Minister of Worship and Creative Arts

About the Position

The Minister of Worship & Creative Arts is a full-time ministerial staff position responsible for pastorally planning and leading First Baptist Church Newnan’s congregational worship, developing musical teams and leaders, and providing spiritual and strategic oversight for the church’s School of the Arts. The position leads with biblical conviction, musical excellence, pastoral sensitivity, and a commitment to equipping others. The Minister of Worship & Creative Arts reports to the Senior Pastor and works closely with the Executive Pastor.

Job Responsibilities & Duties

Congregational Worship Leadership

• Pastorally plan and lead both Sunday worship services (8:30 a.m. and 10:50 a.m.), cultivating authentic, Christ-centered worship and meaningful congregational participation.
• Collaborate closely with the Senior Pastor to ensure songs, prayers, and service flow reinforce the preaching of Scripture and exalt Jesus Christ.
• Develop thoughtful song selection, preparation, rehearsal rhythms, and musical direction while honoring traditional hymns and forms and leading contemporary worship expressions.
• Lead worship with vocal and instrumental skill, musical discernment, and pastoral sensitivity.

Music Ministry and Team Development

• Build and develop worship bands and vocal teams; provide skilled oversight and development for choir and orchestra.
• Recruit, coach, mentor, and empower worship leaders, singers, instrumentalists, directors, and volunteers.
• Strengthen participation and collaboration across choir, orchestra, band, young musicians, and multigenerational congregational music.
• Lead effective rehearsals and support modern worship practices and tools, including Ableton Live, tracks, stems, and click tracks, as appropriate.
• Establish clear musical and ministry standards, leadership pathways, and sustainable team structures.

School of the Arts (SOTA) – Spiritual and Strategic Oversight

• Provide spiritual and strategic alignment for the church’s Christian arts-education ministry, ensuring its values, instructors, culture, and programming reflect the mission and convictions of First Baptist Church.
• Partner with designated SOTA leadership, who directs daily operations including lessons, instruction, scheduling, teaching, and ordinary school administration.
• Support faculty development, student experiences, artistic excellence, healthy systems, and appropriate community engagement.
• Maintain the distinction between arts education and gathered worship; welcome families and students with Christian warmth without pressure or manipulation.
• Coordinate SOTA calendars and activities with church programming; ensure events do not compete with key church priorities unless approved by the Senior Pastor and appropriate staff.
• Treat student participation in church worship or events as invitation-based and subject to church staff discernment, pastoral wisdom, and musical readiness.

AVL and Production Alignment

• Guide alignment and standards for worship production and service readiness.
• Work collaboratively with the AVL Technical Director, who leads technical operations, personnel, and systems.
• Support reliable, distraction-free production through coordinated planning, preparation, and follow-through.

Pastoral Leadership, Administration, and Stewardship

• Build healthy relationships with congregants, staff, teachers, musicians, and volunteers; foster unity in a multigenerational church.
• Set ministry direction, develop leaders, delegate responsibilities, and review readiness, team health, outcomes, and stewardship.
• Manage ministry resources responsibly and develop repeatable systems that support sustainable ministry.
• Receive feedback with humility, communicate clearly, prepare carefully, and lead change with wisdom.
• Protect healthy personal and family priorities while fulfilling ministry responsibilities.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

Spiritual and Character Qualifications

• A genuine testimony of faith in Jesus Christ and a clear calling to vocational ministry.
• Integrity, humility, prayerfulness, emotional and relational maturity, teachability, and a demonstrated care for people.
• Agreement with the Baptist Faith and Message (2000), as adopted by the church, and the church’s governing convictions.

Musical and Ministry Competencies

• Strong vocal and instrumental ability, supported by musical education or equivalent training.
• Broad musical vocabulary and demonstrated capability with traditional hymns, choir, orchestra, contemporary worship, band, vocal ensembles, and congregational singing.
• Skill in worship planning, song selection, rehearsal leadership, musical direction, and collaborative programming.
• Ability to recruit, train, delegate, organize, and develop leaders and volunteers.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with the Senior Pastor, Executive Pastor, ministry staff, designated SOTA leadership, AVL Technical Director, and volunteers.
• Demonstrated capacity to steward resources, build systems, and follow through on ministry priorities.

General Requirements

Initial-Year Priorities

• First 90 days: Build relationships and review worship philosophy, rehearsal rhythms, repertoire, scheduling, team capacity, SOTA leadership, and production readiness.
• Months 4–6: Clarify standards, responsibilities, and leadership pathways; recruit and train musicians, singers, and technical leaders; partner with SOTA leadership on faculty support and student experiences.
• Months 7–12: Increase volunteer depth and rehearsal consistency; strengthen choir and orchestra participation; equip emerging leaders; support SOTA excellence and sound operations; cultivate a spiritually healthy culture.

Measures of Effectiveness

• Healthy worship planning and pastoral coordination.
• Growing participation in choir, orchestra, and modern band.
• Reliable AVL leadership and distraction-free production.
• A strong School of the Arts culture with empowered daily leadership.
• Increasing numbers of people recruited, equipped, trusted, and released into ministry.