United Church of Bogotá (UCB) is a multi-denominational, Bible-based Christian church ministering to the English-speaking international community in Bogotá, Colombia. We are a diverse fellowship, serving people from all over the world.
UCB is one of the world’s oldest international churches, with roots dating back to 1867. Historically, UCB has experienced seasons of flourishing and seasons of struggles. Her identity has morphed from evangelical to mainline interdenominational to more stagnant and theologically liberal and, most recently, back to her biblical roots. Today UCB is a thriving, multi-denominational, Bible-based church ministering to the English-speaking community in Bogotá. At UCB, internationals from across the globe gather each week with Colombian nationals to encounter God in worship and experience the impact of his grace on every part of their lives. As a church that prioritizes serving the globally mobile in our midst, we invest strategically in ministry to the next generation, community life among our diverse and transitory congregation, and outreach to the unreached.
With all its cultural complexities, the international church is often a place with fewer power dynamics than churches in a more monocultural setting. There is a general ethos of collaboration across cultures and denominational lines that makes pastoring an international church a gracious learning environment for someone new to local church ministry or ministry abroad.
Job Description
About the Senior Pastor:
United Church of Bogotá (UCB) seeks its next Senior Pastor. The candidate should be a collaborative and thoughtful leader with a mindset and gift for managing personnel and resources in a complex, culturally dynamic, and transitory international church. Our next pastor should embrace the ambiguity of leading a multi-denominational church that includes a plethora of nationalities and denominational backgrounds, while still functioning internally as a Presbyterian and winsomely Reformed church. His heart should beat for reaching the lost, cross-cultural missions, and discipleship.
UCB currently employs a gifted and seasoned Pastor of Youth and Families who is eager to focus on next-generation ministry, discipleship in the church, and leading a missionary team through Mission to the World, the mission-sending agency of the Presbyterian Church in America.. He will also serve as a local and cultural coach as the new pastor wades into the intricacies of living and ministering overseas..
This is a paid position but the candidate may need or want to raise additional funds through our 501(c)(3) to supplement the salary, expense and travel accounts, etc., depending on life and family circumstances.
The Senior Pastor’s Responsibilities Include:
Leadership
Shepherd and oversee the discipleship of God’s people at UCB.
Inspire missional outreach and evangelism to UCB’s target groups.
Manage and help shepherd the multicultural staff and leadership teams of UCB and UCBIM (U.S. 501(c)(3)) alongside our Pastor of Youth and Families.
Recruit, develop, and deploy officers, lay leaders, and key ministry volunteers
Recruit, develop, and deploy ministerial candidates and church planters
Steward UCB’s Colombian Peso and US Dollar resources alongside the Treasurer and elders
Oversee Colombian and U.S. legal compliance and administer UCB and UCBIM (the church’s US-based 501(c)3 entity) bylaws.
Worship
Preach regularly alongside our pastoral staff and elders.
Design and participate in leading two Sunday morning worship services, including selecting music with Worship Director, organizing volunteers for worship participation (i.e., reading Scriptures, etc.), preaching series planning, administration of the sacraments, and incorporating a diversity of voices and lay leaders.
Vision
Continue to steer UCB to a more stable place of generous financial self-sustainability.
Dream of further growing UCB through outreach and sustainable systems of discipleship.
Mobilize God’s people for local and global impact and outreach.
Invest in church multiplication (local Spanish-speaking plants and daughter/sister international church plants).
Protect the confessional integrity of UCB (Apostles’ Creed, Nicene Creed, and the Heidelberg Catechism).
Pursue formal accountability with like-minded Reformed international churches.
Seek the peace and prosperity of Bogotá and Colombia and carefully avoid the common pitfall in international churches of isolation from the host culture and country.
Connection
Maintain ordination and reporting to ordaining body (if ordaining body is something other than another particular church).
Network with like-minded international churches regionally and through the Missional International Church Network.
Develop and maintain connection to donor network for supplementing USD salary package (if desired) and funding ministerial projects and candidates.
Culture
Adapt the mindset of a cultural learner, investing in the local culture and Spanish study and adapt to the culture of the globally mobile.
Care for the diverse, multicultural ethos of UCB.
What You Bring:
The following describes many of the characteristics of the ideal candidate for the Senior Pastor:
Education & Experience
Undergraduate degree, required
Seminary degree, strongly preferred
Five years (preferred) of pastoral experience in the local church, parachurch, or campus ministry
Ordained or ordainable in a Reformed and (preferably) Presbyterian denomination
Fluent English speaker and willing to learn Spanish
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
Willingness to relocate to Bogotá, Colombia
Ability to cultivate and continue a culture of grace throughout UCB and her ministry teams
Personal Characteristics & Qualifications
Humble embodiment of the biblical qualifications for Elders/Pastors in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1
Patient and gracious, especially in conflict
Comfortable with a certain level of administrative and organizational leadership (i.e., reading income statements, negotiating labor contracts, and interacting with church Administration Committee)
What it’s Like to Live in Bogotá, Colombia:
Bogotá is a large city situated at 8600 ft altitude in the heart of the Andes mountains. The average temperature is around 65°F year round. Mountains surround the city and stunning scenery is found after leaving the city in any direction. The church’s neighborhood is located in a modern area of the city featuring nice restaurants, coffee shops, grocery stores, small parks, and malls – all within walking distance. In other parts, you will find large parks, hiking trails, golf courses, and botanical gardens. Bogotá also has the most extensive network of bike paths of any city in the Americas.
The city’s historic district, bustling fruit markets, and surrounding landscapes bring some tourists. However, the majority of the foreigners in Bogotá are ones who have come to live here and work – primarily in foreign affairs, international business, education, missions or as digital nomads. Safety has increased significantly in the last 20 years and cost of living is low, compared to the States.
