Boothbay Baptist Church Profile
Who we are
Demographics
Boothbay Baptist Church is an independent Baptist church (in fellowship with the Conservative Baptist Association) on the Boothbay peninsula in Lincoln County on the coast of Maine, an hour northeast of Portland and 50 minutes south of Augusta. Strategically located on a state road in Boothbay Center, it draws worshippers from several midcoast towns.
The Boothbay region, comprising Boothbay, Boothbay Harbor, Edgecomb and Southport Island, is a fishing and boat-building community which has long attracted tourists and summer residents to its scenic shores, woodlands and islands. With a year-round population of around 7,000, it swells nearly ten times in summer as hotels, inns, campgrounds and seasonal colonies fill up. The peninsula boasts its own acute care hospital, St. Andrews, and an associated retirement village; Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences, a world-class oceanographic lab; the Boothbay Harbor Coast Guard station; renown shipyards that build mega-yachts and tugboats; Boothbay Region Land Trust with miles of hiking trails on woodland and shorefront preserves; Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens, the largest botanical garden in New England; and one of the best-equipped YMCAs in the state of Maine. Because of these amenities, the plethora of active clubs and organizations, the retirement village and the natural beauty of the area, the Boothbay region has drawn a large population of retirees to settle here.
The church building itself is a picturesque New England-style white clapboard structure with tall steeple facing the Boothbay Common which is the scene of craft fairs, farmers markets, band concerts, art shows, barbecues, parades and holiday festivities.
Church Life
In February of 2009 Boothbay Baptist Church marked its 200th anniversary as an organization of Bible-believing Christians in Boothbay. God has surely preserved and blessed this body as a vital and vibrant part of His church (seeThe History of Boothbay Baptist Church 1809-2009). A special worship service and dinner celebrated this milestone, giving glory to God for His faithfulness.
Active church membership is 104, with Sunday School classes for all ages averaging 60-70 each week and morning worship service attendance ranging from 70-200. There is a faithful group of older members as well as many families with young children. The youth group currently draws 20 teens not affiliated with the church. As with the community, the church population increases in summertime, and there are many seasonal residents who are faithful attendees. Baptisms average around a dozen per year, either in the church’s own baptistry or in local lakes and rivers.
The church is led by the Board of Elders whose members serve as spiritual leaders and the Board of Trustees which handles both the finances of the church and the physical plant of the property. The Board of Deaconesses ministers to women and girls of the church and assists with ordinances of baptism and communion. The Christian Education Board oversees Sunday School, youth groups and Vacation Bible School. Other committees include missions, hospitality, fellowship, and worship. The business of the church is conducted at quarterly and annual meetings by voting members.
Sunday morning worship services are intimate and informal and feature a variety of musical styles from traditional hymns to contemporary praises. Special music is frequently offered by member musicians, vocalists and a children’s choir.
The Lord’s table is observed the first Sunday of every month. Prayer meeting is held every Wednesday evening. Youth group for middle and high school students is currently led by volunteers on Thursday nights.
Adult small group Bible studies are held in homes throughout the year, and fellowship opportunities abound in daytime and evening women’s groups, weekly prayer meetings and monthly potluck suppers. A ladies’ retreat is held every year in the fall.
Boothbay Baptist Church is a missions-minded body which not only supports dozens of full-time missionaries but also sends out teams on short-term mission trips to Uganda, East Africa where they minister to a needy village. Five teams have traveled to Uganda in the last five years to build homes for widows and orphans, build schools, take medical supplies and treat hundreds of sick villagers. Individual church members with a heart for mission work have traveled on their own to Russia, Korea, China, Japan, Peru, and other countries. And many members are involved in local ministries in Maine prisons, soup kitchens and the Boothbay Region Food Pantry. A missions conference is held at the church annually in early spring.
Local outreach efforts for the community have included a creation-versus-evolution seminar, a weight-loss program, competitive food drive among local churches, social events at the YMCA, presentations to clubs and schools about the Uganda mission work (which attracted community members to join some of the trips), a ladies’ service group called Lights of Love, an alternative Halloween event, and a very popular Vacation Bible School every summer.
Facilities
The church-owned property includes the church building, an adjacent four-bedroom parsonage, a youth building currently being expanded and remodeled which houses a visitors’ apartment as well as meeting spaces, and a two-apartment rental house. The complex is next to the Boothbay community ballfield and playground.
The church building is handicapped-accessible and includes a sanctuary built in 1974 which seats over 200 people; the adjoining old chapel built in 1947 which now serves as the nursery; a recently remodeled fellowship hall and kitchen in the lower level; the church office and three classrooms downstairs. Its central location in Boothbay Center offers a highly visible spot for fund-raisers and community outreach events.
The parsonage, which also faces the Common, is a New England style two-story house with eight rooms including a large eat-in kitchen, formal dining room, living room, den (or bedroom), office and bath on the first floor, and three bedrooms and bath on the second floor. It also has a backyard deck and a tool shed.
The three-story accessory house known as the youth building currently provides a two-bedroom apartment for the interim pastor (also, in the past, for visiting missionaries, speakers and musicians) on one side, and has office and meeting spaces on the other side. The lower level, facing the ballfield, is in the process of being expanded to provide a larger gathering place for youth meetings and events.
What we believe
Our purpose is to love and glorify God in all areas of our lives, daring to reach out in a caring manner and striving to make disciples in the light of God’s truth.
This church will seek to advance the Kingdom of Jesus Christ through the public worship of God, the preaching of the Gospel, consistent Christian living by its members, personal evangelism, missionary endeavor and Christian education.
The Word of God: We believe that the Bible is the Word of God, fully inspired and without error in the original manuscripts, written by men inspired by the Holy Spirit, and that it has supreme authority in all matters of faith and conduct. (II Tim. 3:16-17; II Peter 1:19-21)
The Trinity: We believe in one God, eternally existing in three persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit, who are equal in being and nature. (Deut. 6:4; Matt. 28:19; John 14:16, 17:3; II Cor. 13:14)
God the Father: We believe in God the Father, perfect in holiness, infinite in wisdom, measureless in power. We rejoice that He concerns Himself mercifully in the affairs of men, that He hears and answers prayer, and that He saves from sin and death all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. (Psa. 145; John 17:1-3)
Jesus Christ: We believe in Jesus Christ, the eternal and only begotten of the Father, fully God and fully man, conceived of the Holy Spirit, of virgin birth, sinless in His life, making atonement for the world by His death through the blood of the everlasting covenant. We believe in His bodily resurrection, His ascension, and His visible, personal, pre-millennial, bodily return to the world according to His promise. (Matt. 1:18-25; John 1:1-5, 1:14-18, 14:1-6; Acts 1:1-3,9-11; Heb. 1:2-9; I Peter 2:2-8, 21-24)
The Holy Spirit: We believe in the Holy Spirit who came forth from the Father and Son to convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment; and to regenerate, sanctify, comfort and empower all who believe in Jesus Christ. We believe that He indwells every believer and is an abiding Helper, Teacher, and Guide. (John 14:16-17, 15:26-27, 16:7-15; Acts 1:8, 2:39; Rom. 8; I Cor. 12)
Man and Sin: We believe that God created man in His own image, but that through Adam’s disobedience sin entered the world. We believe, therefore, that all men are sinners by nature and by choice, and are under God’s condemnation. We believe there is a personal devil, that he is the arch-enemy of God and man, and that he is the present god of the age, the “prince of the power of the air” and the “spirit that now works in the children of disobedience.” We believe that Christ defeated him on the cross and that the believer can share the victory by faith. (Gen. 1:26-27; Rom. 3:9-19, 23, 5:12; Eph. 2:1-2)
Salvation and Regeneration: We believe that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” We believe that salvation is by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; all who repent of their sins and put their trust in Him are justified before God and regenerated by the Holy Spirit. We believe in the eternal security of all who are actually born again by the Spirit of God through faith in Christ as revealed in the scriptures, and that it is the privilege of all such to be assured of their present salvation and eternal safety. (John 3:3-8, 16, 5:24, 10:29-30; Rom. 3:23-26, 6:23, 8:33-39, 10:9-10; Eph. 2:8-10; Phil. 1:6; II Tim. 1:12; Titus 3:5-6)
The Church: We believe in the universal church, a living, spiritual body of which Christ is the Head and all regenerated persons are members. We believe in the spiritual unity of all believers in Christ. We believe in the local church: consisting of believers in Jesus Christ, baptized upon their confession of faith, associated for worship, work and fellowship. We believe that God has entrusted to the members of the local church the primary task of giving the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a lost world. (Matt. 16:18-19, 28:18-20; Acts 1:8, 2:37-47; I Cor. 12:12-27; Eph. 4:1-16)
Christian Conduct: We believe that a Christian should live for the glory of God and well-being of his fellow men, that his conduct should be blameless before the world, that he should be a faithful steward of his possessions, and that he should seek to realize for himself and others the full stature of maturity in Christ. (Eph. 4, 5; Titus 2:11-14)
Ordinances: We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ has committed two ordinances to the local church: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. We believe that the Lord’s Supper was instituted by Christ to commemorate His body, broken for our sins, and His blood, shed for redemption. We believe that these two ordinances should be observed and administered by the local church until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 2:41; Rom. 6:3-6; I Cor. 11:23-29)
The Last Things: We believe that this present age will end in the imminent coming of our Lord Jesus Christ: first to receive His church unto Himself before the Great Tribulation, and later to establish the Throne of David upon the earth and to reign in righteousness over it for a thousand years. We believe in the resurrection of both the saved and the lost: the saved unto the resurrection of life, and the lost unto the resurrection of damnation. We believe that the saved will live eternally with Christ in Heaven, and that the lost will live eternally in Hell. (II Sam. 7:16; Psa. 72:7-8; Isa. 9:6-7; Micah 5:2; Matt. 25:46; Luke 1:32-33; John 5:26-29, 14:1-6; Acts 1:10-11; I Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:13; Heb. 9:27-28; Jude 14, 15; Rev. 1:7, 19:11-21, 20:11-15; 21)
Religious Liberty: We believe that every human being is responsible to God in all matters of faith; that each church is independent and self-governing and must be free from interference by any outside church or political authority. Therefore, Church and State must be kept separate as having different functions, each fulfilling its duties free from the dictation or patronage of the other. (Rom. 13; 14)
Whom we are seeking
Position: Senior Pastor
Job description:
The senior pastor will preach and teach the Word of God;
- will visit, counsel and pray for members and newcomers;
- will lead by personal example and a vision for God’s church;
- will equip the saints for good Christian conduct, faithful service and evangelistic outreach;
- will serve as lead elder discipling and strengthening church leadership;
- will encourage the flock in the faith;
- will stimulate outreach into the local community and beyond;
- will help administer the office and business of the church;
- and will lead the congregation in defining a vision and goals for Boothbay Baptist Church as it enters its third century.
Professional qualifications sought:
A college and seminary graduate with demonstrated experience in leading a Baptist church.
Personal/pastoral qualities sought:
A man with the gift of preaching and teaching,
- who possesses abilities in counseling, conflict resolution and communication;
- who is a joyful encourager of the brethren;
- who has a spirit of humility and cooperation;
- who is compassionate and sensitive, with a heart for people;
- whose convictions are strong and ethics honorable;
- who shows a sense of humor yet appreciates the gravity of the responsibility he has to love and shepherd God’s sheep.
Compensation:
Salary dependent upon experience; parsonage housing and utilities provided
If you are interested in applying for the position at Boothbay Baptist. Please send your resume, references and statement of faith to boothbaybaptistsc@gmail.com.
