PASTORAL RESIDENT | Job Description

Job Description for Resident-for 2020

Calvin Presbyterian Church

 We are Calvin Presbyterian Church– an EPC congregation in Corvallis, Oregon. We are looking for a second member of our staff- one who brings relatively little experience to their ministry calling, but is eager to learn by doing in the areas of preaching, leadership, pastoral care, and church based mission. We intend for this to be an on the job training role akin to medical residency. We hope to partner for 3-5 years before sending you out, better equipped, for your long-term purpose in church planting, church revitalization, foreign missions, or elsewhere.

The premise of this position is that ministry is a craft, best learned through practice and mentorship. You will be provided with an opportunity to grow rapidly in ministry. Calvin is a congregation with a long history of care for pastors. We are an excellent place for you to hone your craft as a pastor- a place to develop essential skills and gain experience knowing that freedom to lead will be given and that mistakes will be lovingly corrected, but will not cost you further opportunities to learn. You will work closely with our lead pastor, who will serve both as a mentor and as a partner in the Gospel. Our goal for you is to help you grow as a child of God and as a pastor and then launch you out, supporting you in your further kingdom endeavors.

 

Requirements:

  1. We require a candidate who is a regenerate follower of Jesus, as evidenced first by steadfast commitment to historic Christian Orthodoxy, succinctly summarized in one of our denomination’s constitutional documents, second by bearing of the fruit of the Spirit in increasing measure, and third by an earnest desire to grow in Christ by ongoing repentance.
  2. We require a candidate who is called to and gifted for ministry in church leadership.
  3. We require a candidate who is able and willing, within the first three years of residency, to meet the requirements for ordination in the EPC, listed here. The educational requirements may be fulfilled via a combination of formal education and independent reading courses. This requirement may be flexed for a candidate who is not a U.S. citizen or permanent resident or who anticipates serving long term overseas.

Qualifications:

  1. We seek a candidate who is a self-starter, able to handle complex tasks with creativity and energy, shouldering considerable responsibility yet receiving equally considerable support and feedback.
  2. While ministry experience is valued, we do not require any particular kind or amount of experience in order for a candidate to be considered.

Foundation

Acknowledging that Christ-like character is of utmost importance in ministry, more than any gifting or training, you will grow in personal holiness by:

  1. Working with the pastor, or a spiritually mature member of Calvin agreed upon by you and the pastor, to establish a personal rule of life, particularly including habits of prayer. This rule will be reviewed at a bi-monthly meeting with the pastor or other mentor.
  2. Cultivating at least two relationships (one may be with the pastor, but that is not required) with mature Christians, being vulnerable with those brothers or sisters, and inviting them to speak the truth in love into all aspects of life.

Purpose

You will grow and develop as a minister of the Gospel as pertains to your specific long term calling by:

  1. Working with the lead pastor to clearly identify and solidify a long term call (church planting, church revitalization, foreign mission, etc.).
  2. Setting responsibilities that will develop skills needed in that call. For example, preaching regularly under the tutelage of the lead pastor, leading prayer teams to potential church planting locations, building relationships with other area churches for future support, participating in elder meetings, making pastoral visits, sitting on appropriate committees.
  3. Participating in all meetings of the elders of the church. Twice annually working with the lead pastor and elders to determine concrete six-month goals that will further develop your skills and edify the congregation.
  4. After the first year of residency, working with lead pastor and elders to develop a launch plan and timeline for how Calvin will serve as a springboard toward your long term calling.

Impact

We hope that your time at Calvin will leave a mark on us as a church. Most broadly, we believe that structuring a position in this way helps form us to be more kingdom-minded as a congregation. We also hope for a particular legacy- some way in which the Holy Spirit will match your gifts and experience with our lack, and work through you to shape us in a more Christ-like way that lasts well beyond your tenure at Calvin.

 

While we cannot identify in advance what that impact will be, we expect any such work to go through three stages. First will be a time of you, together with the pastor, elders, and other leaders, identifying where God’s particular calling on your life intersects with our need. Second will be you leading a team to implement the initial changes. Third will be you equipping some of our members and elders to continue the work after you move on.

 

Compensation

This is a full-time, salaried position with benefits. The elders will determine that salary on the basis of need. We are committed to making sure you are provided for during throughout the residency.

 

Next Steps

If you have questions, you may contact Skip Rung at rungs@q.com

To apply, please email the following to Skip at the same address:

  • One page cover letter describing your fit with the Resident position and your compatibility with the theology and practice of the EPC.
  • One page resume.
  • One page statement of faith.
  • Disclosure of all social media accounts.
  • Five references who can speak to your character in various areas of life and to your ministry potential.