Lead Pastor
First Christian Church (Port Orchard, WA) – Lead Pastor
The Big Picture
FCC (First Christian Church)( https://fccportorchard.com) is excitedly looking for our next lead pastor to shepherd our amazing church into its future phase of sustained growth, discipleship, and community Gospel saturation. This is an exciting opportunity for the right Pastor to lead in a growing church, work within an unchurched community that is hungry for the Gospel (the mission is alive and ready to thrive here), grow relationships with multiple churches in our community (Kingdom Perspective), and explore ministry endeavors rarely seen in other communities. Plus, you’d get to live in or around Port Orchard, one of the most beautiful communities in the United States. Here there is boating (Lakes and the Puget Sound), hiking, fishing, walking in the parks, hanging out in downtown, trips to Seattle, and so much more. There is a lot to see and do here.
A BIT ABOUT US AND WHY WE ARE LOOKING:
First Christian Church (we just say ‘FCC’) gets its name from being the first church planted in the Kitsap County area. Our church has been going for the last 138 years (literally settled by covered wagon). But don’t let our churches age deter you (people hear old and think stuffy – we aren’t that). We are a modern, multi-generational, non-denominational church that has been built back up over the years to reach our community well.
As a church, we love the Bible and love Jesus, but we don’t fight over the small arguments of theology. Our message is the Gospel and seeking a relationship with Christ. As such, our congregation is made up of people from different backgrounds, Christian traditions, churched and unchurched alike. We appreciate the diversity and love our people and community well.
Currently, we meet in a building that supports 5 different churches. We are very Kingdom Perspective oriented and love working with multiple churches and organizations within our community.
Our current Lead Pastor has been with us for a several years and has helped us transition through some difficult times and build the church back up from a very low season (Covid was rough). He has been great and we don’t want to see him go, but because of some health issues (severe environmental allergies), he unfortunately needs to move to another state. While he is here, however, he is still leading and helping in our search for a new pastor and is excited to meet and help whoever God might send to fill this role. He has a heart to transition well and get our new pastor set up in the best possible way (anyone applying will find a friend and advocate in him). And should you be our next lead pastor, we will love you as fervently as we have our current pastor.
WHAT ARE WE LOOKING FOR (In General):
We are looking for a pastor with some experience under his belt. Someone with education and a confirmed Call on his life. A confident pastor, strong in faith and in character, wise, personable, and relationally focused. A pastor who can sustain what has been built in the church while lovingly growing to the future through discipleship and relationship. A true follower of the Word, committed to its upholding, teaching, and application. A good communicator and a leader who has a heart for reaching the community of lost while working together with local churches and Christians in service to the needs of the church and community.
LET’S GET MORE SPECIFIC (Qualifications):
- A dedicated follower of Jesus (This should be obvious, but it unfortunately needs to be said. Please don’t apply if you aren’t a believer, a Christian, and active follower).
- A Pastor who can sustain the foundation already built and grow the church through discipleship.
- A Pastor who can preach with efficacy and truth at least 43 times per year
- A Pastor, who is Kingdom Minded (wants all churches to succeed)
- A Pastor with at least 5 years of full-time ministry (in Church or Para Min) experience
- A Pastor who is comfortable in their Call to Ministry (they know who they are, what they are called to, and able to explain their call to ministry)
- A Pastor who has a heart for the unchurched - none’s, done’s, and some’s.
- A Pastor who is a strong leader, yet calm, steady, and sure.
- A Pastor who lives out what they preach (Don’t just say it on stage and not live it)
- A Pastor with Ministry education and experience in Biblical application
(Bachelor’s degree or Masters. Some experience can subside).
- A Pastor who leads the team with servant leadership, is excited about groups, and guides individual growth of the teams, elders, and congregation.
- A pastor who is an overseer and vision caster
HERE’S WHAT WE OFFER:
- A competitive compensation and benefits package (three weeks vaca starting, $68k+ starting salary (Negotiable dependent on education and experience and includes Fed Housing Allowance at over half of salary), $10K HSA, PTO, Family Recompense Time, etc.)
- A dedicated staff and leadership team
- An incredible congregation who is loving, supportive, and eager to learn and grow.
Some Things to Know Before you Apply:
Okay, you’ve made it this far. You are interested. And we might be interested in meeting you too. But there are a few things you should know before you apply (we like being up front).
- If you are coming from out of state, you should know that Washington is a hard area to do ministry in. Our state is the 4th most unchurched state in the nation, and our community of Kitsap is currently 93% unchurched. People are hungry for the Gospel here. And the statistics are moving in the right direction. But we say this up front because we have seen many pastors in other churches in our area come from very churched areas of the United States and fail here, mostly because they had the wrong expectations coming in. What works in Texas (for instance) will not always work here. Ministry is different here. You can’t just put up a sign and expect people to come. Often, you have to go get them. You have to be clever. Scrappy. And Smart. This is why we want any pastor coming in to know their Call. Your Call will be tested here. You will have people behind you helping you and loving you well, but there will be challenges.
- Our church is building back up from its low several years ago. Currently we have about 180-200 people who call our church their home. But that isn’t the number you see every week. Many people here in our county only come to church once per month (which is also a national statistic) so on any given Sunday there is usually between 80-120 people. In our area, this makes us a medium-sized church. But this number does on occasion feel smaller given that we meet next to a church that is much bigger. We have a great relationship with them and all churches in our area (in fact, we host a multi-church pastors meet up and we meet and pray with other pastors often). But again, this is why we are looking for someone who is confident in their Call to ministry, excited about Kingdom Perspective, and reaching people in clever ways. We will support that pastor with all our hearts though.
- We already have a basis for clever ways of doing ministry here. We do Breakfast Churches, meals on Thursday nights, Multi-church groups and events. These all work great. But we aren’t stuck on what has been done before either. We want a pastor who can also think outside the box and find ways of engaging our community while activating our body of believers.
That’s it. Those are the big things.
If you feel called to apply and you meet the qualifications above, we’d love to hear from you.
The Process
Please look over this job description and the church website. Along with your resume please answer these questions:
Why do you believe that you might be a good fit as the Lead Pastor for FCC?
Describe your experiences in ministry and how you may be qualified to serve as the Lead Pastor at FCC?
In just a few sentences please give a summary of your theology and how that is in line with the doctrine of FCC.
Please send your resume, the answers to these questions and a link to at least one online sermon to Jason@LancasterSearch.com