Leadership & Preaching Experience
Church Leadership Summary, 2004 – present
- Current Brookwood Church Pastoral Leadership Team.
- Direct oversight of HR, Finance, and a $7.6 Million budget.
- Oversight of Care and Adult Discipleship departments.
- Led primary church response and online strategies during the coronavirus of 2020.
- Work closely and provide guidance for Sunday planning, Implementation, and Operation teams.
- Train pastors and ministry leaders both domestically and from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and Russia on prayer, transparent Discipleship, effective speaking, and spiritual growth in the church.
- Lead others by intentionally building strong relationships across many departments.
- Guide staff and leaders to develop unity in purpose through strong communication, encouragement, personal example, and honest relationships.
- A diverse background of personal experience (in preaching, production, worship, care, operations, and working with at-risk youth) serves as a foundation to lead a unified calling in the church.
- Experience serving in diverse regional cultures with multiple demographics and age groups.
- Engaged in launching new initiatives, revitalizing existing ministries, and building up new leaders.
- Related Experience: Serving as the Board of Directors Vice-Chair for Bridge Builders International.
Preaching Summary, 2008 – present
- Experienced Preacher and Teacher.
- Regular teaching pastor at Brookwood Church (2016-Present).
- Regular accredited preacher at Essex Alliance Church (2008-2015).
- Recurring guest speaking engagements at North Avenue Alliance Church, Grace Church, New Life Assembly of God, Cornerstone Alliance, and Grace Bible Church.
- Invited guest preacher at Madonas Baptistu Church (recurring), Matthews Church, and William Fetler’s Latvian Bible Center in Madonas and Riga, Latvia.
- Passionate about providing application-based, expository teaching that equally challenges, inspires, and encourages all levels of believers, staff, and newcomers.
- Leadership and teaching informed by a history of teaching to multiple regional cultures.
- Employs prior experience in production, worship, and ministry to create a unified worship experience.
Joshua J. Masters is a pastor, author, missionary, and international speaker with a heart for leading through relationship building and encouragement—creating a culture where we pursue a deeper, healing relationship with Christ as we develop a consuming compassion for the hurting, broken, and lost together.
Josh has a heart for local and global outreach, serving as a missionary and Executive Director for Bridge Builders International, a US-based missions organization bringing the hope of Christ to Latvia, the Baltics, and the greater Eastern European region.
He has been featured on CBN Television, HIS Radio, the Light Radio Network, and is a regular preacher and speaker for large groups.
Joshua’s current book series, Experiencing the Word: A Modern Approach to Lectio Divina and Reflective Prayer, releases a new workbook each month of 2024 as Joshua leads a year of meditating on the Bible with daily videos.
His book, A Faith Unleashed: Living in the Hope of God’s Rescue, premiered as an Amazon Best Seller and a Selah Awards Finalist.
His book, American Psalms, a Serious Writer’s Book of the Decade finalist, teaches readers how to pray for America by seeking God rather than particular political outcomes.
As a member of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA), he’s also worked in the stage, film, and television industries. Maintaining his love for movies and all things creative, Josh is a self-proclaimed sci-fi and comic book geek. His not-so-secret alter ego, the Bat Pastor, loves sharing the gospel through the parables of pop-culture.
As an advocate for faith-based recovery, Josh has taught at international events for Bridge Builders International, worked as a Celebrate Recovery pastor, and served on the Vermont governors’ panel to combat opiate addiction.
Raised in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, Joshua now lives in South Carolina.
Ministry
Beliefs
Philosophy of Ministry
The body of Christ has a three-fold purpose in this life:
- To worship and glorify God.
- To live in a community of discipleship and encouragement.
- To reach the lost and broken of our individual communities and the world.
In order to do this, we must facilitate the spiritual growth of believers by creating a culture in the church that encourages believers to equip, challenge, and care for one another as they pursue a deeper relationship with Christ and a more selfless worship of God together.
This must be accomplished through transparent, relational leadership that builds a culture of encouragement, challenge, and community.
True discipleship and relationship with God should always lead to a consuming compassion for the lost and broken. This compassion should be revealed in the words and actions of believers outside the walls of the church, which is the true test of a body’s maturity.
Our ministries must be based on compassion and truth, but also embrace technology, media, and modern means of creative communication as essential tools to convey an unchanging message to an ever-changing culture (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).
This should be done with a missional mindset–learning the language of those we are trying to reach. For example, when we send missionaries to a far off land, we first teach them the language and the culture so they can more effectively convey the hope of Christ. We must take the same approach with social media and other forms of technology. The purpose of cultural relevance in the church is to make the gospel understandable, not palatable.
I believe the Bible (in its original languages) is the perfect and literal Word of God, which provides relevant instruction and encouragement in our lives (2 Timothy 3:16). It is the final authority in matters of the church.
Statement of Faith
WHAT I BELIEVE...
About God:
There is only one living and true God, existing in three persons — the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. He is the creator and ruler of this world.
[Genesis 1; Deuteronomy 6:4; Matthew 3:16]
About Jesus:
Jesus Christ is equal in his deity with the Father and Holy Spirit as one God. The sacrifice of Christ is the source of our salvation. I believe in His virgin birth, His sinless life, His atoning death on the cross, His bodily resurrection, His ascension to the right hand of the Father, and His future personal and visible return to the earth in power and glory.
[Matthew 26:64; Luke 1:34–38; John 1:1-5, 14; John 3:16; Acts 2:23–24; Philippians 2:6–11; Hebrews 2:9, 8:1; 1 Peter 3:18]
About The Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit is equal in His deity with the Father and Jesus. He is sent to indwell, teach, guide, encourage, comfort, reveal truth, and empower the believer while convicting both believers and non-believers of their sin and need for salvation.
[John 14:15–18, 16:5–13; Acts 1:8; 2 Corinthians 3:17; Galatians 5:25; Ephesians 1:13]
About The Bible:
Scripture is the very word of God. It is perfect in its original languages and is the supreme authority in matters of faith, life, and the church. I further believe that the Bible was engineered by God to be one complete message and that the very words and grammar of the sentences designed by God for His purpose.
[Psalm 12:6, 119:105, 160; 2 Timothy 3:15–16; 2 Peter 1:20–21]
About Salvation:
All men have fallen short of the glory of God by nature and by choice, and salvation is received only through faith in the atoning death and resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah. I believe this salvation is a gift of God’s grace, not dependent on or achievable through any merit which I might seek to achieve through my own works. Sinners are brought to this saving grace through the conviction of the Holy Spirit and are drawn by the Father.
[John 3:16, 6:44, 14:6; Romans 3:23, 6:23; Ephesians 2:8-9; Titus 3:4–7; Hebrews 2:9; 1 Peter 3:18]
About The Church:
The Church consists of all those who believe in Jesus Christ. I believe the local church is a body of believers in Christ, who are joined together for the purpose of worship, the mutual strengthening of one another in the faith, meeting the needs of their community, and the fulfillment of the Great Commission. A more detailed description is available in my Philosophy of Ministry.
[Matthew 28:19–20; Acts 2:41–47; James 1:27]
About Israel:
Jesus is the true Messiah of Israel and fulfills the prophecies of the Jewish scriptures. Further, I believe that while the Church has inherited the promise of salvation, it does not replace the role of Israel as a nation in the plan of God. Christ will redeem the land of Israel and fulfill his covenant with them, ruling from the throne of David.
It is important, however, to note that there is only one Kingdom. The people of Israel do not receive special dispensations for salvation. Each individual must be saved through faith in Jesus the Messiah. The church is grafted into the the promise of salvation and are adopted as children of God. In that sense, the church inherits all of God's promises to Israel. That does not, however, negate the role and purpose God has for Israel as a nation.
[Genesis 12:1-3; 2 Samuel 7:12-16; Psalm 132:11; Luke 1:31-33; Romans 11:11-27; Revelation 7:1-8]
About Baptism, Communion, and Commandments:
Christ committed two ordinances to the local church; Baptism by immersion and the Lord's Supper. The first is an outward expression of a changed heart representing our new life in Christ. The second is a remembrance of His sacrifice until His return. I further believe the greatest and most important commandments, in Christ’s own words, are to love the Lord your God and to love your neighbor. It is through these commandments that the Great Commission is fulfilled.
[Matthew 22:36-40, 28:18-20; Acts 2:41–47; 1 Corinthians 11:17-34]
About The Resurrection:
Each person, both believers, and non-believers will one day be resurrected and give an account before God. Those who have been covered by the righteousness of Christ will be resurrected to eternal life with Him, but those who rejected God will be forever separated from His presence.
[John 5:28–29; 1 Corinthians 15:12-33; Revelation 20:11-15]
