Pastor Search
First Baptist Church of Nogales
FBC is currently looking for a new pastor. Pastor Dave Cañada pastored for 40 years,
retiring in April, 2021. Pastor Rick Seltzer has been our interim pastor since December 1st, 2022 to the present
time. If you are interested in being considered to be the next pastor, we invite you to apply.
The Pastor Profile, the Church Profile, and the Community Profile are below. Scroll down and click on the “+” to view the profile and open the application form. There are also questions to fill out and send to us under the “Additional Things to Send” section. When you are finished, please send your application form and additional material via email to PastorSearchNogales@gmail.com.
You can meet our Core Pastor Search Team here:
We invtite you to apply for our Pastor Position. Below are profiles about the position, our church and the Nogales Community. Please fill out the application below and include the additional questions, and return it to PastorSearchNogales@gmail.com. If you have any questions, contact David Slagg at daslagg@outlook.com
Pastor Profile - First Baptist Church, Nogales, AZ
Overview
The Pastor is a humble servant called to reach people with the love of Christ, seeks to see lives
transformed through the Holy Spirit, and equip them to serve in and expand God’s kingdom. He
is a man of utmost integrity, teacher of sound doctrine, and a heart that inspires people to believe
wholeheartedly in our Lord, Jesus Christ.
Qualifications
• Meet the biblical qualifications of a pastoring/teaching elder.
• Acts 6:1-6; 20:28-31; 1 Tim 3:1-13; Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Peter 5:1-7.
• Possess a lifestyle characterized by moral integrity, ethics and servant leadership.
• Handle and communicate the Scriptures in an effective and compelling fashion.
• Proficient in biblical theology and the ability to convey biblical truth.
• Have a recognized ordination or be willing to pursue the same.
• Able to accept the constitution and policies of FBC.
• Preferred M.Div. or Bible college degree or in process or willing to pursue same.
• Experience in leading a staff team or volunteers in a unified vision and direction.
• Able to plan, set goals, promote events, and organize leadership development.
• Able to mentor, encourage, and motivate.
• Possess good interpersonal skills with an ability to listen.
• Able to be a bridge between two cultures.
Helpful, but not required: ability to speak Spanish
Responsibilities
Responsibilities of the Pastor would include, but are not limited to:
• As the recognized human leader of the church, the Pastor carries all the duties and responsibilities of an Elder such as:
• Prayer covering for all members, attendees, and ministries.
• Teaching and preaching of God’s Word in all settings and functions.
• Spiritual and biblical protection of the church, which includes doctrine.
• Spiritual admonishment and/or discipline in cooperation with church leadership.
• Leadership and teacher development.
• Oversight of the vision, spiritual direction, and spiritual welfare of the Church.
• Oversight of the worship services and ministry programs of the Church.
• Oversight and leadership of Church staff in cooperation with church leadership.
• Ensuring procedures are in place for the functioning of the Church.
Church Profile
FBC Mission Statement
We seek to reach people with the love of Christ, see lives transformed through the Holy Spirit, and equip them to serve in and expand God’s kingdom.
First Baptist Church of Nogales (www.fbcnogales.org) has a great reputation as the church on the hill that serves the community and provides quality biblical preaching. We are a community of believers that serve the Lord and each other. We are one of the few churches in the area that ministers to a bi-cultural congregation in both English and Spanish
We have separate adult Sunday School classes in both English and Spanish. Sunday School is a time where adults can interact with each other through facilitated discussions of Biblical passages. Sunday is not the only exciting day of the week; Life Groups take place during the week to promote Bible Studies, discussion, fellowship, and prayer.
Our Sunday worship services are led by a highly skilled team of musicians including youth and adults. The pastor and worship leader work together to coordinate the appropriate songs for Sunday services.
We have several ministries for children and youth including Sunday School, Children’s Church, and activities for youth from 8thgrade through High School. Our youth actively serve the church on Sunday mornings and are key to our outreach events. Two major outreach programs that have been supported by the community are Light Night and VBS. Hundreds of children, youth, and adults have attended these quality events. We actively support a few Good News Clubs in public schools. One of the most consistent and longstanding ministries to children is Sonshine Christian School, which serves children PK-5th Grade (www.sonshinechristianschool.org). Sonshine is highly sought after from families in Nogales, Arizona and Nogales, Sonora. Sonshine has an excellent reputation for quality early education and teaching Biblical values to young children
We support many missionaries around the world as well as long term ministering to two migrant camps across the border and were instrumental in starting a church at Los Janos in Mexico and continue to support the ministry. We also continue to support our long historical partnership with the Nogales Baptist Seminary (Seminario Bautista de Nogales-SEBANO (www.sebano.org). Our church ministry is currently staffed by a full-time interim pastor and three part-time staff (church administrator, worship leader, and children’s ministry director). Our church government includes Deacons, Deaconesses and Trustees voted to serve by church members. There is currently an ongoing process to change our constitution to an elder-led church which will change our polity.
Our Associate Pastor recently resigned to become the Director of the Nogales Baptist Seminary (a planned transition that came sooner than expected). He was part-time at FBC, leading and preaching to the Hispanic Congregation. The Deacons currently have decided to not replace him immediately but pray for God’s direction and bring the next pastor in on the decision as to what God wants us to do. We feel that the next pastor should be involved in the process of choosing the person he wants.
FBC is a part of Venture Church Network Southwest (www.vcnsw.org), a regional association of churches, and is part of Venture Church Network (www.venturechurches.org, (formerly the Conservative Baptist Association of America). First Baptist Church is a non-liturgical church in that its services do not follow a specific calendar, and the teachings the pastor chooses are independent of what other churches may be selecting but not independent of the Spirit’s leading.
Church Statistics
Weekly Attendance Average
January 2 to May 29, 2022
Worship Service | |
Children’s Church (Infants-5th) | 15 |
Infants/Toddlers | 1 |
K-2nd | 2 |
3rd-5th | 12 |
English Service (6th grade – Adults) | 128 |
All Services & Programs | 145 |
Sunday School | |
Online | 4 |
Infants/Toddlers | 5 |
Children’s (1st -5th) | 6 |
Middle School/High School | 3 |
Spanish Session | 23 |
English Session | 18 |
All Sunday School Sessions | 55 |
Community Profile
Community Profile: Nogales, AZ
Situated in the heart of the Santa Cruz River valley, Nogales (www.nogales.gov) is one of the oldest towns in Arizona, 70 miles south of Tucson. Nogales, consisting of 21,000 people, is the county seat of Santa Cruz County, the smallest county in Arizona. It is a close-knit community nestled along the US/Mexico border. The population is overwhelmingly Hispanic and embrace both the Mexican and American cultures. Spanish is the dominant language in most homes, but English is the primary language spoken in school. As you walk around town you’ll hear a good mix of both languages, often referred to as “Spanglish.”
Sister city Nogales, Sonora, Mexico has a population of well over 300,000 and provides a cultural and economic impact in our community through shopping outlets. Major industries in Nogales are law enforcement, education, and produce. Produce is a multi-billion-dollar industry with 51% of the produce entering the United States coming through the port of Nogales. Customs and Border Protection and Border Patrol have a large presence in the county, as well as other federal, state, county, and city law enforcement. With well over 1500 law enforcement officers in Santa Cruz County, Nogales is one of the safer border cities.
Nogales is a great place to raise a family. The connection between family, extended family, friends, and community is strong. There is a great sense of belonging, and it is very common to run into an old friend or your child’s teacher at Walmart. Youth have opportunities to join school sports or club sports sponsored by community volunteers. Nogales (www.nusd.k12.az.us) has two high schools, one of which is located across the street from the church, two middle schools, and six elementary schools. There are also a number of private and charter schools in the area. Nogales High School has one of the highest graduation rates in the state.
A few miles north of Nogales is Rio Rico, AZ, an unincorporated town, with an additional population of about 20,000. Many of our church families live in Rio Rico. Rio Rico (www.scv35.org) has one high school, two middle schools, and three elementary schools. Rio Rico provides larger land options and privacy in a more rural setting. Although there are a few miles of separation between the two towns, Rio Rico and Nogales are considered one big community!
One of the many perks of living in Nogales is the weather! On average, there are 288 sunny days per year, with an average temperature of 89 degrees in the hot season and 63 degrees in the cold months. This climate lends itself to year-round hiking, biking, boating, skiing, tubing, motorcycling, hunting, and other outdoor sports activities.
There is a small family town charm that brings people back to Nogales, even if it’s just for a visit!
US Census Bureau – Community of Nogales Trends 2020
Other important links
www.census.gov (US Census Bureau)
www.visitarizona.com/places/cities/nogales/ (State of Arizona – Official Travel & Tourism)
www.santacruzcountyaz.gov (Santa Cruz County)
www.nogalesaz.gov (City of Nogales)
www.nusd.k12.az.us (Nogales Unified School District #1)
www.scv35.org (Santa Cruz Valley Unified School District #35)
www.thenogaleschamber.org (Nogales – Santa Cruz County Chamber of Commerce)
https://datausa.io/profile/geo/nogales-az/
https://www.city-data.com/city/Nogales-Arizona.html
https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-cities/rio-rico-az-population
Application
Please note that Spanish is not a requirement to be considered.
After you have reviewed the reference application, please complete and submit the online application below.
Additional Things To Send
Pastor Application Form Questions to send with your Application
Please write your answers to the following questions and email them with your application form. Please use MS Word or another software (e.g. Pages) to answer your questions and send them to PastorSearchNogales@gmail.com. Make sure your name is on your form.
- Share your conversion experience and baptism.
- Write a brief summary of your doctrinal statement.
- Describe your philosophy of ministry.
- Describe your preference for type of church polity.
- Explain what the gospel is.
- What cross-cultural experiences have you had?
First Baptist Church of Nogales
Join us to worship, learn, and focus on the Lord.
Contact Us
office @fbcnogales.org
(520) 281-1677
9am-2pm Monday, Thursday,
and Friday
Find Us
1916 N. Frank Reed Rd Nogales AZ 85621
Stay Connected
First Baptist Church of Nogales
Contact Us
office @fbcnogales.org
(520) 281-1677
1916 N. Frank Reed Rd Nogales AZ 85621
Stay Connected
First Baptist Church of Nogales
Contact Us
office @fbcnogales.org
(520) 281-1677
9am-2pm Monday, Thursday,
and Friday