OHBC Senior Pastor Job Description
Oconee Heights Baptist Church is seeking a full-time pastor for our church located in Athens, GA. We are an age diverse, Biblically centered church with a heart for discipleship and spiritual growth. We are seeking someone to lead us forward as we raise godly families and engage positively with the community around us. Applicants must have former pastoral experience, some seminary training and a close and evident walk with the Lord. We are eager to welcome and support our new pastor and his family into our ministry and further the Kingdom in Athens.
Qualifications:
- Bachelors (or similar qualification)
- Minimum 3-5 years pastoral experience
- Seminary training
- Character and lifestyle in line with 1 Timothy 3, Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Peter 5:1-3 - Counseling experience and/or training
Total Package: $65,000 + Relocation Assistance
- Health Insurance (Medishare)
- Retirement Plan
- Housing Stipend
*Distribution of salary, health insurance, housing stipend, and retirement will be tailored to the needs of hiree.
Schedule:
- Approximately 40-hours a week
- Sundays and Wednesdays required
- Weekly evening staff meeting
- Attend scheduled Church Events and organized Family Fellowship
- On call as able for emergencies and needs within the congregation
- Provide dedicated Office Hours
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Our intent is that the Senior Pastor will provide leadership and oversight, delegating responsibility as appropriate. The essential duties and responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following: teaching of the Word, prayer, leadership, evangelism, discipleship, shepherding, and pastoral care.
Preaching:
- Will craft original sermons tailored to guiding our church in the direction of God’s will for our body.
- Utilizes the whole counsel of God’s word and centers sermons upon it.
- The Pastor is expected to be the primary preacher on Sunday mornings and to ensure that the pulpit is filled by faithful preachers when absent.
Leadership:
- Leads with Biblical example and lifestyle
- Leads with humility and a teachable spirit
- The Pastor will plan and lead the order of worship in services in collaboration with church staff and volunteers
- The Pastor will cultivate and demonstrate a heart for proclaiming the Gospel to our neighbors, our city and ultimately the ends of the earth.
- The Pastor is expected to faithfully comply with the Church Constitution.
- The Pastor will lead and hold accountable all church staff and volunteers by:
Shepherding:
- Emphasizes discipleship
- Considers the entire church family
- Guards from false teaching and secular world views
- Encourages members to use their gifts to serve within the body
- Engage in personal and professional growth
- Emphasizes the dimensions of spiritual growth within the individual as well as the family unit.
- Works with deacons to reach out to each family within the church.
- Provide short-term counseling as needed and provide pastoral care through the most effective means possible.
Prayer:
- Exemplify a prayerful life in public and private
- Encourage a life-style of prayer among members
Outreach/Evangelism:
- Committed to impacting the local community
- Initiates and engages ministries, missions, and outreach opportunities - Encourages personal evangelism
Vision:
- Seeks and responds to God’s direction for the Church as discerned through scripture, prayer, opportunity, and relevance.
- Learns from past successes and failures.
- Guides Oconee Heights forward in a way that maximizes the gifts, talents and resources that God provides.
Fellowship:
- Actively encourages and promotes fellowship within the body
- He and his family view this position as a joint-calling and participate in church events and activities
Discipleship:
- Equips the Saints through preaching and instruction
- Implements, engages in, and oversees discipleship training
- Committed to personal spiritual growth
- Committed to growing strong, small group ministries on Sundays and throughout the week
- Encourages discipleship within the family structure
Administration:
- Works well with and guides church staff
- Advises church committees and volunteers
- Respects congregational leadership
- Ensures the church is in compliance with its own constitution and bylaws
- Is in communication with staff and deacons on the day to day operation of the church
Doctrine and Denomination:
- Doctrinally aligns with the Baptist Faith & Message.
- Continue giving to Denominational missions
Drug & Alcohol Policy:
- Reflecting on Paul’s reminder (1 Corinthians 10:23) that, while all things are lawful, not all things edify, we ask that the pastor agrees to, in unity with our members, abstain from stumbling blocks such as tobacco, alcohol, and recreational drugs as outlined in the Oconee Heights Baptist Church Constitution as an act of love and care for our church community. ( Article III - The Church Covenant, Oconee Heights Baptist Church Constitution, available upon interviewing.)
