Senior Pastor, Sebastopol Christian Church

The Senior Pastor, under the authority of the Board of Elders, is the spiritual leader of the church and serves primarily as Preacher, Shepherd and Teacher. He is responsible for discerning God's leading and nurturing the church by preaching, teaching, creating and implementing the vision of the church through membership. The Senior Pastor has an intimate relationship with God, endeavors to live a Christ-led life and possesses a burden to reach the lost. He has a clear calling to fulltime pastoral ministry and actively seeks God's will for the church and the needs of the congregation. As an ambassador of the Gospel, the Senior Pastor will be above reproach, humble, a team player, teachable, work well with other staff, have open and honest communication and support the vision of the church. The Senior Pastor oversees other church staff and programs, manages outreach efforts to our community.

Senior Pastor Qualifications:

• A successful candidate will demonstrate evidence of a personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ and have spiritual maturity
• To have a conviction that God has placed a calling on your life to be the Lead Pastor at Sebastopol Christian Church
• Must have proven ministry (min. 3 years Pastoral exp. preferred) experience in areas that match this job description as well as theological training (e.g. Master of Divinity - MDiv preferred)
• Track record of effective leadership, ministry development, and community outreach (e.g. leading a ministry)
• Capable of overseeing church operations
• Collaborate with leadership to create strategies that result in outcomes of maturity and personal growth within the congregation
• Demonstrates servant leadership skills, with a passion for empowering others and fostering a collaborative, team-oriented environment
• Maintain efficient and effective lines of communication between the Elders, Staff and congregation.
• Capable of adapting to various ministry contexts
• Understands financial and budget operations while practicing moral and financial integrity

We are looking for a full-time Senior Pastor, and moving forward, salary is negotiable, depending on experience, skills, availability, circumstances and performance. Position includes benefits, health, vacation and retirement.

Sebastopol Christian Church Senior Pastor Application

The Sebastopol Christian Church is seeking candidates to fill the position of Senior Pastor. Successful candidates will not only walk the Christian life but will display the characteristics of energy, compassion, connectedness and a youthful outlook on life. Please complete the questions below as well provide a history of employment along with dates of service. Links to recent sermons would also be greatly appreciated.

Salary: $90,000/year

SEBASTOPOL CHRISTIAN CHURCH QUESTIONNAIRE

1. Describe your call to ministry, including spiritual gifting and how you met Jesus.

2. Describe what you regularly do to develop your relationship with God and maintain spiritual health. Is there a Scripture passage that is particularly relevant to you right now?

3. How did you decide that you wanted to be a Pastor?

4. How do you approach evangelism in your day-to-day life? How would you approach sharing the gospel with the unchurched in our community?

5. Who are the biggest influences on your ministry?

6. What is your favorite sermon that you’ve ever preached?

7. What do you do to avoid burnout?

8. What was your biggest frustration with your last ministry position?

9. What does your family think about you becoming Senior Pastor here?

10. Who can you go to and be completely honest?

11. How do you think our church will be different in 5 years with you as the Pastor?

12. What are the elements of an effective sermon?

13. Can you affirm Sebastopol Christian’s Statement of Faith? (full SOF on our website at SebChristian.com):

Who We Are

Sebastopol Christian Church is a community of people who desire to know and follow Jesus Christ. We are a multi-generational church with people from all ages and backgrounds. Founded in 1966, we are a church near downtown Sebastopol that exists to serve Sonoma County and the world. Here are some of our other features:

• We Believe: The Bible is our highest authority for our faith and practice

• We are nondenominational, autonomous and self-governing (by a Board of Elders)

• We are not legalistic

• We believe that God calls every Christ follower to serve, and they should serve in areas in which God has gifted them

• We actively serve the homeless in our community each week

• We give a good portion of our offerings to missionaries, locally and globally

• We strive to be a church that is a loving, caring family

• We want to make the name of Jesus honored and famous in our community

• We believe that one of the best ways to demonstrate our love for God, is to practice loving our neighbors as ourselves

14. Please list your previous Pastoral/Ministry experience:

15. Please list at least 3 Ministerial references:

Job Types: Full-time, Part-time

Pay: From $90,000.00 per year

Expected hours: 40 per week

Benefits:

• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• Weekends as needed

Work Location: In person