Position Description:
Packsaddle Fellowship seeks a humble and transparent believer to serve as our Associate Pastor – Small Groups/Discipleship, a new position within our church. The ideal candidate will have the spiritual gifts of teaching, administration, encouragement and be passionately committed to clearly proclaiming the gospel of grace and helping believers cultivate spiritual maturity. One of the primary objectives of this new position is managing and enhancing existing small groups within our church, and timely create new groups to facilitate the study of God's word among those who are a part of our fellowship.
Qualifications:
Responsibilities:
Under the Lord's guidance:
Ensure Enriching Small Group Environments: Assist each small group in establishing a safe and encouraging environment for Christian fellowship where closeness and open communication can be both safely given and received by all participants. Help each small group member and leader develop a sense of belonging and a deepening appreciation of God's love. Assist and encourage each small group leader to develop these traits within his/her group.
Apply Organizational Knowledge, Skills and Abilities: Encourage and facilitate the connection of all small groups to one another (the other small groups), as well as to other ministries within the church. Develop guidelines to ensure that the small groups are not simply isolated islands within the church, but that the small groups become an integral, and essential, part of the Packsaddle Fellowship church body.
Cultivate the Small Groups Program: Develop an understanding of the makeup of existing small groups and use that knowledge to effectively connect those who attend our church with an appropriate small group. When considering a placement into a small group, consult with small group leaders to find or confirm an appropriate placement recommendation with the make-up of small groups may being diverse or non-diverse. The extent of the diversity within each small group will be determined under the Lord s guidance.
Identify, Train and Improve Small Group Leaders: Identify and cultivate small group leaders who demonstrate an ever-increasing Christian maturity. Develop and implement a training program to prepare and equip new and existing small group leaders to lead. In a spirit of kindness and Christian love, periodically monitor new small groups and new leaders to provide any necessary assistance. Stay proficient by conducting small groups in the absence of the regular leader, or upon request.
Develop and Use Curricula: Work with the Senior Pastor and the elders to develop curricula (and underlying lesson plans) which may be used by small groups. In cases where a small group has developed its own curriculum, encourage, under the Lord s guidance, the sharing of that curriculum among the other groups. Work with the Senior Pastor to develop a curriculum than could be used in conjunction with weekly sermon notes.
Handle Conflict Quickly and Appropriately: Work in partnership with the Senior Pastor, elders, and small group leaders to anticipate and identify conflict and respond to that conflict according to the Lord's application of Scripture. To this end shepherd the small groups toward healthy group dynamics.
Prepare and Delivery Sermons: As scheduled or as requested by the Senior Pastor or elders be available, prepare, and deliver Sunday sermons (but not on a full-time basis).
Assist the Senior Pastor and Support Team: As needed, assist the Senior Pastor with conducting Sunday morning activities, as well as coordinate with, and assist other members of the Packsaddle Fellowship team (staff and volunteers), to ensure the delivery of the Gospel. Perform such other duties as assigned.
Manage Budget: Manage any budgets allocated to the Small Groups Ministry.
Packsaddle Membership: Be a regular participant in public worship at Packsaddle Fellowship and remain a member in good standing.
Residence: Once hired, live in Kingsland, Texas, or the immediate surrounding area.
Packsaddle Fellowship is a comfortable, come as you are, Christ-centered church of approximately 170-200 regularly attending worship services. Like our community, it is a mix of traditional and non-traditional folks. While our congregation has theological diverse backgrounds, the church is grounded upon sound Bible teaching including that salvation and sanctification is by God's grace. Our teaching and preaching endeavor to make this theology very relevant to the church body in their relationship with God. While predominately a mature congregation, we have a strong and active contingent of families and adults of all ages. Our congregation and staff engage in and support a caring and nurturing ministry to our fellowship, seek to address the ever-present needs of the community, and sustain a missions program that supports like-minded ministries and missionaries.
Kingsland is located at the junction of Lake LBJ and the Llano River, on what is referred to as the Highland Lakes chain of six lakes on the Colorado River, and is a popular getaway destination for water sports, fishing and golf. It’s also a popular retirement choice for the people who have come to love this area. Kingsland is an unincorporated town with a population of approximately 7,000 permanent residents (with that number swelling somewhat during the summer months). Our health care needs are provided by two new clinics whose associated hospitals and specialists are only a 20-to-25-minute drive away. Austin, Texas is about 50 miles to the east, and San Antonio, Texas is a 75-minute drive to the south.
In summary, Kingsland is a unique and diverse small town supporting lake and resort life, as well as the many full-time residents. Within this small population, our demographics span the full gambit, from an abundance of wealth to extreme poverty, from the highly educated to the barely literate, and from the full assortment of religious backgrounds to those with no faith at all. But one thing for sure, the residents of Kingsland, in general, are very much real down-home folks who love living in this very beautiful part of the Texas hill country.
