Lead Pastor

Hillside Church is looking for an individual that is responding to a God-given calling to the vocation of Pastoral ministry. Some responsibilities of this role include but are not limited to: taking a lead role in the overall planning of ministry; teach and preach God’s Word to move His people to maturity and obedience; attend and officiate church functions; maintain a healthy involvement with all ministries;  lead service planning meetings; develop and implement a visitation ministry; communicate effectively; and foster a healthy working relationship with the EMCC. This individual must have a heart to help people find and follow Jesus as described in: Ephesians 4:12-16; Titus 1:9;  and1 Peter 5:1-5.

Knowledge, Abilities, and Skills Required 

The pastor must:

• Be a born-again believer who has recognized their sinful state and has accepted God’s gift of salvation which was made available through His Son Jesus Christ’s death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead.
• Fit the qualifications found in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.
• Be a person of prayer who looks to the Lord and His Word for direction in life and ministry.
• Be able to preach and teach based on an in-depth doctrinal understanding of God’s Word and from having an experienced walk with the Lord.
• Be open to new ministry ideas and approaches; exhibit an attitude of flexibility and adaptability.
• Be a team player who shows integrity and a strong work ethic; have the heart of a servant leader.
• With the support of family, challenge, encourage, and motivate the body to become more Christ-like and to use our gifts in building His kingdom.
• Have or be in the process of achieving, a post-secondary religious education (minimum bachelor’s degree). Display a desire for life-long learning and continued professional development.
• Agree with the EMCC doctrinal statement, work under the Hillside constitution and hold, or be willing to obtain EMCC credentials.

Ministry Duties and Responsibilities

Visionary Leadership – The pastor has the lead role in overall planning of ministry for the church community. The pastor will work alongside the board providing leadership and vision for the Ministry Staff, Leaders and church.

Objectives:

• Verbalize and exhibit a sense of God-given calling to the vocation of Pastoral ministry.
• Demonstrate some of the spiritual gifts that are strategic to the fulfilment of the position:
  • shepherding, faith, knowledge, teaching, preaching, evangelism, administration, leadership
• Articulate a relevant and specific vision for Hillside Church through the board to Ministry Staff, Leaders and the congregation.
• Set realistic goals and objectives for ministry. Oversee the goals and objectives of Ministry Staff & Leaders.

General Pastoral Responsibilities – Care for God’s people and lead them to become fully devoted followers of Christ who mentor other disciples. Build relationships with Ministry Staff, Leaders and the church family to better understand the strengths, gifts and needs of the flock.

Objectives:

• Take a lead role in the overall planning of the ministry of the congregation 2. Teach and preach God’s Word to move His people to maturity and obedience.
• Attend and officiate church functions (communion, baby dedications, baptisms, marriages, and funerals)
• Maintain a healthy involvement with all ministries to understand and direct God’s heart to the church family.
• Promote ministry events to the congregation and encourage team leaders.
• Prayerfully, lead a weekly service planning meeting with the Worship Pastor/Leader. Our aim is a worship time that glorifies God, reveres scripture, is Spirit led, upholds theological truths, incorporates the importance of church history and its ordinances.
• Develop and implement a visitation ministry (i.e. Hospital, shut ins, etc.). Pastoral visitation expected as appropriate.
• Communicate effectively in a variety of settings: informal, formal, and written.
• Foster a healthy working relationship with EMCC resource contacts.
• Facilitate Christ-like conflict resolution practices (Matthew 18).
• Make appropriate referrals when necessary and quickly respond to crisis situations which arise in the congregation.

Discipleship and Mentoring (new and mature believers) – The pastor has a willingness to disciple and mentor the lay leadership with a loving hand thereby equipping, empowering, and entrusting ministry to others.

Objectives:

• Have a discipling mindset.
• Mobilize and raise lay volunteers and leadership.

Outreach – The pastor has the lead role in strategizing for maximum impact in gospel outreach – locally, regionally, and world-wide. An understanding of our current culture is helpful in developing relevant community outreach programs. Be able to model and teach effective evangelism strategies.

Objectives:

• With the missions committee and other ministries, plan and implement events and programs that reach out to the unchurched, inactive attendees, and new residents of our community with the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Direct the assimilation of new members into the life of the congregation in conjunction with the boards, committees and ministries of the congregation.
• Encourage all ministries of the church to carry out their work with an emphasis on welcoming others to participate in the mission work of Christ.

Administration – The position of the pastor requires some flexibility in hours available for work, including some evenings and some weekends.

Objectives:

• Spend a suitable amount of time in the office for accessibility to members of the congregation and for continuous and effective communication with the worship leader and Ministry staff. This schedule to be decided upon with the Board.
• Assist the Office Administrator and Treasurer with managing the day-to-day operations of the church.
• Manage expenses to stay within budget.
• Submit regular written accountability reports to the Board documenting accomplishments, challenges, future plans, etc.
• Work with assigned Board member(s) to complete the Hillside Church Employee Performance Review Plan.
• Submit a written year end evaluation of programs/ministries for the annual report and meeting.

Tagged as: Lead Pastor