characteristics/background we are looking for are:
1. preferably a graduate education in theology and previous pastoral experience
2. an ability to preach various kinds of sermons; for example evangelistic, expository, doctrinal, and topical, while getting a point across clearly and memorably
3. a fluent English speaker that is easily understood by a majority
4. an ability and willingness to personally interact with the congregation
If you feel that God is calling you towards this position, please send your application to the following, and we ask you for your prayers as we seek God’s will throughout this process.
Email: PSC.IBCD@live.de
or Church address:
International Baptist Church Düsseldorf
Attn: Pastor Search Committee
Am Bauenhaus 30
40472 Düsseldorf,