THE PASTOR SEARCH TEAM IS PLEASED TO PRESENT PAUL DAMERY TO THE FBBC BODY FOR CONSIDERATION FOR THE POSITION OF LEAD PASTOR. 


"CONSIDERATION OF A CALL" WEEKEND

To consider Paul Damery for the position of Lead Pastor

Saturday, March 23 - Sunday, March 24

SATURDAY, MARCH 23

AFTERNOON: Scheduled meetings with the candidate at the church

  • Any individual or small group can request a Saturday afternoon meeting with the candidate by emailing pastorsearch@frederickboulevard.com by noon on Wednesday, March 20. The Search Team will contact you to set up a specific time.

EVENING, 6:30pm: All-church Meeting in the Worship Center

  • Candidate will share his testimony and vision for the position
  • Candidate and Search Team will answer any questions that have been submitted. To submit questions for Paul or for the Search Team, email pastorsearch@frederickboulevard.com by noon on Wednesday, March 20.


SUNDAY, MARCH 24

  • Paul Damery will be preaching in the 10:15am Worship Service.
  • At the conclusion of the service, a Called Business Meeting will be held in the Worship Center for the purpose of voting to approve the nomination of Paul Damery for the position of Lead Pastor.
  • Results of the vote will be communicated immediately after counting to those at the meeting.


Information about Paul, the criteria for selection, and the process can be viewed below, or printed copies are provided in the church foyer.


We encourage all church members to diligently pray for God’s leading to discern whether to approve the nomination of Paul Damery for the position of Lead Pastor.

CANDIDATE PROFILE

Paul grew up in a Christian home in Illinois and at the age of 8 put his trust in Jesus as personal Savior. He submitted to the Lord in a call to full-time ministry when he was 14. While attending college he became very involved at the Baptist Collegiate Ministry and began to understand the importance of evangelism and disciple-making. His seminary education at Midwestern and ministry experience in college ministry since that time have only furthered his desire to equip believers for evangelism and disciple-making.


The Damerys have been a part of the Frederick family for 13 years and Paul has served in a variety of capacities: college ministry leader, Awana helper, interim youth pastor, adult community group leader, worship team member, and elder. Paul’s vision is to help Frederick continue in its endeavor to be a healthy church of genuine disciples seeking to reach people with the Gospel, train them to be faithful disciples, and send them out into our community and the world as ambassadors for Christ. 


Paul and Jala were married in 2001 and have 4 children ages 12 to 18.

CRITERIA FOR CANDIDATE SELECTION

More details: View the full job description and qualifications. 

Below is a condensed overview of the criteria and how the Pastor Search Team felt Paul specifically met the criteria noted in green.


  • Candidate should demonstrate leadership skills yet lead through a team approach. He will work in concert with the Elders to shepherd and equip the body and oversee all aspects of the church, its activities, committees, teachings, and outreach. Paul has a long history of being a loyal team player with strong leadership skills.
  • Candidate should have a strong yet humble personal spiritual life and a servant’s heart. These characteristics are apparent in Paul’s correspondence and sermons, and attested to by all of the references that were contacted.
  • Candidate should be organized, professional, and a strategic thinker. He should be able to communicate well. Paul’s references as well as others who have worked with him confirmed these qualities.
  • Candidate must be in agreement with the Baptist Faith and Message, the FBBC What We Teach document, the Chicago Statement, Nashville Statement, and Danvers Statements, and aligns with our vision and mission. Paul confirmed his agreement with these documents, and we saw no indication to the contrary.
  • Candidate must have at least a Master’s Degree from an accredited seminary and sufficient theological education for pastoral ministry and overseeing discipleship. A Masters of Divinity is preferred.  Paul graduated with a Masters of Divinity from Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (Kansas City) in May of 2005.
  • Candidate must be an ordained minister of the Southern Baptist Convention. Paul was ordained July 24, 2005 at Tower View Baptist Church, Kansas City.
  • Candidate must have a minimum of 3 years of pastoral ministry, leadership, and administrative experience. Paul has spent 18 years as the Missouri Western State University Christian Challenge Director. Although not technically a church, the team felt it provided sufficient pastoral-type ministry, leadership, and administrative experience. Paul has also served in various interim pastor, ministry director, church planter, and intern positions.
  • Candidate must meet the biblical qualifications for an elder. Paul has been an elder at FBBC for several years. View Paul’s most recent elder application here.
  • Candidate must demonstrate a clear call to the vocational ministry. Paul surrendered to the Lord in a call to full-time ministry when he was 14 years old.

process summary

Applicants were solicited through the publications and/or websites of several Southern Baptist seminaries and organizations in Missouri and surrounding states. Twenty-seven resumes were received over the course of 2 months. Each applicant was considered carefully and prayerfully. We used the submitted information and our own online research to eliminate applicants who were unqualified or not a good fit for FBBC. With 9 applicants remaining, a list of additional questions was sent to each on the topics of theology, ministry philosophy and practice, and personal spiritual life. The responses to these questions helped us narrow the field down to 3. The team then spent 2 weeks in additional prayer and deeper investigation of those 3 candidates. After this time the team was confident and unified in the selection of Paul Damery as the candidate to present to the church for consideration.


Evaluating applicants can be a tricky process as you read/listen to what is said, but also attempt to identify personality types, ministry philosophy and style, areas of strength, and areas of concern. Although no candidate is perfect, and Paul is quick to admit his shortcomings, the team feels some of the areas Paul excels in are: a strong yet humble spiritual life, a pattern of leadership that is team-oriented, a sincere love for FBBC as well as the universal church, and a passion for disciple-making.


Questions that might arise that the Pastor Search Team would like to address: Was Paul the “easy” choice? Were all applicants given equal consideration? Did the elders influence the selection? And, if Paul was going to be the candidate, why did it take so long? When the team received Paul’s resume, we discussed what our responsibility was as a Search Team. We decided our task was to determine God’s leading, God’s BEST choice, and we could only do that if we weighed each applicant seriously, prayerfully, and equally. We treated Paul the same as every other applicant, several times double-checking our process and decisions to make sure we were not being swayed by personal bias, favoritism, or wrong motives. We were very careful and cautious, including not revealing details or any names to the elders or anyone outside of the team. With the exception of Elder Harold Arnold who was one of our team members, the elders were not involved in our process and did not attempt to influence our decisions. Paul’s information, answers, and references throughout this process have consistently demonstrated he is a faithful disciple, a man of consistent integrity and humility, and a thoughtful team player who understands, is invested in, and loves our church. Paul is not the “easy” choice, he is the right choice to bring before the church for consideration. The team invested a considerable amount of prayer, time, and effort to be 100% sure of that, and the team members would be happy to discuss these or any other concerns with any church member.


Team members: Jenny Binder, Harold Arnold, John Wheeler, Bridgit Shank, Mark Korell, Breanna Mather, and Landon Worstell.