BRINDABELLA BAPTIST CHURCH – Senior Pastor Job Description

Role of the Senior Pastor

The role of the Senior Pastor is to:

1.         Actively model our core values of:

·         Loving God

·         Loving God’s word

·         Loving Each Other

·         Loving Others

2.         To live out the church’s mission of:

·         By faith, we take risks: loving God, others and each other, expanding the Kingdom of God.

3.         And to aspire to our vision of:

·         A growing church transformed by love, actively reaching out to the community in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Senior Pastor Personal Qualities

·         A natural, passionate and mature Christian leader, who demonstrates Biblical qualities and character through: a servant heart, love for people, being a person of prayer, giving primary attention to his own spiritual growth and family life, having a good reputation with Christians and non-Christians alike.

·         Committed to the inspiration and supreme authority of God’s Word for all life and practice.

·         Life-experienced with some years of previous pastoral ministry experience in a similar sized church.

·         Encourages a balanced approach to worship, though particularly comfortable with a more contemporary approach in worship style that embraces the use of creative arts.

·         An encourager of others to identify and develop their spiritual gifts.

·         Has a heart for mission into the local community and beyond.

·         A proven team player in working with support staff, pastoral and other leadership.

·         A person of vision, who is prepared to take risks, who discerns opportunities through the Holy Spirit and encourages the initiation and equipping of ministries to meet them.

·         An effective and passionate communicator.

·         A person of integrity with a willingness to be transparent and accountable to a group of mentors of his own choosing.

Primary Responsibilities

Prayer – leads a disciplined and devotional life to seek and discover God’s will for his life and ministry.  Participates and encourages others to be involved in the corporate prayer life of the church.  Encourages the church to become people of prayer by modelling an active personal prayer life.

Visionary – works with the church elders in developing a clear vision for a program-sized church and with the various ministry leaders develop strategies to turn that vision into reality. This vision, along with core values, should be clarified, emphasised and communicated before the church.

Spiritual Life Development/Active Discipleship – works with the relevant ministry areas to provide opportunities for individuals and groups to understand and enhance the spiritual dimensions of their personal and prayer lives. 

Pastoral Leadership – demonstrates an ability to lead the church into a new phase of growth.  While having a participative and consultative leadership style, is prepared to challenge diverse and different views and, where those views are contrary to the vision of the church eldership, is able to discern them and engage people towards where God is leading BBC.

Effective Preacher – communicates, preaches and teaches in a way that is firmly Bible-based and is relevant to people lives.  Gives quality time for the preparation and reflection on God’s Word and its implications for individuals, the church, the community and the world. 

Leadership and Ministry Development – a Leader of the Church and a leader of Leaders - oversees all Ministry Leaders at BBC. This includes the influence, encouragement, and equipping of people to develop and use their spiritual gifts and talents.  An important aspect of this oversight is the development of leaders through the provision of opportunities for training and growth. 

Outreach – works with the relevant ministry area in mobilising the church to develop effective outreach strategies to the local community and beyond: to bring people into relationship with God and consequently into church fellowship and service

Building a Caring Community – a personable pastor who can lead the church in becoming a church family in unity where all persons can feel accepted, included and cared for.  Seeks to ensure support and understanding for people in crises and transition.