Job Overview

Pastor Profile:

The Pastor Search Committee of Flat Rock Baptist Church sought the input of our church family to help us understand the kind of man we will be searching for in our next senior pastor. Conversations have been full of joyful expectation, and while there was a wide range of variety on answers to some degree, there was great unity overall.

Flat Rock Baptist Church is searching for a pastor who is committed to the inerrancy and authority of the Bible. He will agree with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000 and will lead our church on the strong foundations of biblical authority. We desire a man who is being transformed by God's Word himself, as he leads our congregation to be transformed by God's Word as well. He will be a text-driven teacher of the biblical text. He will be relational in his delivery, firm in his conviction, and integrity to Christ.

Our next pastor will be easily approachable and a man who is skilled in relationship building with all age groups and with all people. Flat Rock Baptist church is a Pastor Lead, staff driven church. With this said, he will lead our staff with a team-based approach but will steward well the authority of the office of pastor. He will have the power of discernment. He will value the insight of both long-time and new members of the church, but not cater to any one-person (or group's) desire to the neglect of another's. He will make biblical decisions concerning the direction of the church and communicate them with grace while leading gently over time.

If he has a family, he will put God first, his family second and the church third. We desire a pastor who models faithful leadership in the home and allows that to overflow into his leadership at church.

The children of Flat Rock would like to add that he should wear flannel shirts and look like Santa Claus. Obviously, these are not requirements, but we wanted you to know that the children are also excited about their incoming pastor. Whoever he is, he will be a gift to them and they to him.

Church Profile:

Flat Rock Baptist Church of Liberty, SC is a church family that values biblical preaching, heartfelt worship and Great Commission engagement above all else. We desire to be a church where every life matters. We envision a place where people can build a deep relationship with Jesus Christ; where people do life together in genuine community and grow spiritually in an atmosphere where the grace of God is highly celebrated. To be a church where real problems are solved, and real needs are met as people are drawn closer to God; where people recover from hurts, habits, and hang-ups that prevent them from enjoying meaningful relationships with God and each other.

We desire to be a church where God's Word is honored as our highest authority on earth as the source of real and abundant life, and to be a church where people serve one another according to the way that God has shaped them; where spiritual gifts, passion, talents, and experiences are a part of how we meet the needs of others inside and outside of our church family. We desire to be a church that matters to its community; that makes a visible, noticeable, and tangible difference on behalf of Christ in the real problems that exist. We desire to be a church that celebrates changed lives; that cultivates an atmosphere of freedom to grow and serve and that empowers people with the confidence to do so.

Through the years Flat Rock has enjoyed many seasons of numerical and spiritual growth, however there was a season prior to Covid the church experienced a season of decline. We at that time were without a Pastor. Our response was simple. Pray first, and then allow God's man to come in God's timing.

At the time our new Pastor was called, we averaged about 70 in our worship service and about 35 in our Sunday Schools. Then in March of 2020 Covid hit and the world shut down. Again, our response was to pray first, and we took everything back to bare bones. We started fresh with the concepts and strategies one would use to plant a new church.

Over the last four years we have grown to two (2) services on Sunday mornings. We offer nine (9) different Small Groups, we call them Connect groups. Our Wednesday night Youth Group has grown from eight (8) to ten (10), regularly attending too more than forty (40). We now have more volunteers on a Sunday than people attending / worshipping in 2019. We currently average 322 in all areas of our church on a Sunday morning and well over 100 on our Wednesday Connect Group time. In the last 3 years we have witnessed people give their lives to Christ and we have baptized 77 new believers.

Even though our Pastor was called to serve another church, the morale of the church family has never been better. There is an excitement that we keep going forward with the processes and procedures we have in place. Never forgetting God's call and mission He has for us. We feel and believe the best is yet to come, as we keep going forward never backwards.

We have always been a church of believers that give of their time, and of their finances. Combine this with our stewardship practices, we have consistently ended in the black financially.

Today, the age ranges of members reflect a shift in generational attendance patterns. In any given worship service today, 73% of our worshippers will be 50 yrs. old and under. With the average age of our members being 40-45 years old. Only three years ago, however, the average age would have been a much older generation. We reflect the ethnic diversity of our community well. There are many unchurched families in the community. Pickens County alone has over 100,000 residents and over 80% percent of those do not attend a church. Flat Rock Baptist Church desires to be the church that reaches them with the gospel of Jesus Christ and plugs them into the church.

Overall, Flat Rock is a warm and welcoming church family who are serious about the Great Commission, and about reaching the next generations in our community. We anchor ourselves on our Four Rocks of Focus:

Sunday Experience: "To the weak I become weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to the people so that by all possible means I might save some. I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in these blessings." 1 Cor 9: 22-23

Connect Groups: "And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had." Acts 42:44

Family: "And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving, you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up." Deut 6:6-7

Community Transformation: "And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare." Jer 29:7

We are excited about what God will do through the leadership of our next senior pastor.

Community Profile:

Within the 29657-zip code there are 15,116 people that call Liberty SC home. The town is located inside Pickens County near the border of Anderson County. 131,000 people call Pickens County home. The majority of Liberty residents are two-parent families with children (55%) in the home. There is, however, part of our population (17%) of single parent homes. The people of Liberty, SC make their livings in a wide variety of occupations including manufacturing, health care, construction workers, schoolteachers, retail and more. Most of Liberty's residents work in the surrounding cities of Easley, Clemson, and Greenville, SC.

The ethnic demographics for our geographical zip code: 92% Anglo, 4% African American 3% Hispanic, and 1% Other. The median age of our community members is lower than the South Carolina average, at 36 yrs. old.

The economy of Liberty and Pickens County is thriving. There has been a 1.3% and 2.9% increase respectfully in population over the past 3 years, and it is projected that we will see more population increase as the surrounding cities of Clemson and Easley continue to grow. Located on the south-east side of town is the Pickens County Commerce Park. We have 10 major businesses currently operating withing the park area, with two more companies currently building manufacturing / distribution centers. Several new professional businesses have opened downtown in the last few years that include retail shops and restaurants.

The Pickens County School District is working to manage the influx of new enrollments. Historically the percentage of people that did not graduate high school is among the highest in the nation. That trend is changing and for the better. Despite the lower high school graduation rates of the past, the area has some of the highest percentages of people who attend college of any area. The Superintendent shared that eight schools/programs within the district, along with the district communications office, have been honored with a remarkable total of 27 prestigious awards from the South Carolina chapter of the National School Public Relations Association (SC/NSPRA) for their exceptional communication efforts. To top it off, we are proud to have the Pickens County Career & Technology Center. It is one of the oldest career centers in South Carolina with a history of success. They offer college and career opportunities in twenty-three different pathways. Career and Technical Education offers students the opportunity to gain the academic, technical, and employability skills necessary for true career readiness.

Overall, the community of Liberty, SC is thriving and growing. As the population is increasing and demographics are becoming more diverse, there is still a feel of togetherness and friendliness in the city. Liberty, SC is a great place to live.

Job Description

• Committed to the inerrancy and authority of the Bible.
  • Agree with the Baptist Faith and Message 2000
  • Lead our church on the strong foundations of biblical authority.

• Plan and conduct worship services. Sunday (1st and 2nd Services)
  • Prepare sermons that are biblically sound
    • Text-driven teacher of the biblical text.
    • Be relational in his delivery.
    • Firm in his conviction, and integrity to Christ.
    • Present the message of salvation, repentance and spiritual growth.

• Easily approachable
  • Skilled in relationship building with all age groups and with all people.

• Provide pastoral care for church members.
  • Available to meet with church members and active non-members.
  • Help equip Connect Groups to care for its members.
  • Visit shut-ins, hospitals and members as requested.
  • Help conduct new-member classes as required.

• Lead church staff.
  • Flat Rock Baptist church is a Pastor Lead, staff driven church.
  • Lead our staff with a team-based approach
  • Steward well the authority of the office of pastor.
  • Provide leadership for deacon meetings and Family ministry teams.
  • Meet monthly with the Deacon Committee
  • Provide ongoing training and leadership for the ministry teams

Expectations/Duties Continued – (Not in any order)

• Ability of discernment.
  • Value the insight of both long-time and new members of the church, but not cater to any one-person (or group's) desire to the neglect of another's.
• He will make biblical decisions concerning the direction of the church and communicate them with grace while leading gently through the "Change Management" process.
• Be available for funerals, weddings and denominational duties.