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Associate Pastor of Discipleship Job Description

Position Description

The overall purpose of the Associate Pastor of Discipleship at Calvary Baptist Church is to give direction to the discipleship and hospitality ministries of Calvary Baptist Church. This will be done in support of and cooperation with the other ministries of the church and in agreement to the church’s mission and core values.

General Ministry Qualifications

Numerous passages in the New Testament indicate that the words “elder”, “overseer”, and “pastor” all refer to the same office. At Calvary Baptist Church, we use the term “pastor” to describe this office. At Calvary Baptist Church, the office of pastor is limited to men. Even though every person may not be scripturally ordained as a pastor when entering the ministry, they do need to meet the qualifications of a pastor. The title of Pastor will only be bestowed on those who have been scripturally ordained. The character and effectiveness of this church is directly related to the quality of its leadership. That is why Scripture stresses the importance of qualified church leadership and delineates specific standards for evaluating those who would serve in that sacred position. The qualifications for pastors are found in 1 Timothy 3:2-7 and Titus 1:6-8. According to these passages, a pastor must be above reproach, the husband of one wife, sober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not a drunkard, not violent, gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money, a good manager of his household, one who has his children under control with dignity, not a recent convert, one who is well thought of by those outside the church, not arrogant or quick-tempered, not greedy for gain, a lover of good, upright, holy and disciplined. He must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.

The single, overarching qualification of which the rest are supportive is that he is to be “above reproach.” That is, he must be a leader who cannot be accused of anything sinful because he has a sustained reputation for blamelessness. A pastor is to be above reproach in his marital life, his social life, his business life, and his spiritual life. In this way, he is to be a model of godliness so he can legitimately call the congregation to follow his example (Phil. 3:17). In addition to these ministry qualifications, all of our pastors must abide by the church membership eligibility guidelines and responsibilities as outlined by Article III of the Calvary Baptist Church Constitution, Policy Number 2.d on Church Membership, and sign the Calvary Baptist Church Leadership Questionnaire.

Specific Ministry Qualifications

  1. Calvary Baptist Church’s Associate Pastor of Discipleship must first and foremost manifest a call to the ministry.
  2. He must have a growing relationship with Jesus Christ that is based on a commitment to daily time in prayer and the study of God’s Word.
  3. He must have a Bible college degree. A Master of Arts in Biblical Counseling or similar education is preferred.
  4. He must be able to demonstrate leadership in prior ministries or organizations.
  5. He must have experience in leading church discipleship programs.
  6. He must have the ability to train others to participate and lead in discipleship and counseling.
  7. He must work well with the church staff, leadership, and volunteers.
  8. He must display personal openness, integrity, humility and honesty in his interpersonal relationships.
  9. He must be proficient in teaching the Word.
  10. He must be able to teach tenets of the Christian faith, fundamental Christian values and how to apply these to life situations.
  11. He must be flexible, friendly and approachable.
  12. He must deal with conflict directly, openly, honestly and graciously.
  13. He must be able to maintain and be accountable to a budget.
  14. He must be able to communicate and establish effective working relationships with many different people.
  15. He must be able to effectively use social media with discretion and in a way that promotes Christian unity and spiritual growth.

General Ministry Duties

The primary responsibility of our pastors is to lead the members of this church to become lifetime followers of Jesus Christ. That involves a number of general ministry duties, including but not limited to: Biblical instruction (including public and personal preaching, teaching, exhortation, encouragement, counseling, reproof and rebuke), prayer, providing shepherding care for all the flock, outreach and administrative leadership that organizes and equips the saints to do the work as co-laborers with him.

Specific Ministry Duties

The primary responsibility of the Associate Pastor of Discipleship will be to give direction to the discipleship and hospitality ministries of Calvary Baptist Church. This will be done in support of and cooperation with the other ministries of the church and in agreement to the church’s mission and core values.

Areas of Ministry Responsibility

  1. Discipleship Training – The Associate Pastor of Discipleship will work with ministry leaders to provide training in discipleship for the workers in the various programs and ministries of the church
      1. Adult Bible Communities
      2. Counseling
      3. Various group ministries (e.g. Accountability Groups, Keenagers, Awana, etc.)
  2. Counseling – The Associate Pastor of Discipleship will share in the counseling ministry of the church
  3. Hospitality Ministries – The Associate Pastor of Discipleship will oversee the hospitality ministries of the church
    1. Visitation and Visitor Follow up
    2. Greeters
    3. Ushers
    4. Parking Lot
    5. Watchman
  4. Preaching – The Associate Pastor of Discipleship will share in the preaching ministry of the church

Shared Areas of Ministry Responsibility

  1. Attends regular staff and board meetings as scheduled.
  2. Attends all regular and special business meetings called for the church.
  3. Assists the Senior Pastor with any other duties or responsibilities as assigned.

Working Relationships to Staff

Calvary Baptist Church’s Associate Pastor of Discipleship is a member of the Pastoral Staff. He ministers under the direction of the Senior Pastor, while accountable to the Board of Deacons and Board of Trustees. He is subject to annual performance evaluations used to assess the adequacy of his compensation and any other employment matters.

Compensation

Salary: TBD

Benefits (for full-time employees only):

  • Allowance for medical insurance and retirement savings accounts
  • Paid vacation leave, sick leave, and holidays
  • Mileage reimbursement for official church business while on duty
  • Paid annual continuing education opportunities