Pastor (Pastor, Interim pastor, pulpit supply)
Other Details
The ideal candidate should feel a strong call of God on his life to be a pastor; a passion for knowing and preaching God’s Word; a high level of both emotional and spiritual maturity; a deep love for church members and their families; his own house lead with Biblical order; skills which allow him to be a joyous leader and team player.
Whenever preaching from the pulpit he should expound the text with authority, with humility, with empathy, and with some humor. Thus he needs to maintain a regular program of study in order to feed the flock and honor God. This should lead to Bible based sermons which are delivered at each worship service and special services such as weddings and funerals. Administer the sacraments of communion and baptism.
With regard to leadership skills, he should provide pastoral care to the congregation, fostering a love for God’s Word, for each other, and for the lost. This pastoral care would include visiting the sick, counseling those in need, and offering support during times of crisis. All of these duties could be shared with the other officers of the church. While leadership is important it is also important that he accede to the decisions of the Session.
Work with church leaders to establish and execute a vision of strategic plans for the church’s spiritual and temporal growth as well as development of additional leadership. This effort would help ensure that the entire congregation stays focused on the vision. Part of this effort would include mentoring and support of church members through Adult Education programs, as well as small groups, Bible studies, and special programs. Also included would be the development of relations within the local community to foster outreach, mission activities, and generally collaborating with other organizations to address community needs.
How To Apply
Since the Presbytery does an excellent job of mentoring, screening, and testing candidates for the office of Minister of the Word, we know we can rely upon the quality of each man ordained to that office. However, sometimes men will have what are known as scruples with some parts of the Westminster Standards or the OPC Standards. We would like to know what, if any, scruples you may have and why you feel that way.
We think we need an experienced Pastor, but like Timothy, a young Pastor with exceptional spiritual wisdom and excellent knowledge of God’s Word which exhibits itself in great preaching ability might also be considered. We might need a tent-making kind of Pastor due to our current small size.
We also would need for each candidate to provide, when requested, documentation which would allow CC-OPC to perform a full background check on the applicant.
Naturally, should you be deemed to be a potential candidate for our church, you would meet several times with the Session to ascertain if they think we would like to offer you a Call. And of course, that would subsequently go as a recommendation to the congregation for their decision.
Submit Correspondence and Responses to:
c/o Pastoral Search Committee
Christ Covenant Orthodox Presbyterian Church
6070 North 900 East (6070 N 900 E)
Sheridan, Indiana 46069-8847