Lead Pastor

General Description of The Role of Lead Pastor

Grace Hill Church desires a Lead Pastor who demonstrates a love relationship with our Lord, is rooted in the Scriptures, has a passion for and personal practice of making disciples, and whose doctrinal views are consistent with those of ECO. This leader should aspire to, and reflect, the character qualities for leadership as noted in the scriptures (e.g. 1 Timothy 3:1-7). He or she will be devoted to the service of Christ and the Church, preaching and teaching the Word of God, administering the sacraments, and faithfully doing pastoral work. This Pastor will preach at most worship services and will be involved in the design of weekly worship services, in concert with the Worship Minister. The Pastor will work with Session to establish and implement a Ministry Plan. In addition, the Pastor will help leadership discern God's vision for our church, coach and disciple the staff in spiritual and ministry development, and partner with our strong lay leadership to empower church ministries. The Lead Pastor will lead the church to fulfill its mission statement:

Mission Statement

Having been transformed by God’s grace as disciples of Jesus Christ, we joyfully commit to impact our community and world by declaring God’s truth, equipping Christ-followers, and unleashing servant-leaders for His glory.

Our Vision is to be a relevant force for Christ’s grace, truth, and love.

Spiritual Qualifications—The Lead Pastor will be/have:

1. A person of faith who confesses Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
2. A devoted follower of Jesus whose life reflects the fruit of the Spirit and who desires to keep in step with the Spirit.
3. Practice spiritual disciplines, including prayer and the reading of Scripture.
4. Affirm the Bible as the inspired, infallible, and authoritative Word of God for life and ministry.
5. Seek to undertake pastoral duties by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Personal Qualifications—The Lead Pastor will be/have:

1. Effective leadership skills that build a positive work environment and is able to motivate, encourage and support staff and volunteers to achieve the mission of Grace Hill Church.
2. An emotionally mature, secure person who loves people, both churched and unchurched, who enjoys creating and sustaining positive relationships with them.
3. A good listener and collaborator who enjoys working with others while evaluating and developing action plans.
4. A warm and loving person who relates to others with compassion and understanding.
5. The ability to work with a broad diversity of ages and groups.
6. The ability to deal effectively with conflict striving to be a peacemaker who is able to unite people with varying perspectives to advance harmony and achieve common goals.
7. The ability to manage, mentor and support staff and volunteers and is adept at building leadership skills in others to further the mission of God’s church at Grace Hill Church.
8. An individual who maintains confidentiality and acts with integrity.

 Professional Competencies and Experience—The Lead Pastor will be/have:

1. Strong communication skills with ability to craft and deliver Biblical and relevant sermons that effectively speak to both new and maturing Christians.
2. A creative liturgist who collaborates with the Worship Minister to plan and deliver spiritually uplifting and meaningful worship services.
3. An organizational leader who is effective in team building and reconciliation strategies.
4. A shepherd with love for the congregation and desire for its spiritual well-being able to provide spiritual direction and growth to the congregation.
5. A bridge-builder who establishes and maintains relationships with the local community, including its pastors, and establishes and maintains relationship with the ECO Bluewater Presbytery.
6. Master of Divinity or equivalent from an accredited theological seminary.
7. Ordained ECO Pastor, or willing and able to be ordained in ECO.
8. An established leader having 5+ years as associate or lead pastor experience, or comparable leadership experience, preferred.

Primary Responsibilities:

1. Preaching/Teaching—the Lead Pastor is responsible for the preaching and will teach outside of the pulpit as time allows.
2. Corporate Worship—the Lead Pastor is responsible for collaborating with the Worship Minister to plan and deliver engaging, Bible-based, spiritually uplifting worship services that deepens attendees personal and spiritual relationship with God.
3. Leadership/Management—the Lead Pastor will partner with the Elder Board in developing vision and strategy for various ministry areas with strong emphasis on evangelism and growth. He/she will moderate Session meetings.
4. Reinvigorate Youth and Childrens Program — the Lead Pastor will work with our volunteer teams and staff to develop and execute a strategy to reinvigorate our youth and children’s program.
5. Pastoral Care—the Lead Pastor will provide timely spiritual direction and pastoral care for those suffering from mental and physical disease, loss of loved ones and the numerous other life challenges bringing encouragement, care and compassion to those who are suffering.
6. Administer the Sacraments— the Lead Pastor will share the Lord’s Supper and perform Baptisms, Child Dedications, Weddings and Funerals.
7. Embrace Grace Hill Church Community — The Lead Pastor will engage, get to know, encourage and support the Grace Hill Church community through attendance at church sponsored events, including greeting those attending church following the church service.
8. Presence—the Lead Pastor will be an ambassador of Grace Hill Church by representing the congregation in the broader community and denomination.

Supervisory Relationships:

1. The Lead Pastor reports to and is accountable to the Session.
2. The Lead Pastor is responsible for leading, encouraging, and supervising the church staff, which includes a part-time Administrative Assistant, a part-time Worship Minister and part-time Custodian.

Expectations – The Lead Pastor will:

1. Follow the ECO Constitution in carrying out the above responsibilities, and the ECO Essential Tenets will be upheld.
2. Be or become ordained by the Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians.
3. Attend Bluewater Presbytery meetings and ECO national gatherings.

Compensation and Benefits:

1. Salary and housing allowance
2. Health Insurance
3. Term life, accidental death, long-term and short -term disability insurance for employee
4. Retirement Contribution
5. Vacation (standard annual accrual of 4 weeks)
6. Study leave (1 week each year)
7. Mileage reimbursement based on IRS standards and professional expense accounts ($2,000 each year)
8. Sabbatical leave of 3 months after completion of 7 years of service in Lead Pastor role
9. Housing fund provided in form of low interest loan (second mortgage) to assist in purchase of home

How to apply for this position:

We appreciate your interest and are excited to hear from you. Please email the following application information to the attention of the Grace Hill Church Pastor Nominating Committee at: pnc@grace-hill.org.

• Resume
• Letter briefly sharing the following about yourself:
  • Share about your upbringing & overall background.
  • Share your testimony and tell us why you are in ministry today.
  • Describe your experiences in ministry.
  • Explain why do you believe that you might be a good fit as the Lead Pastor for our church.
  • Summarize your theology and how it aligns with the ECO Essential Tenets
• At least three references with names and contact information
• Link to video containing three recent sermons (if available)

Link to ECO Essential Tenets

  https://eco-pres.org/wp-content/uploads/Official-ECO-CONSTITUTION-2022.pdf.