Job Details

Fine Arts Pastor

North Pole, Alaska, United States

Website:

Posting no longer available

Job Description:

Position Information
We are looking for God’s choice of an anointed and talented Fine Arts Pastor to help lead our church into deeper spiritual growth and greater numeric growth. The position is full-time. Benefits include medical insurance, paid vacation, a new office, and the use of a cell phone for church business.

Necessary Characteristics of the Candidate
• Able to play & sing while taking the role of a worshiper yourself—guitar or piano/keyboard is a must
• Ability to lead and train two teams for two different styles—blended and modern/modern rock
• Advanced music theory—reading music, transposing, etc.
• Pioneer spirit—help build people and ministries versus arrive at something that may or may not grow
• Team player—desire and ability to work with others
• Ability to pull the best out of people—genuine desire and ability to motivate others to excellence
• Familiar with Fine Arts Festival background or similar program—to promote and/or direct on some level
• Knowledge and ability to produce dramas/music productions (Easter, July 4th, Christmas)
• Ability to work well with all ages—integrate all ages into special music and productions
• Hard-working with a positive attitude
• Pentecostal in doctrine and personal practice
• Teachable and humble with a desire to grow
• Credentialed with the Assemblies of God or willing to pursue it

Church Information
Alaska New Life Outreach Center is an Assemblies of God congregation in the city of North Pole with 55 years history. Sunday morning attendance is currently 125. The church has a rich history of outreach to the Athabascan Indian villages along the Yukon River, as well as producing many pastors and missionaries from among its youth and lay leaders. Many experienced contractors and laborers are among the people, and are very willing to pitch in when needed. Over one third of the congregation is active or retired military; five attendees are currently deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan. Two thirds of the people were not born here, as is consistent with most of Alaska. The congregation is 80% white, 10% Hispanic and black, and 10% native Eskimo and Athabascan. The church is known to be one of the most progressive in the Alaska District, strong on the use of technology and passionate about missions.
Late in 2008 the former pastor resigned to take another church. At that time the associate pastor who served as the Youth Pastor/Master’s Commission Director was asked to resign for various reasons. The Master’s Commission has been discontinued until the church is strong enough to sustain the program and a salary for its director. At that time the Master’s Commission will be re-launched with the long-term goal of raising up church planters to the villages from among the students. ANLOC pastoral staff will help train students in their specific ministry area.
For the first time in its history the church chose a pastor under the age of 50. Damian Schoonmaker, 34 years old and a former youth pastor from Massachusetts, was chosen. He and his family arrived in early February, and after a time of healing and strong focus on unity the church was ready to move ahead. In four months time, the church has doubled in attendance with all growth coming only from families moving into the area and those who are being saved, membership has increased 33%, giving has increased 50%, new ministries have been added, others have been revamped, a Children’s Pastor has been hired, and a major renovation of the building will be finished by the end of June.
Sunday mornings begin with a corporate prayer time that is currently sparsely attended. This is followed by Sunday School, then the morning service. The worship style is blended, but fairly contemporary. The church-wide weekly prayer meeting is held on Sunday evening; this will eventually alternate with small groups every other week. Wednesday night is Family Night with age-specific ministry for all. The church is looking to add a Saturday night contemporary service by the end of the year, marked by modern/modern-rock worship and an atmosphere that reaches the under-40 crowd.
The church leadership believes that integrating the right Fine Arts Pastor into the church is the next key to achieve greater spiritual and numeric growth.

North Pole Information
North Pole is a town just southeast of Fairbanks in the interior of Alaska. It’s not in the Arctic Circle; the name is deceiving! The town was incorporated about 50 years ago with the idea of attracting a toymaker to the area. While this did not happen, North Pole is very much a town that celebrates Christmas year round. For more information, check out the city website and Wikipedia. The population in the city limits (2 sq. miles) is 2,000, but there are 20,000 people in the ZIP code within 10-15 minutes drive of the church property. North Pole is straddled by two large military installations: Eielson Air Force Base to the east and Ft. Wainwright Army Post to the west. Thousands of soldiers and their families are stationed here, and many of those who choose to live off post do so in North Pole. North Pole has three Pentecostal churches and an evangelical group of senior pastors that meets weekly for fellowship. There are a number of fast food restaurants, several other restaurants, a decent cross-section of shops, several banks, a supermarket, a large hardware store, and a brand-new hotel. Fairbanks is an easy drive up the highway (14 miles) and offers some additional shopping and dining choices. Fairbanks is about 40,000 people, and the county/borough contains about 100,000 people. The local economy is strong and the job market robust.

Interior Alaska Landscape, Geography, and Climate
The physical landscape of the area is beautiful, marked by white spruce, aspen, and birch trees. North Pole sits in the Tanana River Valley, whose namesake flows through its borders, as does the Chena River. Just to the north rise the Yukon-Tanana Uplands and to the south the Alaska Range of the Rocky Mountains is visible on a clear day. The region is marked by the occasional small earthquake, hot springs, vast wilderness play areas, and much wildlife. Denali National Park (home to Mt. McKinley), Anchorage, the Canadian border, and the Prudhoe Bay oil fields are all within a day’s drive.
Due to its northerly position the amount of daylight varies. At the end of June during the summer solstice, the sun is up for about 22 hours and remains just below the horizon for the other two, creating a twilight effect during which one can easily see. At the end of December during the winter solstice, the sun is up for about 3 and a half hours of the day. People tend to sleep a bit less during the summer and a bit more during the winter. The first year is the hardest to adjust to, especially the winter, and those that have a pre-disposition to depression are usually discouraged from moving to the area. The military tests each member of a family for this type of possible behavior before stationing them here.
The snow is melted by the end of April when “breakup” occurs (breaking of the ice on the rivers). Temperatures begin to rise dramatically in April as more and more sun shines every day. Through July temperatures can reach even into the 90’s with most days being quite sunny, before the August rains and cooling begins. Humidity is virtually non-existent in the Interior and anything more than a light breeze is very rare. The summer provides fantastic opportunities for hunting, fishing, boating, hiking, and camping, and tourism is a strong part of the local economy. Snow begins in mid-September and by October 1 doesn’t melt at all. Some of the snow evaporates due to the extremely dry climate, but whatever falls generally sticks the whole winter. Average snowfall totals for the whole winter for North Pole generally can be up to about 5 feet. This is similar to southern New England. Other parts of Alaska get much more snow and humidity; the snow here is very powdery. Temperatures in the winter are typically 25-30 below zero. The winters are very cold here but are softened by the dryness and lack of wind.

The People
The people in the Interior are fairly direct, but kind. Most of the time one knows where they stand with others. They are very independent and generous. They love to have fellowship and value relationships. They work hard and play even harder.
People in Alaska make the most of the outdoors. Most families own quads (ATV’s) for the nice weather and snow machines (snowmobiles) for the winter. There are ski facilities and golf courses within 20 minutes drive. Many people ride bikes or walk on any of the area’s many bike paths. Whether it’s light or dark, as long as it’s over -20, people are enjoying the outdoors.
Even with the extremes, most people that come here fall in love with Alaska. Many of the military families leave because they have to, but come back as soon as their commitments are fulfilled.

Conclusion
Please contact Lead Pastor Damian Schoonmaker if interested. (damianschoonmaker@gmail.com)