POSITION ANNOUNCEMENT: Associate Pastor of Worship Ministries
Our Immediate, Shorter-Term Need
We are looking for someone to step in and assist with our choir/orchestra.
Practices are held on Wednesdays at 2:30 PM (orchestra) and 4:00 PM (choir), and we have two Sunday worships services at 9:00 AM and 10:30 AM.
Our Long Term Need
We are looking for a Worship Pastor with the following capabilities:
· Ability to lead the more traditional aspects of music/worship that appeal to the older generation who desire what they are accustomed to: choir, orchestra, handbell choir, occasional concerts. Although desire for this kind of worship is declining, it remains important to our overall worship experience.
· Understands the need for developing a more contemporary worship team to meet the desires of the broader church worship culture and our slowly changing church demographic coupled with the ability to lead this team and integrate this more contemporary form of worship with the more traditional aspects of worship.
· Ability to demonstrate patience in this process of integration with the realization that there is still a small percentage of our congregation with little awareness of contemporary music and strong resistance to change, and another larger percentage "younger" group (but inclusive of some older people) who are very open and eager for something different in our worship experience.
· Understands this statement: “We need less orchestration and performance AND more participation and worship.” This statement is key to understanding this position. We do not gather to watch; we gather to worship. We want to grow in personal heart response to the amazing God we are worshipping. We believe that the great hymns of the faith as well as contemporary worship are both able to lead us to worship, and we want to embrace both as a worshipping community.
· Believes in individual development and leadership development so that a diverse group of artists can grow and develop in musical skills as well as in leading worship. There should be Sunday worship services when it is not possible to know who our Worship Pastor is.
· Above all, we need a team player who can work with a Pastoral Team, presently comprised of a Lead Pastor and an Associate Pastor. Together, we are charged with shepherding this amazing congregation.
· In addition, this new hire would need to evidence capabilities in other pastoral duties for this to be a Full-Time Position. We are a church of 350, so our pastors must be versatile and work together to meet the needs of our growing congregation. This part of the ministry description would be crafted to fit the person we hire. We are developing some possibilities, but this would need to be a conversation with our candidates.
If interested, contact David Talley at [email protected]. We ask that you send a letter of interest, resume, and some weblinks where we can watch videos of you as you lead in worship.
Our Situation
FBCTV is a church representing over 20 denominations, so we are very diverse. Although there is no age minimum to live in Tellico Village (www.tellicovillage.org), it is mostly a retirement community, so our congregation is older, generally well-accomplished, and mostly retired. We have no youth program and a small children’s program, usually to meet the needs of grandchildren who might be visiting their family. However, it is important to note that we have a committed congregation which is well-equipped and eager to play a role in the work that God is doing in Tellico Village and around the world as we await the soon return of Jesus. There is no “retired” when it comes to following Jesus!
Our church has been very traditional in most respects. However, there is an understanding that, if our church stands firm on their traditions with no willingness to change, we will lose the next generation of 50- and 60-year-olds who are moving into our community and minimize our ability to reach the areas outside of our village. As a result, the present Lead Pastor, David Talley, was hired to bring about some transitions in different aspects of our church, including our approach to worship. The priorities of his leadership responsibilities resulted from the information gleaned from focus groups as the pastoral search team sought input to develop a pastoral profile. Even though the previous Minister of Music insisted that all questions about worship be removed from focus group discussions, the desires for a more blended worship service incorporating contemporary worship were clearly expressed. So, it has become a responsibility of the new Lead Pastor to execute a soft transition.
We have a strong core who will embrace change, but we need to shepherd everyone through the process and be sensitive to their desires and feelings. We have already incorporated some transitions, and they have been well-accepted by most. However, some will continue to struggle in the days ahead. It is important that our new hire can navigate this situation with compassion and courage as he partners with the pastoral team.
Presently, our pastoral team is comprised of a Lead Pastor, who is primarily responsible for vision, leadership, and preaching, and an Associate Pastor, who is primarily responsible for discipleship, the execution of ministries, and congregational care. However, both positions are being shaped as we partner together, and we generally work together in many areas of pastoral responsibilities. We also have a Leadership Council, comprised of the leaders of our various committees, which provides leadership to the direction of the church.
We hope that you will visit our website (www.fbctv.org) to learn more about us. We are in the process of revisioning this website so that it better captures our mission, ministries, convictions, and passions.