Fresh Start Church has a rich history with its origins as Pleasantville
Baptist Church established in 1891. Founded by Mrs. Phoebe Adams, our
church began with the vision of Mrs. Adams to have “a local church that
wasn’t afraid to preach the gospel and wasn’t afraid of a little rain.”
Upon arriving in Pleasantville, New Jersey from Philadelphia, Mrs. Adams
had a heart for a vibrant, faithful, local church. She worked her connections
in the region and doors opened in the city of Pleasantville, New Jersey in
1891.
Over the years our church has experienced many changes. In fact, it
almost closed its doors in the 1930s during the great depression. But,
several faithful members actually mortgaged their own homes to keep the
church alive.
Our church has seen many pastors and three different locations over the
years. And it was not without its own share of controversy. During the
1970s, 80s, and 90s, we saw three consecutive pastors come and go. All
three had to resign due to poor choices and moral failures. The church
purchased land and built a home in Egg Harbor Township in the
mid-1990s. We’ve also had a couple of name changes along the way.
In the fall of 1999 our current pastor, Tim Chambers, accepted the
position of lead pastor and has faithfully served the church ever since.
With Pastor Tim’s passion for reaching “the one” who is far from God,
Fresh Start Church has continued to have an outward focus. Since that
time, the church has grown to have a presence in the township and in
Atlantic County. We also saw some rather explosive growth along the way.
As Fresh Start Church focused on reaching people for Jesus and
becoming a healthy church we seemed to see other local churches strive
to become healthy as well.
Thankfully, many of our members remained faithful as well and we are
currently seeing a season of fresh growth as formally hesitant members
and brand new families are coming through our doors each and every
week. It is an exciting time at Fresh Start Church.
With a population over 265,000 – Atlantic County offers Fresh Start
Church a great opportunity for reaching people for Jesus. Our team of
staff and volunteers are excited and encouraged to share Christ with our
community and make an impact for His Kingdom.

Connecting the love of Christ to the heart of our community.

A fresh start that leads to a great finish.

• First: We go first because we see ourselves as last.
• Reach: We’ll do anything short of sin to reach the one far from God.
• Excellence: Excellence honors God and inspires people.
• Sacrifice: We sacrifice to the greater God so we can accomplish the greater good.
• Honor: When honor is demonstrated, value is elevated.

The primary role of the Student Pastor is to introduce young people to Christ,
disciple them in spiritual growth, and equip them to serve Christ. The Student
Pastor also equips parents/guardians to disciple their children. The Student
Pastor is responsible for providing planning, promoting, and coordinating
assistance and direction for all education and activities for grades six through
young adults.

• Exhibits a personal and growing relationship with God and a teachable
  spirit; a love and passion for young people, evangelism, and outreach
• Bachelor’s degree in theology, biblical studies, or youth ministry
• Previous youth ministry experience is an advantage
• Willingness to relate to the unique needs of teenagers in today’s culture
• A self-motivated leader capable of creating and executing a long-term
  vision
• Strong strategic planning and administrative skills
• Excellent relational skills to communicate with students and parents
• A working knowledge of creative programming for student programs and events
• A basic knowledge of computer programs and software (Planning Center, Pro Presenter, etc.)

• Lead and organize effective programs for students that combine
  fellowship, worship, biblical teaching, discipleship, and evangelism
• Recruit, train, and shepherd all student ministry volunteers
• Plan and execute services for students that are biblically accurate,
  culturally relevant, and high-energy
• Create and manage a student ministry calendar that drives all events, activities, and teaching within the ministry
• Integrate the mission and vision of Fresh Start Church into student
  ministry goals and activities
• Be an active presence in local high schools with periodic visits to
  engage students at school
• Educate, encourage, and facilitate student participation in church-wide
  community outreach initiatives
• Cast vision for, teach, and plan retreats and camps with music,
  messages, games, and activities that inspire students to learn about God
• Assist in developing the annual student ministry budget and responsible stewardship of the budget
• Serve as a member of the pastoral staff by performing and participating
  in baptism services, funerals, etc. as related to the needs of students
• Provide counseling and spiritual direction to students on a regular,
  individual basis
• Maintain contact with students and parents to keep them informed of
  events and activities and maintain a ministry strategy that encourages involvement
• Collaborate with other pastoral staff to support parents in effectively
  fulfilling their Christian parenting roles and duties
• Develop a long term vision for integrating students in the life of the
  church after high school

• Humble, Hungry, and Smart
• Highly motivated initiator and self-starter
• Think fast & act quick
• Drama free, please!
• Know how to have fun, laugh, and walk in joy
• Flexible, driven, goal-oriented and gets it done early
• Gatherer of people
• Leader
• Self-starter
• Team player
• Extrovert
• Visionary
• Experience in youth ministry

Atlantic County, New Jersey is a unique and exciting place. We are
centrally located on the East Coast and only one to three hours from major
metropolitan areas like NYC, Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington DC. We
boast some of the best mid-atlantic family beaches and we are within a short
driving distance to some of the best mountain retreats in the Eastern US. We
love the fact that we get to fully experience all four beautiful seasons. We
have beaches, farms, lakes, rivers, and mountains nearby. South Jersey enjoys
a very different vibe from our North Jersey residents. Our pace is a bit more
measured and lifestyle, a bit less stressful. With Atlantic City in our backyard,
we have access to an ever changing variety of concerts and entertainment.
Our communities are family-oriented and our people are friendly,
hardworking, and diverse. Our area sees an influx of “out of towners” during
the summer due to our proximity to the shore. “Off Season” is awesome when
we have the beaches to ourselves. We are small business owners,
entrepreneurs, community servants and everything in-between.