A community connecting people to God through the love of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Transcription

1 PASTOR JOB DESCRIPTION Zion Christian Reformed Church 409 Adelaide Ave., E. Oshawa, ON L1G 2A2 T: (905) e: w: A community connecting people to God through the love of Jesus and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

2 WHAT DOES ZION NEED IN ITS NEXT PASTOR? Introduction We recognize that our next pastor will have a variety of gifts. We also acknowledge that our own vision is limited, and that God can re-arrange some of the priorities outlined below. However, what is most important is that our next pastor is in love with our Lord and Saviour, and regularly desires to know and experience Him in deeper and richer ways. As our pastor demonstrates his or her own love with Jesus, such example will encourage and develop the members of our congregation, with the result that we, too, will grow more and more in love with Jesus. Outlined below are four key characteristics that the congregation has indicated are important as we seek the pastor God has for us. We have a more formal Job Description, that describes the position from a functional perspective, but the gifts described below are what we believe are needed for Zion at this time. Spiritual Leader The members of Zion wish to grow closer to our Lord. We wish to know how to be transformed by the renewing of our hearts and minds. Christ s mission was to restore a relationship that was broken by sin. We need a pastor who understands the need for each of us (including the pastor) to have a regularly restored and refreshed relationship with Jesus. Our pastor should have a vision for all members of our congregation growing into a closer and deeper relationship with our Lord and Saviour, into closer and deeper relationships with each other, and of the congregation reaching out to and creating relationships within the community. Zion needs a pastor who will humbly lead us into such deeper spiritual relationships. That cannot occur unless the pastor is seriously and sincerely committed to his or her own growth into a closer and deeper spiritual relationship with God, and engaged in practices and study that will enhance such pursuit. It is only as the pastor regularly and earnestly seeks to personally experience such growth that he or she will be able to lead our congregation into deeper spiritual growth. People Leader Zion has many members who are not only anxious to grow in their relationship with Jesus, but who are able and willing to be developed into greater leadership roles within the congregation. We believe that our pastor will desire to be used by the Holy Spirit to develop such gifts needed for leadership within the congregation to allow us to grow our ministry and program base. The pastor should encourage congregation members to take on leadership positions in the church. A leader is one who can develop others to use their gifts for the benefit of the congregation and the community in which we live. One example Jesus gave us of leadership was that of the Good Shepherd. We believe that, sometimes, our pastor will be ahead of us, leading by example and inspiration; sometimes, he or she will walk beside Pastor Job Description (APRIL 2017) Zion Christian Reformed Church 2

3 various members, compassionately sharing their burden; sometimes, our pastor will walk behind us, giving words of encouragement. Proclaimer Much of the weekly contact between the pastor and many members of the congregation is concentrated in the Sunday services. Therefore, the sermons must be carefully and prayerfully prepared, with the objective to edify the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and with the desire to follow Jesus instruction to Peter: Feed my lambs (and sheep). Spiritual leadership must entail preaching substance with conviction, in a manner that can be followed, and understood, and applied, by the congregation. Unless the congregation has the opportunity to leave the service with a better understanding of how, during the following week, they can practically apply in their lives what they have heard, and how they may grow in their faith-walk, the sermon will have failed to provide spiritual leadership. Evangelizer The New Testament is filled with stories of what happened to people when they encountered Jesus (whether it was Phillip bringing his friend Nathaniel to Jesus, or the Samaritan woman at the well who ran to tell her neighbours, or the disciples who after being confronted by the risen Jesus - were unafraid of the consequences of their preaching). They couldn t keep it to themselves they had to share this Good News with those around. Jesus created excitement because He makes all things new. We believe that a pastor who is in love with Jesus will wish to share the excitement of such love with both the congregation, and the community. That love, shared by the congregation s spiritual leader, will be contagious. Pastor Job Description (APRIL 2017) Zion Christian Reformed Church 3

4 PASTOR EXPECTATIONS Introduction It is difficult for us to provide a Job Description, when we consider the position as a calling rather than a job. However, in that context, we have set out below our expectations of the role of the pastor for this specific congregation. This will, hopefully, allow us all to have an understanding about how performance of such role may be measured. Worship Leadership The Zion congregation is blessed with a creative and enthusiastic Worship Coordinator, and several worship teams, which lead us in a blend of a variety of music styles and prayers and litanies. The result has been dynamic worship services. We expect that our pastor s experience will meld with and enhance such worship styles, but do not expect the pastor to consider worship leadership as his or her primary role. Rather, we expect our pastor to work with such Worship Coordinator and worship teams to prepare and lead inspiring and appropriate worship services. Sermons We expect sermons to be Biblically-based, thoughtfully and prayerfully prepared. They should be relevant to the needs of this congregation, and challenge us to grow closer to Jesus whether we are already believers, or seekers. Hopefully, sermon styles will vary. We welcome visual tools when appropriate, enhancing the understanding of what is being taught. We believe that the objective of sermons is to equip the congregation with an understanding of Biblical truths that can have real life application, and that may lead to change in the lives of all who hear them. Teaching and Discipleship Over the last year or so, Zion has successfully developed community group, led by members of the congregation, that meet at different times during the week to study a common theme (to date, through the use of video-tapes by Philip Yancey and Tim Keller), and share our experiences and thoughts together. We hope that our pastor will be a resource to work with the leadership of the congregation in developing future appropriate study materials. There are also prayer groups that meet at various times, which will need to be kept informed by the pastor of prayer needs. From time to time, we will expect our pastor to conduct or coordinate courses for marriage preparation, profession of faith, and similar activities. Pastor Job Description (APRIL 2017) Zion Christian Reformed Church 4

5 At times, Zion members enjoy social events, sometimes after church, but also on other occasions. Such events are an important time to get to know various members. We expect our pastor to circulate among such groups, getting to know the needs and personalities of the various members, and encouraging their leadership. The pastor will be expected to attend at Council meetings, to provide input and also to be accountable to this element of the church s leadership. Part of the pastor s role will be to mentor, and encourage and promote spiritual growth and professional development within, the ministry staff. Hopefully, also, our pastor will be able to recognize gifts of various members of the congregation, to encourage the development of such gifts, and to enhance the leadership of Zion church as we move forward. Extremely important will be the pastor s own spiritual needs. We would encourage his or her participation in a pastoral support and accountability group. Vision, Creativity and Strategic Planning Zion has a Vision and Mission Statement that must be more than simply words. We will look to our pastor to recommend and encourage implementation of our church s Vision and Mission in various ways: - from the pulpit - with ministry staff and key leadership - with the Church Council (board members and deacons) However, we expect that our pastor will also bring some fresh vision, and new ways of implementing the ministry of the church. We encourage such widening of our attitudes and understanding of how we are to be light on a hill. Congregational and Pastoral Care There are various ways that a pastor can get to know the congregation; unless the pastor knows the members of the congregation, it will be difficult to know their needs. We do not intend to prescribe specific methods of doing so, but expect that our pastor will use a variety of methods, including home visits at times, to understand the congregation. We recognize that we are broken people, with a need to know the grace and love of God in various ways. Sometimes, short-term counselling will be needed; on other occasions, the pastor and leadership of the church will need to lovingly respond to the conduct of a member or members which is contrary to Scripture. Emergencies and crises will develop within the congregation, or those with whom some of our members are associated. We will need a pastor who will promptly and compassionately respond. Pastor Job Description (APRIL 2017) Zion Christian Reformed Church 5

6 Denominational and Missions Zion is part of the CRC, and will need encouragement to participate in denominational activities, particularly those that are aligned closely with our own Vision and Mission Statement. We also recognize that we need a vision of the mission of the church, and the CRC in particular, both in our community and throughout the world. In that regard, we are blessed with several members who are presently engaged in missions activities in various parts of the world. In summary, Zion is an enthusiastic church with a dynamic worship service. We need a pastor who will build on that and show us that God s grace is radical, transformative, and infectious. Pastor Job Description (APRIL 2017) Zion Christian Reformed Church 6