Senior Pastor

Bridge Community Church is a non-denominational community church located on Harstine Island in the Peugeot Sound, WA, roughly an hour north of Olympia. We are an elder-led church with average attendance hovering around 100 people on a weekly basis. We are an older congregation, this is partly driven by the fact that there are few employers in our area, resulting in a relatively larger retired population. It’s necessary to drive an hour or more either north or south to get to areas with more employment opportunities. Having said that, there is an increasing presence of younger families attending, and we have an active and growing teen program. Vacation Bible School had 30 children in attendance this year, Kid’s Church each week will have between 5-11 children on a typical Sunday. Our staff is small, the Sr. Pastor, a full time position, and our Director of Children and Youth Ministries, a part time position. The pastor handles much of the office administrative activities with support from several people for preparation of the bulletins each week. The pastor also handles the bulk of biblical teaching from the pulpit as well as visitation and church administration. The pastor will answer to the Board of Elders while also being a member of that Board. Theologically we are a diverse congregations, and the successful pastor will be able to work with a variety of doctrinal backgrounds. What we consider “non-negotiable” is defined in our Affirmation of Faith which may be located in our website, bccharstine.org, under the bylaws. We have a very nice church building sitting on about 7 acres, all of which is paid for, and we are financially stable. Our present pastor is planning to retire, and we are actively seeking a replacement. Timing is negotiable, although our present pastor intends to retire in May 1 of 2025. An overlap period for the two pastors would be beneficial. Job Description: Senior Pastor Adopted: 08/6/21 I. OBJECTIVE: A. The following Job Description is adopted in order to clearly communicate the requirements for the Senior Pastor of Bridge Community Church. B. The adoption of this job description is in alignment with our entire Affirmation of Faith, since it is expected that the Senior Pastor will be actively promoting and defending that statement. II. DEFINITIONS: A. Senior Pastor: 1. A staff position providing spiritual leadership and oversight for the congregation. 2. The person seen as the lead pastor meeting the primary responsibility for weekly sermon delivery. 3. The person providing supervision for all staff personnel. B. Staff: 1. People involved in vocational ministry receiving monetary compensation for their efforts. C. Volunteers: 1. People involved in ministry activities who are not monetarily compensated for the time and effort. III. QUALIFICATIONS: A. Meet as closely as is practical the requirements as outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7. B. Meet the requirements as outlined in the Bridge Community Church bylaws, Article V, section 3. C. Have a clear subjective sense of calling into vocational ministry. D. Educational and Experience Requirements: 1. The Senior Pastor shall have completed an accredited program at the Masters level or higher in theology, pastoral ministry, Christian education, or other applicable accredited degrees as approved by the Board of Elders. a. The Search Committee has the discretionary right to wave these requirements if the applicant has acceptable applicable experience. 2. The Senior Pastor shall have no less than five (5) years of ministry leadership experience. a. This experience may be gained either through vocational ministry or as a lay person in leadership roles. E. Able to work well with a variety of individual personalities in a respectful and flexible manner. F. Must be actively seeking to maintain personal spiritual growth. G. In active agreement with the vision, mission, and purpose of Bridge Community Church. H. In agreement with Bridge Community Church’s Affirmation of Faith and bylaws. IV. JOB SUMMARY: A. The Senior Pastor is responsible for the general oversight of all ministries taking place at Bridge Community Church. B. This individual is responsible for the supervision of all staff personnel. C. This individual is to provide general direction and vision for the church as a whole. D. A consistent prayer-life is an integral part of this job. E. This individual is responsible for sermon preparation and delivery on a weekly basis. F. This individual is responsible for ongoing visitation of the ill, shut-in, discouraged, or grieving within the congregation. G. This person is automatically a member of the Board of Elders and will participate in all Elder activities and meetings. V. JOB DESCRIPTION: A. Training: 1. The Senior Pastor shall review all of the Bylaws and Policies and Procedures for Bridge Community Church on an at-least annual basis. a. This will be documented on a training record form and kept on file in the Church Office. 2. The Senior Pastor shall actively seek to continue the development of new and existing skills in support of the ministries of the church. B. Job Functions: 1. Administrative: a. Work with the Board of Elders as both his supervisor and co-laborers in ministry. b. Work with the Deacons in the annual preparation of the church budget. c. Attend various ministry meetings as needed. d. Receive email/mail and answer or resolve questions, needs, or concerns as needed. e. Field questions or concerns from the church leadership or congregation, and coordinate responses with the Board of Elders. f. Perform, or coordinate the delegation of, background checks for all volunteers who will have access to our children and/or youth. g. Oversee and coordinate the preparation of the weekly bulletins as needed. h. Coordinate the ongoing training requirements for the staff and volunteers of the church. 2. Care and Service Ministries: a. Visit those who are hospitalized, ill, or otherwise in need of pastoral care. b. Provide pastoral council as needed. c. Provide spiritual leadership and direction for the church. d. Field calls for help from the community, such as Love INC., disaster situations, setting up volunteers to help distribute needed supplies, and providing supplies available from the church. e. Develop direction and opportunities for outreach activities, coordinate these with the elders and other involved members. (1) Participate in recruiting help for ministry activities, this could include things such as Vacation Bible School. 3. A consistent prayer-life is an integral part of this job. 4. Teaching Ministries a. Prepare and deliver the weekly sermon from the Scriptures. b. Perform other teaching activities as deemed necessary by the Board of Elders and/or the Senior Pastor. c. Field theological or spiritual questions on a one on one basis. 5. Relationships: a. Reports to the Board of Elders. b. Works directly with ministry team leaders. (1) Leads ministries as needed. (2) Provides pastoral care for the congregation.