Pastor of Adult Ministries

The Opportunity

Lakes Free Church seeks to fill a key leadership position: Pastor of Adult Ministries. The one who fills this essential pastoral role will be a man of God who’s committed to the vision and mission of Lakes Free Church. The Pastor of Adult Ministry shall foster spiritual growth by overseeing the discipleship of adults at Lakes Free Church. This commitment will be exercised by shepherding and providing administrative leadership for the adult ministries staff and volunteers and effectively implementing the church’s adult ministry goals in an increasingly diverse, multi-generational setting.

This is a full-time position. Compensation is negotiable and commensurate with experience and qualifications.

Faith & Ministry Qualifications

The qualified candidate will:
• Be a mature Christian. He must have a clear testimony of faith in Jesus Christ, call to the ministry and meet the scriptural qualifications for a pastor/elder as outlined in 1 Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9 and 1 Peter 5:2-4.
• Be a man of established Christian character, sound in faith and doctrine with a personal and growing relationship with Jesus Christ.
• He must be in full agreement with the Evangelical Free Church Statement of Faith. He should be licensed and/or ordained by the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) or be willing to pursue one or both credentials.
• He must be in full agreement with and support the Lakes Free Church Mission Statement, Constitution, By-Laws and Policy Statements.
• He should be qualified and have a proven ability to teach and preach the whole counsel of the Word of God, from the pulpit, in a classroom setting and in small groups.
• He should have experience in some form of pastoral work. Individuals with less experience could be called if they possess significant unique relevant experience, knowledge and calling.
• He should possess relevant experience in building and working with effective teams to carry out ministry goals. Have a love for and experience in developing, coaching and managing people, both paid and volunteer.
• Demonstrated ability in the areas of discipleship, evangelism, small group ministries, leadership development, pastoral counseling (premarital, marital, family, etc.) and related administration (including ministry-level budget planning and management).
• A seminary degree or equivalent combination of relevant education and experience.
• Have a minimum of five years of progressively more responsible leadership experience as the leader of a significant ministry area, or comparable leadership experience.
• Possess a proven track record of skilled leadership; sound judgment; the ability to develop programs, projects and ministries; improve ministry effectiveness.
• Be a strategic thinker and collaborator.
• Be a highly motivated self-starter.
• Demonstrate a heart for evangelism, discipleship and inter-generational ministry.
• Possess experience developing and/or supporting effective outreach endeavors.

Responsibilities

Pastoral
• Foster a healthy, encouraging, team culture amongst the adult ministry and care staff.
• Seek to know the people of Lakes Free Church and love them well.
• Serve as a member of the preaching team led by the Senior Pastor.
a. Preach and assist on a regular basis in multiple Sunday services a year, as well as assigned special services and holiday services.
b. Assist in shepherding the church in biblical fidelity, theological soundness and alignment with the statement of faith and culture of the EFCA.
• Support the elder board, Senior Pastor and Executive Pastor in prayerfully developing, championing and leading a bold vision of ongoing gospel impact for the future of Lakes Free Church.
• Maintain strong, Christ-honoring relationships with the members of the elder board, pastoral team, church staff, volunteers and congregation.
• Assist other members of the pastoral staff in shepherding the congregation. Teach for the various ministry areas of the church (as available), assist the pastoral staff in counseling (pre-marital, marital, family, etc.) and visitation and be willing to officiate weddings and funerals as needed.
• Support church outreach to the increasingly diverse physical and online communities Lakes Free serves.

Administrative
• Adult Ministry - Champion the church’s vision for discipleship to the entire congregation. Plan and carry out the church’s adult discipleship goals and objectives with the support and partnership of the Adult Ministry Team. This includes:
o Meet regularly with the Adult Ministry Team.
o Set annual goals and propose the annual budget for Adult Ministry.
o Plan for adult classes, small groups, outreach and service opportunities.
o Oversee component adult ministry teams/group including Men’s & Women’s ministries and others.
o Lead and equip the Adult Bible Fellowship (ABF) leadership teams.
o Select curriculum and materials to be used in Adult Ministry programs.
o Provide leadership and training for the church in the areas of discipleship, evangelism and biblical and theological studies through regular teaching.
o Provide guidance and oversight for the church library volunteers and resources collection.
o Innovate and lead new strategies to help the church reach adults of all ages with the gospel of Jesus Christ.
• Inter-generational Ministry - Work with the Children’s Ministry Director and the Director/Pastor of Student Ministry in developing and implementing a church-wide plan for family discipleship and reaching the next generations for Jesus Christ.
• Volunteers - Manage the numerous volunteers involved in Adult Ministry. This includes recruiting, training, equipping and encouraging.
• Staff – Lead the adult ministry staff and volunteers to effectively carry out the vision and mission of Lakes Free Church. Current direct staff reports:
a. The Associate Senior Pastor – serving senior members of the congregation
b. The Director of Care Ministries – serving the whole congregation, including benevolence
This includes daily management of assigned staff and volunteers, maintaining oversight and accountability for job performance, assuring alignment with church-wide goals and ministry activities and staff development (recruiting, training, coaching, equipping and encouraging), maintaining assigned staff job descriptions and leading assigned search committees when necessary.
• Finance – Develop the adult ministry components of the church’s annual budget. Manage the adult ministries' budget(s) throughout the year. Evaluate current and future financial needs considering the ministry goals and assist in implementing strategies to meet those needs.
• Facilities – Support the elder board and executive pastor in assessing future adult ministry facility needs of Lakes Free Church.
• Communication – Present regular reports on the work and condition of Adult Ministries at weekly staff meetings, monthly elder board meetings, and at congregational meetings of the church. Collaborate with the communications director to maintain clear and consistent messaging regarding adult ministries.

Ministry Relationships

• The Pastor of Adult Ministries is ultimately responsible to the elder board and is accountable to them through the executive pastor in the performance of his duties.
• The Pastor of Adult Ministries will be a member of the elder board and Adult Ministry Team and is expected to work with other ministry teams of the church as needed to carry out his responsibilities.
• Pastors, ministry directors and administrative staff report directly to the executive pastor, with other associate pastors and staff members reporting directly to the supervisor of their area of ministry. The executive pastor reports to the senior pastor.
• The Pastor of Adult Ministries will be responsible for developing and maintaining positive external relationships with community leaders, authorities and denominational leaders in matters related to adult ministries.
• The Pastor of Adult Ministries is reviewed annually by the executive pastor.

How to Apply

Submit the following application documents in MS Word or PDF file format.
• Letter of interest – Include the earliest date you would be available to start if selected.
• Current resume – Include the contact details that will allow us to contact you confidentially.
• Contact information for three references – Include at least one professional and one pastoral reference (required). References will only be contacted if a candidate is under continuing consideration at the conclusion of the initial application review and interview steps.

Full Pastor of Adult Ministries Search and Ministry and Church Family profiles may be viewed on the Lakes Free website at: [https://lakesfree.org/employment/]()https://lakesfree.org/employment/

Send search related email to:
Dick Crombie, member
Pastor of Adult Ministries Search Committee
search2@lakesfree.org

Applications will be accepted and reviewed until the position is filled. Early applications provide the search committee with a greater opportunity to get to know candidates. The targeted start is January 2024. The actual start date could be sooner or later and will be finalized in collaboration with the new Pastor of Adult Ministries.

All applications will be handled with confidentiality by the search committee.