Other Details

Pastor of Discipleship/DiscipleMaking/Spiritual Formation

• Do you wake up passionate every day about forming mission-oriented disciples of Jesus, and deploying people into God’s mission for their lives?
• Do you lead others from a north star of a disciple-making vision that is theological, Biblical and actionable by people in their everyday lives?
• Do you long to paint that vision of disciple-making in the way of Jesus on the canvas of a large and growing congregation made up of equal parts new Christians (almost every one of our membership classes witnesses at least one adult conversion), not-yet-activated Christians, and many long-time followers of Jesus?
• Do you finish your to-do lists and excel in a self-directed manner?
• Do you take God seriously and yourself not-so-seriously?

An emphatic “Yes” to all five? Keep reading and consider joining our team. Lake Forest Church – Huntersville is seeking a Pastor of DiscipleMaking. This person will love and develop a stream of leaders from a growing group of imperfect people and help them “discover and live out their role in God’s story” (our Mission Statement).  We seek a leader to refresh our strategy, hone our communication, and relationally execute our systems for disciple-making, through team-based ministry.  We aspire to a clear and engaging focus on Jesus, both worship and evangelism in Sunday worship, spiritual growth in groups of all kinds for every age, and intentional deployment outward in mission.

Our spiritual framework of “Discover->Belong->Share->Go” is broad enough for the successful candidate to lead us to make more and better disciples, while putting their unique fingerprint onto our discipleship processes.

Job Summary: Lead Discipleship Strategy; Raise up and train discipling leaders; Oversee group life; Preach and provide pastoral care.

Before we get to the real job description, here’s a little more about us:

LFC-Huntersville is the founding congregation of The Lake Forest Family of Churches, a 27-year-old growing church planting network of five (and counting) congregations in which up to 6,000 people worship weekly.  We are in the Evangelical Presbyterian denomination as our spiritual authority.  The laser beam vision of LFC is reaching “people who’ve given up on church but not on God” (our tagline).  You can read about the Core Passions of our church HERE, and watch a video about our church planting network as a family HERE. We expect every staff member to be a full DNA match, meaning that she/he resonates deeply with our mission and passions.

Primary Purpose & Function

The Pastor of Discipleship at Lake Forest Church Huntersville is called to develop and implement a comprehensive adult discipleship strategy that fosters spiritual growth, deepens biblical understanding, and builds authentic community for the purpose of forming missional disciples for Jesus Christ. The Pastor of Discipleship will ensure that all efforts align with the church’s mission to make growing disciples of Jesus Christ and integrate seamlessly with the broader vision of Lake Forest Church.

Qualifications, Experience, & Core Competencies

• A mature disciple of Jesus Christ with a passion and track record for making disciples.
• Minimum of 5 years of discipleship or pastoral ministry experience in a ministry setting.
• Master’s degree in theology, ministry, or a related field (seminary degree preferred).
• Ordained in a Reformed Tradition or ready to be ordained in the EPC.
• Experience in leading and managing teams of staff and volunteers.
• Strong leadership, organizational, and communication skills.
• Experience in sermon preparation and delivery.
• Ability to relate to and engage the increasingly diverse missional context of the community.
• High emotional intelligence, humility, and a team-oriented spirit.

Personal Traits/Disposition:

• Demonstrates a deep, growing relationship with Jesus Christ and models a life of faith and integrity.
• Possesses a strong Biblical and theological foundation for making disciples of Jesus Christ in the local church.
• Naturally connects with people, making them feel welcomed, heard, and valued.
• Contagious passion for discipleship that inspires others to engage in spiritual growth creating pathways for discipleship with measurable impact.
• Approaches leadership with humility, putting the needs of others before self.
• Thrives in a team setting, working well with staff, volunteers, and church leadership.
• Understands that discipleship is a process and is willing to walk with people through their spiritual journeys.
• Keeps confidentiality, honors commitments, and demonstrates strong moral character.
• Seek wisdom and direction through prayer and the leading of the Holy Spirit.
• Fully embraces and champions the mission, vision, and values of Lake Forest Church.

Specific Responsibilities

Vision and Strategy: Vision and strategy for discipleship

• Develop and implement a clear discipleship pathway that encourages spiritual maturity and connection.
• Leverage modern technologies to develop a digital discipleship engagement strategy.
• Align discipleship efforts with Lake Forest Church’s mission, vision, and core values.
• Champion a culture of discipleship across all ministries and age groups.
• Serve on the Executive Leadership Team, providing leadership for the direction of the church.

Discipleship Ministry Leadership: Establish a strong and striving discipleship culture.

• Oversee the development and administration of community groups including life stage groups such as 20 somethings, singles, etc., ensuring broad participation.
• Lead adult education initiatives, including Bible studies, Alpha evangelism, leadership training, and spiritual formation courses.
• Direct new believer programs, baptism experiences, and membership classes.
• Provide oversight and vision for men’s ministries, equipping leaders to foster discipleship in gender-specific settings.
• Develop and integrate digital discipleship tools, such as online study guides, video resources, and interactive learning platforms.

Leadership Development: Development of strong ministry teams.

• Recruit, equip, and mentor leaders of community groups, men’s ministry, marriage ministry, and Alpha evangelism, and other discipleship ministry volunteers.
• Provide ongoing leadership training and coaching to ensure effective spiritual discipleship.
• Develop a leadership pipeline within the discipleship ministry to identify and cultivate future leaders.

Collaborate and Integration: Collaborate across ministry teams.

• Work closely with pastors and ministry leaders to align discipleship efforts across all ministries to ensure a seamless discipleship journey from children to adulthood.
• Integrate discipleship with Sunday services, ensuring that preaching, worship, and community groups reinforce the same spiritual growth objectives.

Monitoring and Evaluation: Measure for the success of discipleship.

• Establish and track key performance indicators for discipleship engagement, such as community group participation rates, volunteer involvement, leadership development, and spiritual growth.
• Provide regular reports to the Integrator of Ministry & Operations and elders on the effectiveness of discipleship initiatives.
• Use qualitative feedback and data-driven insights to refine discipleship strategies.

Teaching and Pastoral Care: Teaching and Pastoral Care for the tribe of Lake Forest Huntersville.

• Teach regularly in various discipleship settings, including community groups, classes, and Sunday services as needed.
• Preach regularly as part of the Sunday morning teaching team (6-10 times annually).
• Provide pastoral care, counseling, and spiritual guidance to Ministry Partners (church members) and leaders.
• Officiate weddings, funerals, baptisms, and other pastoral duties as required.

Position Details

Reports to Integrator of Ministry & Operations with dotted line reporting relationship with Lead Pastor.

Position Start Date: August 2025

Supervises: Manager of Care & Connection, Children Ministry Director

Collaborates with: Lead Pastor, Mission Pastor, Minister of Women & Youth, Lake Forest Huntersville Elders

Participates: Lake Forest Huntersville Elder Commission, Executive Leadership Team, Ministry Planning.

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Lake Forest Church is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to creating a diverse and inclusive work environment. All employment decisions are based on qualifications, merit, and organizational needs. In accordance with applicable laws, Lake Forest Church does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, age, disability, or veteran status.

As a faith-based organization, Lake Forest Church reserves the right to employ individuals who share and live out our Christian beliefs, in accordance with the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) Essentials of our Faith.