Other Details

Faith Chapel (Tok, AK) – Pastor

The Big Picture

Faith Chapel is a small, non-denominational Bible church in Tok, Alaska, seeking a full-time Pastor.

The Community

Tok is a small, unincorporated community situated along the Alaska Highway in the eastern interior of Alaska.  We are the center of commerce and government activity in the area.  A local gold mine is the single largest employer.  There is one grocery store, four gas stations, two restaurants, a coffee shop, and a single K-12 school.  Opportunity for the outdoor enthusiast abounds – hunting and fishing are very popular.  There are five small native villages within about 45 miles of Tok bringing the total year-round population to about 2,000 people in a vast area of about 3,000 square miles.  About 1400 of those people live in the Tok area itself.  Tok is home to several other churches (Baptist, Assembly of God, 7^th Day Adventist, etc) and a Southern Baptist mission to the native villages.  There is also a small Mormon group.  Temperatures can get as cold as -40 to -50F in the winter to 75 – 85F in the summer.  Winter days are short with the sun only peeking out for a few hours each day but the ‘midnight sun’ in June and July amply rewards us with abundance of Vitamin D.

The Church

We were founded as a mission church in the mid-70’s by Send International and now operate independently with four elders leading the church. We minister to about 60 people including members and regular attenders.  We have several people in the congregation in their 70’s and 80’s who are retired but most of our families have working age bread winners with professional, skilled trades, or entrepreneurial-type jobs.  Most of our families with school-aged children are involved in home schooling.  

Sunday worship is fairly traditional with a routine order of worship, piano and violin music, hymns, and a praise chorus sung during the offering.  We hold communion one Sunday each month as well as a monthly potluck, and at least one other monthly fellowship meeting after service.  We offer several Sunday School classes.  Our mid-week service consists of a Bible study and prayer time.  

Other significant Faith Chapel ministries:

1. Shen Bible Camp:  Two-week youth (ages 8 – 13) Bible camp held in log cabins on a lake about 16 miles from Tok.  Open to the entire community.  Ministers to an average of 40 kids per summer, many who have never heard the Gospel.
2. Helping Hands Food Bank:  We cooperate closely with the Food Bank and the monthly distribution is held at the church.  We provide storage space for both frozen and canned goods on site at the church and supply a large portion of the workers during the monthly distribution.  Ministers to approximately 200 people each month.
3. Operation Christmas Child:  We are the designated box collection point for the eastern interior and have routine sewing and box packing parties starting late in the summer until the box pickup in the fall.
4. Other:  We support several missionaries and a crisis pregnancy center.

The Candidate

Our full-time pastor resigned 12 months ago after three years of service and deciding that the Lord was leading him in a different direction.  We hold to the Biblical qualifications for church leaders found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 and consider the pastor to be one of the elders uniquely called to that role (Ephesians 4:11). Doctrinal statement is available on request.

The Compensation

Pay for a full-time pastor is approximately $30K per year.  A parsonage is available on-site with the church which is suitable for a small family.  Some utilities would be included.  We are open to considering both full-time and bi-vocational candidates.