Executive Pastor

Job Title: Executive Pastor

Reports To: Lead Pastor

Position Status: Full-Time (40+ hours per week) 

Role Mission

The Executive Pastor serves as the Lead Pastor’s chief ministry and operations partner, translating vision into executable strategy, aligned staff leadership, healthy systems, and measurable results across the church. This role exists to strengthen the church’s ability to scale with clarity, health, and excellence across ministries, campuses, operations, and future growth initiatives.

What Success Looks Like in 12 to 24 Months

• The church is operating with greater clarity, alignment, and accountability across ministries and support functions
• Directional Team leaders are coached, aligned, and held accountable to agreed-upon priorities and outcomes
• Annual planning, budgeting, and ministry execution follow a clear and repeatable process
• The church has visible scoreboards for key ministry, staffing, financial, and operational goals
• Core systems are stronger in staffing, volunteer development, communication, weekend execution, campus support, and operational readiness
• The Lead Pastor has greater freedom to focus on preaching, vision, culture, and key leadership initiatives
• The church is better positioned for healthy multi-site growth, facility planning, and long-term organizational scalability

Core Responsibilities

1. Lead Organizational Execution

• Translate the Lead Pastor’s vision into clear priorities, plans, timelines, and accountability structures
• Partner with ministry leaders to coordinate the annual planning process so ministry strategies, staffing plans, and budgets  align with church-wide vision 
• Ensure priorities move from discussion to execution through regular review rhythms, clear ownership, and follow-through
• Build and maintain a practical scoreboard for ministries based on OKRs

2. Lead and Develop Staff

• Directly lead designated senior staff and directional leaders with clear expectations, coaching, accountability, and encouragement
• Strengthen team health through regular performance conversations, role clarity, leadership development, and succession planning
• Help shape a healthy staff culture marked by ownership, humility, trust, execution, and spiritual maturity
• Address misalignment, underperformance, and structural inefficiencies with courage and clarity

3. Oversee Ministry Alignment and Infrastructure

• Ensure ministries are aligned with the church’s mission, values, discipleship strategy, and leadership philosophy
• Partner with ministry leaders strengthen church-wide systems that support long-term health and growth, including volunteer pipelines, communications flow, planning processes, calendar alignment, and ministry support structures
• Partner with ministry leaders to move from isolated ministry activity to integrated church-wide execution

4. Oversee Operational Readiness

• Oversee ministry leaders to ensure operational excellence for weekend services, events, ministry environments, staffing processes, and facility readiness
• Help create scalable systems and policies that support both present ministry and future growth

5. Lead Strategic Growth Initiatives

• Partner with the Lead Pastor in multi-site strategy, and church-wide expansion planning
• Help lead major strategic initiatives, including facility planning, master planning, capital campaigns, and major organizational projects
• Coordinate the people, process, and decision-making needed to move complex initiatives forward without mission drift

Non-Negotiable Competencies

• Proven ability to lead through complexity in a growing church or similarly complex organization
• Strong organizational leadership with the ability to build systems, clarify priorities, and drive execution
• High relational intelligence with the courage to confront problems directly and constructively
• Demonstrated strength in staff leadership, team development, and organizational alignment
• Sound judgment in ministry strategy, finance, staffing, and operational decision-making
• Ability to think both pastorally and strategically
• Strong written and verbal communication
• Deep personal maturity, emotional steadiness, and spiritual credibility

Cultural Expectations

• Models biblical character, humility, and integrity
• Fully supports the mission, doctrine, vision, and leadership of the church
• Leads with conviction, calm, and consistency
• Operates as a builder, not a bureaucrat
• Brings order without killing initiative
• Protects trust through discretion, honesty, and follow-through
• Embraces both the people work and the systems work of leadership

Basic Qualifications

• Meaningful leadership experience in a large, growing church, multi-site ministry, or comparably complex organization
• Demonstrated success leading leaders, building systems, and executing strategy
• Strong alignment with the church’s theology, mission, and ministry philosophy
• Strategic Thinker - ability to see the big picture and position all the moving parts to help the church achieve its overall vision
• Self-starter and comfortable with delegation
• Master of Divinity or other ministry-related graduate degree is preferred