Submission of Resume' for Senior Pastor positions

Dear Search Committee Members,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord, Jesus. God has graciously allowed my family and I to serve among the Samburu people of Kenya for over three years. He has, in His gracious sovereignty, brought us back to the States in order to move us in a new direction of ministry. We count ourselves among the most blessed people on earth for having had the opportunity to minister in “the uttermost parts of the earth.”

I believe that He is moving us back into local church ministry, specifically back into the pastorate. He has given me a love for declaring His word, for missions, and for seeing His people grow to fullness in Christ through discipleship. It is my heart’s desire to fulfill His call on my life to serve His people through the local church and to call the lost to repentance and faith in His Son, Jesus.

I have a heart for missions and it is my desire that the local church fulfill the Great Commission according to Matthew 28:16-20, and Acts 1:8. God’s word calls all believers to minister the Gospel to the “lost” in all parts of the earth. The local church should devote its prayer life, financial resources, and human resources to fulfilling all that God wants to do through His church throughout the world.

I am applying for the position of Senior Pastor. I have had the privilege of pastoring a church in Florida and of serving as the Associate Pastor at Mount Vernon Baptist Church, a multi-staff church, in Raleigh, NC. Mount Vernon had a membership of 1,500 and a budget of $1.2M, and hosted North Raleigh Christian Academy during my ministry time there. I have also grown as a servant of Christ through my time on the mission field.

I would appreciate the prayerful consideration of your Search Committee.

Seeking the Lost Until They are Found,

Eddy Simmons

Rev. Edward Ernest Simmons
8602 Greenway St.
Raleigh, NC 27615-2418

PERSONAL
I am a conservative, evangelical follower of Jesus Christ. I
am seeking to follow the leadership of the Lord in being called as the Pastor/Teacher of a local body of believers. I believe in the fundamentals of the faith, including the inerrancy of Scripture, the virgin conception and glorious birth of our Savior, the sacrificial death of Jesus on a cross being the full payment for the penalty of sin, the bodily resurrection of Jesus, and the soon and sure return of our Savior. I am 45 years old and I was called to the ministry on August 8, 1990. I am married, for life, to a beautiful, godly woman, Amanda. She is my closest friend and a precious helpmate from God. We celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary in July of 2007. Second only to my salvation, she is the greatest gift that the Lord has blessed me with. Her primary responsibility now, and for the foreseeable future is being obedient to God as a Titus 2 woman (Titus 2: 4,5) by staying at home and nurturing our four precious sons, Nathan (19), Josiah (16), Seth (13) and Micah (9), in the Lord. Our oldest son, Nathan is in college, and we currently homeschool the 3 youngest.

LIFE VERSES
2 Chronicles 16:9a: “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the whole earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.”

Luke 19:10: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”

MINISTRY PURPOSE
I am called of God:
“for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ;…” Ephesians 4:12.

To seek the lost until they are found. Luke 19:10

MINISTRY
EXPERIENCE

August 2007-Present I am serving at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in a position assisting the Pastor in his ministries of outreach and pastoral care. I will also assist in supervising upkeep of the church facilities. This position is a weekday position and allows me to pursue preaching opportunities as God leads. It also gives me the freedom to continue my pursuit of a position as Senior Pastor of a local body of believers. I praise the Lord for this opportunity to serve my church family at Mount Vernon. I have also had the privilege of helping in the mission's department at SEBTS.

April 2003-December 2007 We served as career-missionaries with the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention (IMB-SBC). My family and I planted churches among the Samburu people of Northern Kenya. We resigned in December of 2007. My duties have included, but are not limited to:
Planting indigenous and reproducible churches among the Samburu people.
Learning the Samburu language and culture.
Developing native leaders/pastors among the Samburu.
Planning, and implementing feeding projects as necessary due to frequent drought and famine.
Developing a set of Chronological Bible Stories for the Samburu people in their native language.
Mapping of the Samburu area churches and planning for future missionary endeavors in the eastern part of the district.
Preaching in U.S. churches to emphasize the work of missions and the need for churches to commit to give, pray, and to go.

November 1997-
April 2003 I served as Associate Pastor of Administration and Education at Mount Vernon Baptist Church in Raleigh, NC. The church has over 1,500 members and a budget of $1.2M+. My primary responsibilities were:
To free the Senior Pastor, Rev. Shannon Scott, to serve God according to his spiritual gifts, i.e. preaching, praying, evangelism, and pastoral visitation. This was accomplished through my primary responsibility of supervision and administration of various church affairs.
Administration of church affairs such as: supervision and encouragement of fellow staff members, encouragement and oversight of several committees including Building and Grounds, and Finance. Supervision of facilities upkeep and usage. Dealing with contracts associated with advertising, cleaning service, equipment repair, and office equipment.
Supervising the capital campaign for and building of a 20,000 sq. ft. “Next Generations Education Center.”
Supervision of the rezoning and selling of the former parsonage property.
Accompanying the Pastor to all Deacon Meetings.
Preaching in the absence of the Pastor.
Acting as a liaison to North Raleigh Christianity Academy. This Christian School was started at Mount Vernon and shared the facilities for several years.
Overseeing/encouraging our evangelistic outreach program.
Overseeing/encouraging our Sunday evening Discipleship Training program for adults.
Overseeing/encouraging our Bible Study Program/Sunday School.
Pre-screening all marriage requests of people outside of the church membership.
Seeking to fulfill the directives and vision of the Senior Pastor and to free him from the “business of the church”.
Participating in a national mission trip to Maine, and an international mission trip to the Maasai people of Kenya.
Substitute teaching in the Pastor’s Multiple Ministry class at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (SEBTS) when our pastor was away doing Revivals or Convention business.
Supervision of D.Min. student at SEBTS to help him complete his degree program.
Mentoring of seminary students at SEBTS.
Preaching Revival services at churches.

May 1995-November
1997 I served as the Senior Pastor/Teacher of Tabernacle Baptist Church in Palatka, FL. My duties included, but were not limited to:
Preaching Sunday AM, PM, and Wed. nights.
Supervising the overall work of the church including the Sunday School, visitation, budgeting, performing weddings and funerals, and various other duties.
Working with church leaders to determine the vision and direction of the church.
Participating in numerous youth events and trips.
Supervising a small staff.

SECULAR
EMPLOYMENT

1989-1995 I worked as an Assistant Manager for Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. for 2 years in Texas, and as a 40-hour support manager while in Seminary from 1991-95.
Supervising employees who ran various departments.
Oversight of administrative personnel such as cashiers, cash office employees, and cleaning crews. Personnel Manager of a store in Raleigh, overseeing the hiring of all staff.

Previous to 1989 I have had other employment experience in the areas of Restaurant
Management, Advertising, and Grocery Store Management.

EDUCATIONAL
BACKGROUND

1991.1995 I graduated from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in
Wake Forest, NC, in May of 1995 with a Masters of Divinity with
Biblical Languages.

1984-1987 I graduated from the University of Texas – Pan American, located in Edinburg, TX, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management.

1977-1981 I graduated from Winston Churchill High School in San Antonio, Texas, with honors.

SPIRITUAL GIFTING
Pastor/Teacher – I have been gifted by the Lord, and I have a passion for rightly dividing and boldly declaring God’s Word. This spiritual gift is outlined in Ephesians 4:11-13, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy 4, and in 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. The primary use of this gift is for “the equipping of the saints for the work of the service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.” Eph. 4:12, 13 (NASB).

Prophecy – I have been gifted in the area of prophecy. This includes not only proclaiming the Word, but also exhorting and encouraging fellow believers as outlined in 2 Timothy 3:16,17; and Colossians 1:28-29.

Administration – I have been gifted by our Lord in the area of administering church affairs. This gift is mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12:28 and is demonstrated by Timothy and Titus as they fulfilled Paul’s desire that the churches be set in order and that Elders be appointed over them. The word administration in the Greek gives the idea of pilotage, as in boating, or directorship in the church.

Witness – I seek to be a witness as outlined in Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:16-20. I desire to be a witness locally, nationally, and internationally. While witnessing is not specifically listed as a “spiritual gift,” it is a mandate to all Christians. It is my desire to include my wife and children in this area, especially in the area of international mission work. I also desire to encourage the local body of believers to have personal involvement as a church body and as individuals in all of the prescribed areas of missions/witnessing.

Special Note: All of these gifts are to be used in accordance with the example of Christ. Christ demonstrated the gift of leadership from the standpoint of a servant. Jesus is the supreme example of servanthood in the Bible and is a model for all ministers, professional and volunteer.

LICENSING
I was licensed to preach the Gospel in October of 1993 by the members of Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC.

ORDINATION
I was ordained to the Pastorate in 1995 by the members of
Tabernacle Baptist Church in Palatka, FL.

COMMISSIONING
I was commissioned as a missionary with the IMB-SBC in February of 2003.

REFERENCES
Pastor Shannon Scott, Senior Pastor, Mount Vernon Baptist Church, Raleigh, NC. 7600 Falls of Neuse Rd., Raleigh, NC, 27615. (919)847-0160.

Doug Lee, Strategy Facilitator for the IMB-SBC in Central Kenya. Doug was my direct supervisor while I was serving the Samburu people of Kenya. P.O. Box 48390, 00100 Nairobi, Kenya. Email: thedlees@pobox.com. Phone: 011 254 734967856 (Doug is open to a personal call. Kenya time is 7-8 hours ahead of our time.)
Pastor Wesley Garner, West Oxford Baptist Church, 205 Holly Dr., Oxford, NC 27565. (919)482-6893.
David Crane, Regional Missions Personalizer, CESA (Central Eastern and Southern Africa) Region, IMB-SBC. (704)692-8233, dcrane@imb.org. David is a personal friend and served as my mentor during my initial training in Kenya.
CONTACT
INFORMATION Phone: 919-302-0018
Email Address: simmons2samburu@gmail.com

SERMONS Recent sermon available upon request.