Job Overview

Lead Pastor position of an Independent Baptist Church with just under 300 members. Staff includes an Associate Pastor, Youth Pastor, full-time secretary/financial secretary, part-time music leader

Job Description

Senior Pastor Job Description

1. Title: Senior Pastor/Lead Pastor

1. Reports to: Deacons

1. Role: The Senior Pastor oversees the work and ministry of the church and protects the doctrinal purity and spiritual vitality of the church. His personal prayer and study of scripture overflows into public preaching and teaching. He leads by providing vision and motivation through a healthy, mature, personal relationship with Jesus Christ. He shepherds staff, ministry leaders, and members in the church. He oversees the needs of the flock as an under shepherd of the Great Shepherd.

1. Scope of Ministry: Church-wide

1. Responsibilities:
   1. Prayer:
      1. The Senior Pastor makes daily communion with God through prayer a priority. He must be devoted to prayer in order to lead, protect, and feed the flock. His example will be a model to follow and sets the tone for a ministry soaked in prayer. He fosters a culture of prayer for the entire ministry by staying watchful for prayerlessness and consistently calling God's people to prayer.

1. 1. Preaching the Word:
      1. The Senior Pastor feeds the flock as the body of Christ out of an overflow from his personal feeding from the Scriptures. Exegetical and expository preaching of God's Word communicates the whole counsel of God while exhorting and equipping that saints to obey God's will for their lives by faith.
      2. Opportunities include but are not limited to:
         1. Weekly preaching the Sunday morning sermon.
         2. Weekly Preaching/teaching Wednesday evening.
      3. Periodically
         1. Preaching Sunday evening
         2. Leading communion
         3. Leading a small group
         4. Speaking at major church events
         5. Leading Membership classes

1. 1. Leadership & Vision
      1. Provide visionary leadership for the overall ministries of the Church.
      2. Work with appropriate boards, committees, officers and leaders in carrying out the mission and ministry of the church.
      3. Evaluate the evolving needs of the congregation, and work to strengthen the present programs in keeping with those needs.
      4. Lead and manage the staff by directing, delegating, and supervising staff members.
         1. Build solid staff relations by:
            1. Developing written personnel policies and procedures.
            2. Developing job descriptions
            3. Leading in the hiring of staff members
            4. Evaluating staffing structure and proposing adjustments as the need arises;
            5. Conducting annual performance evaluations of staff members.
            6. Working to resolve conflict
            7. Leading staff meetings and retreats.
      5. Ensure that Freedom has a Pastoral staff member on the board of Wayne Christian School for the purposes of preserving doctrinal purity and seeking to grow the spiritual health of the school.

1. 1. Shepherding/Pastoral Care
      1. The Senior Pastor works alongside the Pastoral staff, Deacons, and care teams to equip the flock to meet the care needs within the church.
      2. Building relationships with church members through in-person visits with those grieving, hospitalized, homebound, etc.
      3. Counseling Members
      4. Officiating funerals
      5. Officiating weddings
      6. Baptisms
      7. Various other administrative and pastoral duties as needed.