Lead Pastor

Denomination: Evangelical Free Church Weekly

Description: Calvary Church began in 1962 with a group of folks meeting in a home with the desire of starting a church in the St. Charles area. Moving into their first building a few years later, the church continued to grow, reaching new people for Christ. In the late 80s, Calvary joined the Evangelical Free Church of America (EFCA) denomination. Soon after, Calvary began construction on a new piece of property and moved into the current 42-acre facility and grounds complete with ball fields, indoor playground, gymnasium, and worship center. Calvary has also launched two other campuses that are now healthy, growing independent churches. Oil changes for the underserved, food pantries for those in need, community targeted VBS, church fellowships, and more are the historic cultural fabric of Calvary's ministries. Through the years, Calvary has grown through thriving small group ministry, vibrant contemporary worship, an emphasis on missions that reached around the globe, strategic outreach events that attracted many young families, a dynamic children's and youth ministry, and other community ministries. In 2022, Calvary entered an intentional interim season during which church leaders have re-visioned and re-structured for a new season of ministry. Focus has been shifted to gospel-centered vision, governance, ministry, and relationships. Christ has thoroughly blessed those steps with excitement, passion, and grace. The congregation and leaders confidently look to the future under Christs guidance and passion. Calvary is truly a place where, as the motto suggests, Jesus Matters Most!

Calvary's next Lead Pastor will inspire and guide the vision, broader culture, and overall ministry of the church in a way that is aligned with the Scriptures, values, statements of belief, and culture of the church, in conjunction with a strong team approach to leadership.

The Lead Pastor will accomplish this purpose through five major responsibilities: Committing to prayer, the preaching and teaching of the Word, visionary leadership, pastoral shepherding of other leaders and congregants, and missional engagement.

The Lead Pastor's Responsibilities Include:

• Commit to Prayer
  • Personally practice and guide the congregation into a vibrant prayer life.
  • Closely work with Elders, Pastors and lay leaders to effectively develop prayer ministry.
  • Prayerfully inspire vision, overall direction, and values in a broad range of settings.
  • Prayerfully lead the development of strategies that will fulfill Gods comprehensive calling for Calvary in collaboration with Elders, Staff and Congregation.
  • Preaching and Worship Prayerfully and discerningly craft worship services, including the sacraments, in conjunction with the Worship Director and Teaching Team.
• Provide strong expository, Christ-centered pulpit ministry so that gospel-oriented, biblical truth is taught and applied to transform lives.
  • Lead and supervise the rotation of preachers so that the congregation experiences a broader team of preachers and special speakers.
• Visionary Leadership
  • Champion the Calvary Church Transformational Profile and model the purity and unity of Christ.
  • Work collaboratively with elders and staff to define and inspire vision, overall direction, and values across church and community settings. Engage with church leaders and staff in the process of planning strategic directions for the church. Lead and supervise the Staff Executive Team to function collaboratively and model healthy interactions.
  • Assume the final responsibility for the leadership of the whole staff and all outcomes including development, training, goal setting, and relationships. Be actively involved in the recruitment, retention, and review of all staff in conjunction with the Staff Executive Team and Personnel Team.
  • Maintain healthy, working relationships in a team environment with elders, staff, and the congregation, promoting the unity of the church and respecting other members giftedness and unique abilities.
• Pastoral Shepherding
  • Define, direct, and monitor the monthly shepherding of the congregation by the elders, pastors, and other shepherding leaders.
  • Create and pursue a specific plan of discipleship for elders and staff so that they are well- suited and equipped for the responsibilities of their positions.
  • Oversee the implementation of church discipline with grace, wisdom, and biblical integrity in conjunction with elders and pastors.
• Missional Engagement Be a model of evangelistic and missional witness to the congregation, thereby increasing the witness for Christ in the greater St. Charles County, community, and world. Encourage and work with other local church pastors to build the unity and witness of Christ in the surrounding community. Maintain relations with EFCA bodies on issues of common interests.
• Additional Duties
  • Work with the Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Elder Board to create monthly agendas for the Board and the annual training of potential board member candidates. Assume the final responsibility for the regular monthly ministry report from the Staff Executive Team to the Elder Board. Other duties as assigned.

What You Bring: The following describes many of the characteristics of the ideal candidate for the Lead Pastor:

• Education & Experience Meets biblical qualifications of an elder along with specific values of the church.
• Master of Divinity or higher from an accredited evangelical seminary.
• Acceptance of biblical theology as outlined by the EFCA.
• At least five years of proven successful leadership in a pastoral position of a large growing church with multiple staff.
• Personal Characteristics & Qualifications
  • Strong devotional life.
  • Champions the vision of Calvary Church without hesitation.
  • Highly effective communicator as affirmed by multiple generations and peoples.
  • Impassioned for healthy leadership and relations; prefers to work with other leaders who have a strong sense of direction and purpose.
  • Proven ability to work effectively with different teams within the church. Healthy commitment to strong conflict resolution skills; able to take criticism that may not always be warranted while pursuing peace with all.
  • Demonstrates humility and grace, with a willingness to accept responsibility for own failures and failures of the staff that may not be of his own making.
  • Serves as an example of a loyal friend and family member, who can properly balance the obligations of professional and private life. Demonstrates Christian unity with other church leaders from different ethnicities and backgrounds for the furtherance of the Kingdom.