Purpose of the Pastor

The pastor is the spiritual leader of First Christian Church.
The pastor serves as shepherd of the congregation, and shepherd and leader of the church staff. The pastor provides overall leadership and oversight in collaboration with the elders and General Board. As spiritual leader, the pastor leads through prayer, preaching and teaching, spiritual care of the congregation, articulation of vision, inspiring and calling the congregation to the vision and goals of the church through equipping the body to do the work of ministry.

Pastor Profile

We seek a divinely gifted person of integrity, who is an accomplished preacher/teacher/communicator combining contemporary communication with biblical exposition. We seek a pastor who preaches with conviction, led by the Holy Spirit, such that they are willing to address and confront challenging questions and issues of contemporary discipleship, as well as social, justice, and economic issues of the day from a biblical perspective. We seek a pastor with a proven track record of successfully leading a church; a pastor proven to be a visionary leader led by the Holy Spirit. By success, we mean evidence of leading and inspiring people to own and fulfill the vision of the church, development of people for ministry, and releasing them to ministry through their spiritual gifts.  We seek evidence of a shepherd’s heart in his teaching.  The pastor should demonstrate spiritual and emotional maturity derived from life experiences. We also appreciate a sense of humor!

Responsibilities and Functions of the Pastor

1. The pastor will be the primary preacher/teacher for Sunday services.
2. Along with other staff, members of the General Board, elders, and deacons/deaconesses, they are to be a shepherd to the congregation.
3. The pastor is to pursue, clarify, and support a vision that prepares people to serve the vision and goals of First Christian Church.
4. The pastor is to lead staff, elders, deacons and deaconesses, and other ministry leaders to accomplish our vision and fulfill our goals.
5. The pastor will develop, guide, and communicate vision to the church.
6. The pastor will be the public representative of the church.
7. The pastor will minister through special events: Weddings, funerals, baptisms, infant dedications, and other occasions.
8. The pastor demonstrates a clear call and commitment to serve and further develop the people of First Christian Church’s relationship with Christ.

• Preaching and Teaching
• Provide leadership of structure and style of Sunday Morning worship experiences.
• Serve as primary preaching pastor.
• Identify and mentor emerging communicators gifted and called to ministry within the congregation.
• Leadership Development
• Regularly conduct staff meetings to ensure staff are effectively functioning.
• Provide and facilitate opportunities for members of the General Board, Deacons/deaconesses, and identified leaders of ministries to mature in faith and ministry.
• In collaboration with other ministry leaders, provide and facilitate opportunities for deepening spiritual maturity in group settings i.e., Sunday School, Small Groups, Bible Studies, etc.
• Identify and invite individuals into intentional discipleship and mentoring relationships in 1-on-1 and/or groups settings.
• Prayerfully provide oversight of mission and vision of the church alongside other ministry staff.
• Lead in promoting mission and vision to staff, lay leaders, ministries, and the congregation.
• Serve as primary public communications representative for First Christian Church in promoting mission and vision to our local community.
• Utilize the role of Lead Pastor to actively assist in identifying and recruiting individuals to lead and service ministry opportunities.
• Shepherding
• Develop, equip, and resource the Elders, Deacons, and Deaconesses to identify shepherding opportunities.
• Provide training for care and nurture through grief care, bedside visitation, and pastoral care.