Our People

At Elim, we believe in the importance of leadership. In the Bible, you can see the pattern of leadership set in the example of the kings. When there was a righteous king, the nation prospered. When the king was evil, the nation suffered as a whole, and only individuals were blessed.

God hasn’t changed and the principle still is true today. Godly leadership means a safe and healthy church. Paul wrote about church leadership in much of his writings, and one of those passages is found in Ephesians 4:11-12 (NKJV)
“And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ…”

We believe that effective leadership in the Church is not only Godly, but is a team of people who operate in their gifting and are allowed to be who they are, while being held accountable to those God has placed above them in leadership. This keeps them, and the people in the church, safe.

Rev. Gregory S. Vinson

The Reverend Gregory S. Vinson is the Senior Pastor of Elim Community Church. He has been involved with ministry since 1983. He was an Associate Pastor at two churches prior to coming to Elim in 1992. Rev. Vinson graduated from Andersonville Theological Seminary in 1994 with a dual Bachelors degree in Theology and Missions. He received his Masters Degree in 2003. Rev. Vinson is very active in many areas of the city of Bath, chairing several committees and being an active participant in many others. His high level of commitment to the City of Bath includes his position as the Chaplain to the Bath Police Department.

Ken Dobbins, Elder

Ken Dobbins has been a member of Elim since 1999. He and his family are a blessing to have as a part of Elim’s family. Ken takes his responsibilities as Elder seriously and pursues excellence with passion. In his own words, “I believe we are to build bridges of relationship with our fellow Christians, not to draw denominational lines in the sand. I believe we are to have the compassion of Christ for all mankind, not to limit our blessings to our own congregation. We must be a church of healing and restoration to “wounded” Christians. I believe that our children are blessings given in trust that we may lead them to a strong faith in Christ. I tremble at the “millstone” (Matthew 18:6) and faithfully encourage those who will bear our Christian heritage.”

Timothy Dumont, Elder in Training

Timothy Dumont’s family has been at Elim Community Church for the past 26 years and are a mainstay to the life and breath of the Church. Tim grew up in Malone, New York and upon graduating from high school joined the United States Navy and served for four years, his final duty station being NAS Brunswick Maine. He has been married to his high school sweetheart, Linda, for the past 29 plus years. Tim and Linda have six children and have homeschooled all of them throughout their formative years. Tim is the owner of Kennebec Builders and has worked in construction for over 25 years. One of his responsibilities is the care and maintenance of Elim Community Church’s buildings. Matthew 6:1-34 is one of his favorite passages found in the Bible.

Pastor in Training (P.I.T) is the method of leadership, education, mentoring and ministry that we are using, to give the individuals who believe that the Lord has called them to full-time ministry, the opportunity to learn in a safe environment.

Elder in Training (E.I.T) is the method of training up Godly Men and Women to the vital ministry of Eldership in a local church, they will have the opportunity to seek the Lord as to what type of Elder they would desire to be: A Ruling Elder or a Teaching Elder or both…..

Pastoral Internship

The Pastoral Internship at Elim Community Church is provided for all individuals who are called to the Full-time Ministry of the Gospel. The Pastoral Internship provides for the individual desiring to enter into the ministry, a wide range of topics and experiences to help prepare them for the ministry and to enable them to learn about the ministry in a safe environment.

Each Intern is placed within their own ministry track and has a weekly meeting with the Pastor to review their personal progress.
Each Intern is exposed as much as possible to the many facets of ministry and thus helps them with prayer and guidance to understand what and where the Lord may be calling them to do and to be.
Each Intern is required to present to the group and the Pastor their goals both short-term and long-term.
Each Intern is given certain ministry assignments to help them to develop the character necessary to be in the ministry.

The following are some of the topics that would be taught in the Pastoral Internship Ministry

The Call – Ephesians chapter 4.
The Minister and His/Her Personal life.
The Minister and His/Her Devotional life.
The Minister and His/her Educational life.
The Minister and Holiness
The Ministry as a team, learning to be a team.
The Hardship of the Ministry and its effects…
The 21 Laws of Leadership – Maxwell
The 21 Characteristics of Leadership
Bible Study Methodology – Greek and Hebrew
Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor and Practical responsibilities of the Ministry
Learning to Rest in the Ministry