Senior Minister / Lead Pastor / Senior Pastor

Job Summary

Job Description

Full profile available - https://firstunionquincy.org/about/church-profile/

Position Available: Senior Minister

Open

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First Union Congregational Church - 105 N 12th St, Quincy, Illinois 62301 - www.firstunionquincy.org

First Union is a family friendly congregation that is vibrant, motivated, genuine and welcoming community of believers.  The church is proud of it heritage, transitional music ministry and intergenerational adherents.  This Bible-believing, Christ-centered church desires to make an impact for Christ in its community.

Position Description:

The Senior Minister serves as the Spiritual Leader with significant administrative responsibilities, who reports to the Official Board.  The congregation has authorized the Senior Minister (in consultation with the Board) to hire:  a full-time Associate Minister (who can oversee the youth ministry and other duties as determined) and a worship coordinator.  Additionally, the Senior Minister supervises current staff that consists of:   a part-time Pastor for Spiritual Care (who assists with worship services and care for senior adults), an Administrative Assistant, Custodian, Choir Director, Organist and Hand Bell Choir Director.  As a congregational church, the membership is actively involved in various committees and works with the ministerial staff in those committee areas of ministry:  Worship, Spiritual Care, Christian Education, Fellowship, Membership Growth, Mission Outreach, Finance, and Building and Grounds. 

Recent History and Current Developments:

Our former Senior Minister resigned July 2019.  (The Senior Minister before him left during the summer of 2018 to establish a new mission church in New York City.)  Though, the church has enjoyed a major revival during the past six years the recent departure has left us to reflect and stabilize. We have recently completed a long range strategic plan including a formal survey of membership, as well as personal conversations and follow-up.  The core members of the strategic team were diverse in the length of time at First Union, level of involvement, gender, life experiences, age, etc.  We completed a SWOT (Strength, Weakness, Opportunity and Threat) analysis to examine who we are, where we are and most importantly what God is calling First Union Congregation Church to do.  The committees are developing action plans for those priorities determined in the Long Range Strategic Plan.

Church Demographics & Budget

Our Sunday morning attendance has stabilized to average 125 over last few months. The composition of our membership remains intergenerational with a broad base of young families. We have a $410,000 operating budget and have met our expenses with all giving for the past three years. We have a beautiful and well-maintained facility and have spent $350,000 over the past three years in capital improvements to our building. Additionally, we currently have over $1.6 million in all longer term funding investments and endowment. 

History and Governance:

Founded in 1830, by four Presbyterians, three Baptists, four Congregationalists and three non-denominational Christians, First Union is the oldest established church in our community. We are a Congregational church in which our Official Board is elected by the church membership, and the board members are responsible to manage a committee ministry in concert with the Ministerial staff.   We own our property, set our annual budgets, hire our staff and independently establish our constitution, by-laws, mission and annual goals.

Community Setting:

Quincy is a community of 40,000 people located in west-central Illinois along the Mississippi River. It is the largest city in a 100-mile radius (with 250k population in a 50-mile radius). Over the course of its long history as a German immigrant community, it has become notably self-sufficient. Quincy is highly regarded as a regional health center. Residents enjoy award-winning athletics, a highly acclaimed Symphony Orchestra, strong public and private schools, a fine junior college and private university. Quincy is home to the nation’s first community arts organization.   An annual spring dogwood festival highlights the community’s natural beauty and homes of architectural significance attracting many visitors. The community’s economic base is supported by its strong retail, financial, manufacturing and health care sectors.

Current Mission and Goals:

• Encourage the spiritual growth of each member,


• Reach out to new potential members


• Continue building a vibrant, revitalized, loving, supportive and welcoming community.


• Getting First Union to be more engaged in the community

Requirements for the Senior Minister:

• Ordained


• Graduate ministerial degree from a seminary accredited by the Association of Theological Schools in the United States and Canada


• Experienced with giving sermons that are Bible based (expository)


• Driven to help us grow in our Faith in Jesus Christ


• Experienced running a stable organization in a Christ like example


• Relatable, friendly and warm – be approachable.


• Emotionally mature.


• Compassionate and approachable to our congregation members


• Family oriented for all ages


• Community focused


• Respectful of church History and tolerance of beliefs

Theological Position – Covenant of First Union Congregational Church

Every Congregational Church has a central Covenant.  A covenant is an agreement between the people of the church and God. This agreement also shapes the promises that we make with each other.  First Union Covenant:

We promise God and one another to live by the teachings of Jesus Christ as set forth in the Holy Bible.

At one level that is all that we need to say about what we believe together, but it is also true that there are other characteristics that make First Union Congregational Church unique.  The below affirmations have been adapted from the Art and Practice of the Congregational Way.

• Members of First Union Congregational Church are followers of Jesus Christ |The church is a community of people devoted to Jesus as understood through the Bible.  In order to become a member of First Union, one must express faith in Christ as Savior and a willingness to follow him as Lord.  The members of First Union are committed to Christ’s central calls.  The Great Commission sends us out into the entire world to make disciples.  The Great Commandment calls us to love the Lord our God and our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39; Matthew 28:19-20)

• Everyone is equal in the body of Christ | Jesus is head of the church and all of his followers are gathered equally in submission to him.  Though each follower has unique gifts and roles, none is more important than the other.  The church participates in the mission of Jesus Christ as a united family.  (Galatians 3:28)

• We recognize two sacraments: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper | Baptism communicates the necessity of new birth in Christ.  First Union practices both infant baptism and believer's baptism.  First Union also celebrates the Lord’s Supper monthly as an opportunity to remember the forgiveness extended to believers through the death and resurrection of Jesus.  (1 Corinthians 12:12-13)

• First Union Congregational Church is complete under Christ | First Union has local autonomy and seeks to follow Jesus in its own context without denominational control.  United in Christ, we seek to focus on what unites us as followers of Christ, rather than on what divides us.  (Galatians 5:1)

• The Membership is vital for faithful discernment and democratic decision-making | The congregation is the highest human authority within the life of the church.  After prayerful discernment the church membership selects all church leaders and makes all major congregational decisions.  (Romans 12:3-8)

Performance Expectations:

We expect our ministers to be exemplary disciples of Jesus, who know God’s Word and are filled with His Spirit. Our professional staff need not have a background in Congregationalism, but they will be knowledgeable of its history, polity and theology. Our church pursues many objectives through membership committees and we expect to work in concert with our Senior Minister that can help with innovation, passion and professional skill.

The following references express our ministerial expectations: 1 Timothy 3:1-7, 2 Timothy 3:10-4:5, Titus 1:5-9.

Diversity & Tolerance

We regard the Apostles Creed & our Covenant as the fundamental statements of Christian faith as “Essentials” from which we will not deviate.  We recognize that sharing common essentials of faith leaves room for various points of view on “non-essential” elements, such as the mode of baptism or positions on the practice of communion. As we focus on the essentials that unite us as Christians, we also offer freedom to one another to differ on nonessential beliefs and practices.  We expect our Senior Minister to have well-developed views on matters of doctrine and scriptural interpretation and to teach these positions with conviction. While we expect scriptural scholarship, we also expect ministerial humility in respecting those who may hold informed but differing positions or be in process of arriving at their own views.

Contact Information:

If you have an interest in applying for our Senior Minister position as described above, please email your resume along with a cover letter explaining your interest and why you believe you would be a good fit for our congregation.

Please email your response at your earliest convenience to: [email protected]

Thank You!

First Union Search Committee