Pastor

Job Summary

Job Description

North Star Church of Virginia Minnesota � Pastor Search

North Star�s Mission Statement

It is our purpose to bring glory to God in everything we do and to obey His command to make, build, and equip disciples to reach every tribe, tongue, and nation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ

Description of North Star Church of Virginia, MN

North Star Church is passionate about seeking to advance God�s kingdom among those who have never heard the love of Christ in our own community as well as the unreached people groups of the world through missions. We take God�s Word seriously as being inerrant and our sole source for truth. The high diversity of our church body has allowed us many opportunities to see the Lord at work through ministries such as grief ministry, Awana, Youth Group, and our many other small (LIFE) groups.

We are the church that may forget plates for our picnics, but we are authentic in how we share life together. We support one another in connectedness, spiritually and emotionally, while remaining passionate about the gospel and protecting our flock from false teaching. Our children may sometimes be loud and we may have a lot of fun, but we are focused on bringing the Lord glory through collective future goals to extend the Kingdom of God in and through our church planting, giving, and serving.

�We are blessed with a strong elder team. They are faithful in helping us contextualize grace and apply appropriate accountability to us based on our relationship with the Lord and the work He is doing in our lives. We have been lovingly taught by an authentic pastor who has been passionate about planting our church and seeing it continue to thrive as we seek a new pastoral candidate. We praise God for the opportunity in our community to connect with those in the midst of or in the process of being freed from addiction.

�We know that God is working far beyond our understanding as He prepares our church to follow Him into stronger discipleship, as this is an area we desire to strengthen. We are passionate about making the gospel accessible to all backgrounds and life stages, and are operationally flexible to connect with those outside the flock. While we may be a culturally unique church, it has allowed us to meet many people who are seeking Christ and pray that these seeds will bear fruit in the future.

�We currently see attendance of around 125 during our Sunday service.� We average about 50 kids in our Awana program and 20 in our youth groups, which includes many kids from our community that do not attend Sunday services.

�We are guided by a commitment to spreading the Gospel to our community and beyond.� As evidence of this commitment, we will allocate 50% of our budget to ministries outside of our community in 2020.� World missions, especially missions work in the 10/40 window, will receive 36% of our overall budget and church planting will receive 14%.

�We are an �inner-city� church known for having many young families, being welcoming to people from all walks of life, and having a flexible, non-traditional church structure.� We are located in Virginia, MN, a community of approximately 8,000 people.

�Reason for the open position

In following God�s leading, we are sending out our founding pastor to plant a new church in mid-2020

Job Description

Align with the Values of North Star Church:

• Connect people to God and others


• Build people up in a Biblical Faith


• Equip people to serve the Lord and others


• Multiply on all levels: disciples, leaders, LIFE groups, and churches


• Send people out to do the work of the Lord

�Key Responsibility Areas

Shepherd the Flock

Be approachable, able to disciple others, conduct pastoral visits to those who are sick or in need, be willing to associate with and assist those in need, desire to know and track the heartbeat of the congregation, be relationally skilled, lead conflict resolution biblically, lead small (LIFE) group(s), counsel, and be willing to focus time and energy in opportunities that show up unexpectedly: at your door or literally on the sidewalk in front of the church.

�Sunday Service

Prepare and preach sermons weekly. Plan and lead worship services: prepare overall service order; collaborate with music leadership; lead the ordinances of the Lord�s Supper and Baptisms, and baby dedications.

�Witness to Unbelievers

Display an obvious and passionate love for �the least of these,� pursue relationships with and witness to the unbelievers and unchurched.� Be passionate about the power of the gospel to transform lives and encourage God�s people to live on mission as reproducing disciples who actively engage their faith and their world.� Connect with those in the process of being freed from addiction.� The candidate must have a strong understanding of how to communicate the Christian faith to people of different generational, socio-economic, and urban/rural backgrounds.

�Missions Minded

Continue to cast the vision of God�s command to make, build, and equip disciples to reach every tribe, tongue, and nation with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.� Actively engage with missionaries we support and work with the elders to formulate and grow our missions initiatives (both locally and globally).� Believe in the power of God to reach the 10/40 window and the unreached people groups of the world.

�Church Governance

The pastor and other elders are the highest level of servant leadership in the church.� The pastor shall have oversight of the church and is accountable to the elder team and more importantly, God.� As shepherds, elders shall serve with the pastor to oversee both the temporal and spiritual affairs of the local church in order to accomplish the church's vision, mission, and values.� The pastor is a member ex officio of all church ministries, teams, committees, and organizations.� He must be able to delegate, supervise, understand, motivate, and support volunteers of various backgrounds.

�Qualifications

We believe completely in the Biblical qualifications listed in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6-9.� Additional qualifications are as follows:

�Theology/Biblical Beliefs

-� Believes the Bible is the inerrant, infallible, inspired Word of God and values the entire Bible

-� Values repentance/preaches turning from sin

-� Aligns with our existing statement of faith, which can be found at www.northstarvirginia.org/beliefs

-� Agrees with an elder led church structure/polity

-� Missions minded

-� Unreached people groups minded

-� Accepts the Biblical standard of marriage being between one man and one woman

�Education/Experience

Preferred qualifications:

-� Bachelors degree in ministry

-� Prior Christian ministry experience in any of the following:

• Church Pastor


• Youth Pastor


• Missions experience domestic or overseas


• Evangelism experience


• Counseling experience

-� Willing and able to continue education/training

�Commitments to Ministry Practice

-� Will maintain and grow in his personal life with Jesus, focusing on regular disciplines of Bible reading, worship, and prayer

-� Will be accountable to others

-� Willing to disciple others

-� Willing to visit and assist those in need

-� Witness to unbelievers and pursue relationships with the unchurched

-� Deal with conflict resolution biblically

-� To be relationally skilled and flexible

-� Willing to delegate and cast vision

�How to Apply

We appreciate your interest in this position and ask that you prayerfully consider if God is calling you to serve our congregation.� To apply we ask that you complete the following items and forward them in electronic format to [email protected]

• Cover Letter expressing why you feel called to this position


• Resume


• Complete the initial application questionnaire listed below

�Initial Application Questionnaire

Please answer the following questions in essay form on a separate document. Provide as much detail as you deem necessary to accurately answer each question.

�Please share your personal testimony and how you know God has called you to a pastor role. Please include how God has prepared you for the role, including any formal training.

1. What are your spiritual gifts and how are they displayed in your ministry?


2. As you review our church profile, what has attracted you to pursue the pastorate here?


3. Explain the role of prayer in your ministry and personal life. How would you promote and foster corporate prayer?


4. If you are married, how are your wife and family involved in your ministry to the church?


5. How have you encouraged mission outreach to the world? What missions ministries within your present church have you been involved with?


6. What is your view concerning the authority of scripture and how does this impact your preaching?


7. How would you describe the gospel and how does it affect your preaching?


8. What is your level of experience supervising and encouraging volunteers? Please describe your style and philosophy of leadership with your volunteers and elder team.


9. What theologians, pastors and authors have had the greatest influence on your life?

�Please rate all of the following ministries in terms of your skill set on a scale of 1 to 5

(1= Weak, 5= Exceptional)

___ Visitation

___ Building Relationships

___ Preaching

___ Counseling

___ Evangelism

___ Teaching

___ Leadership

___ Administration

___ Missions Support