Associate Pastor of Youth and Family

Position: Associate Pastor of Youth and Family

Ministry Focus: Family Ministry and Discipleship

Reports to: Lead Pastor
Position Status: Full Time, salaried
The Associate pastor is, first and foremost, a pastor meeting the requirements of an elder/overseer found in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 & Titus 1:5-9. He must view his calling not as a job to be performed but as a mission to be obediently lived out. He must be sure of his calling both in vocation and location. He must understand his position as an elder yet be willing to follow leadership. He must be unshakable and determined yet flexible and teachable. He must understand that the development of skills is secondary to the development of the heart, Yet he should pursue both to the glory of God.

Purpose:
The role of the Associate Pastor is to work in harmony with the Lead Pastor, Deacons, staff, and volunteers to accomplish Cooper River Baptist Church's vision and missionCooper River Baptist Church's vision and missionCooper River Baptist Church's vision and mission. Specifically, this position will focus on Family Ministry, providing oversight and development of the children and youth ministry to “equip the saints for the work of ministry” (Ephesians 4:11). Areas of responsibility include equipping members for ministry, overseeing the administration, communication, ministry structures, ministry teams, and family ministry.

Responsibilities:

Primary:
1.  Develop and oversee our growing children's ministry.

2. Lead our growing youth ministry.
3. Develop and implement strategies for effective parent discipleship.
4. Build and develop structures to implement the vision and mission of Cooper River Baptist Church.
5. Lead and develop ministry teams.
6. Recruit and train ministry volunteers.
7. Lead and execute effective church-wide communication with staff and ministry volunteers.

Secondary:
1. Develop and maintain church policies (risk management, volunteer guidelines, etc.)
2. Help to plan and oversee outreach events.
3. Preach as needed.
4. Help plan and implement a leadership pipeline to train elders and deacons with the pastor.
5. Assist in leading the weekly worship service alongside the pastor and worship leader.
6. Be willing to assist in other duties the pastor assigns.
7. Assist in the further development and success of the Pastoral Residency program. 

Qualifications:
The associate pastor will be a maturing Christian with a passion for ministry. He should hold a bachelor’s degree and must be theologically trained from a biblically faithful college or seminary. He should have 2-5 years of church leadership experience. He will closely align with our church’s theological emphasis, vision, and ministry philosophy. Also, his spiritual gifting and personality should complement that of our Lead Pastor and staff to form a strong ministry team. The associate pastor will be self-motivated and driven to be productive. He must possess good communication skills, listen well, and be tempered with grace. Equally important will be a strong sense of confidentiality, decorum, and eagerness to serve as a team member.

About our Church:

Cooper River was planted in 1955 by Charleston Heights Baptist Church. Its attendance and membership considerably grew from the 1970s into the late 1980s to around four hundred people. Like many churches in this area, this growth did not continue, and the church began to decline to around 50 people. Today, our current membership number is around 85 people. Over half of the church has been at Cooper River for under three years.  While we started as a revitalization, we now look closer to a replant. God has been gracious to us, and we are a growing church. Most of the growth comes from young families with children. However, we are thankful that every generation is represented, and we have a growing number of young families with children and a small but faithful group of teens.

Revitalization and replanting is hard work. It takes someone who wants to be part of something bigger than themselves. It takes a person willing to work on the broken ground for the hope of future fruit. There are two types of pastors, and both are essential. There are those pastors who maintain the fruit tree that others have planted to ensure that fruit continues, and then there are those who plant the tree knowing that others will one day enjoy the fruit of it. Revitalization is, in many ways, planting a new tree in an old garden. Sometimes, one must be willing to carefully sacrifice the things that once bore fruit but are no longer viable to give the new tree room to grow and thrive.
One must also understand the labor of love that the now non-viable plants were planted with and the pain their removal may cause to those who planted them. It is a balance between doing what is necessary, acknowledging the pain of change, and loving people through the pain of change. One must be willing to be patient and persistent, knowing that one day God will bring the fruit.

Ministry philosophy:
We believe the church is a gathering of people training to do the kingdom’s work. We want our members to not fall in love with our programming or services but instead with God and His mission. We aim to train people to be missionary-minded wherever they live, work, and play. We believe the hope of this world is not found in creating clever marketing campaigns, better experiences, or ornate church services but rather in the proclamation of The Word and the Gospel of Christ. We believe The Word of God is powerful and will do its work when faithfully proclaimed to the world. However, we strive for excellence in all things. We believe the gospel is simple, and the church should model this simplicity. Yet our God is worthy of our best in every area, and our ministries should be God’s worthiness.

Location and Community:
We are in the heart of the Park Circle community in North Charleston. Our rapidly changing neighborhood is diverse in both ethnicity and socioeconomic status. This area has been revitalized and is now a very sought-after charming community in which to live. It has a classic small-town feel in the middle of a large city. Hallmark has used our parking lot as a staging ground to film a recent movie(as have other movie companies) on our street. From the church’s front doors, you can see, hear, and smell the up-and-coming trendy restaurants with outdoor seating and live music less than one block away. Yet behind the church are several large neighborhoods with many young professionals and families.
Our community is considered post-Christian, with 78% of the population without church affiliation. At the same time, this community has friendliness and openness to meet new people and hold conversations. There is a great amount of lostness and resistance to the gospel. For this reason, we believe that God has allowed Cooper River to be planted and to continue to exist for the last 68 years. God has placed us in this place for such a time as this. We believe there are exciting days ahead!