The congregation of Spring Lake CRC is seeking a full-time pastor.

PASTOR’S GENERAL RESPONSIBILITIES
The Pastor is to serve God and the church by:
• Providing biblical, spiritual, pastoral and visionary leadership within the framework of the church’s overall vision, mission and purpose.
• Promoting the spiritual health, growth and well-being of the congregation through preaching, teaching, prayer and administration of the sacraments.
• Supporting the Pastoral care needs of the congregations thru building relationships with members and visitors.

PERSONAL QUALIFICATIONS:
• Be a committed Christian, speaking freely about a personal relationship with the Lord.
• Be a person of prayer, a student of the Bible, and be committed to personal spiritual growth.
• Be convinced of the doctrines of the Reformed faith.
• Be gifted in building relationships and fostering the building of relationships among others.
• Demonstrate a personal lifestyle which serves as a model for the congregation, balancing commitments to church, self and family, while maintaining a sense of humor.
• Have a love for the Christian Reformed Church, submitting to accountability, acknowledging the authority of the Body of Christ.

PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS:
• Possess excellent communications skills with a love for communicating God’s Word through preaching and teaching.
• Have a strong conviction, combined with training, to help the church reach the lost for Christ.
• Possess strong pastoral care skills, trained in the art of listening and spiritual counsel.
• Possess management skills in cooperative leadership, combined with an ability to multi-task.
• Possess the education and academic training required of Christian Reformed ministers in order to serve in the denomination – engaging in on-going professional education.

SPECIFIC RESPONSIBILITIES:
WORSHIP:
• Proclaim the Word of God from the pulpit from biblical perspective.
• Plan and lead worship services in conjunction with the worship planning committee.
• Administer the sacraments as scheduled from the church calendar.
• Lead Sunday worship services, plus special services as coordinated with the council such as Christmas, Good Friday, Thanksgiving, New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day, etc.
• Attend worship planning committee meetings.

OUTREACH & GROWTH:
• Encourage all members to make guests and visitors feel welcomed in worship and ministry programs.
• Support the development of materials and resources to be distributed to newcomers.
• Demonstrate involvement in church and local outreach programs in the community.

WELCOMING AND ENFOLDING OF NEW MEMBERS:
• Visit, or arrange for a visit, to new families or individuals who have been attending regularly. Provide information about our church and answer any questions that they may have.

LEADERSHIP:
The pastor provides leadership in the church’s ministry by:
• Working in partnership with the administration of the church office, and in partnership with consistory in overseeing the work of various committees and staff.
• Supporting and assisting the worship planners and Elder teams in their responsibilities.
• Supporting and encouraging all ministry committees.
• Encouraging members with leadership potential to use their gifts in church ministry.
• Engaging in visioning: Providing direction and new ideas for all church ministries, encourage new outreach ministries, promote faithful stewardship and financial giving, and participate in council retreats.

PASTORAL CARE:
• Is the first contact for primary responsible pastoral care.
• Delegates and shares pastoral care work with the district elder and deacon.
• Makes routine hospital visits (especially in emergencies and crisis situations).
• Makes periodic visits to seniors and the shut-ins.
• Makes baptism, profession of faith and pre marriage counseling when needed.
• Makes pastoral visits as requested by the elders.
• Notifies the congregation of pastoral needs through church call/email links and church bulletin.

EDUCATION:
• Provide spiritual/biblical instruction to high school students and above, leading to public profession of faith.
• Provide the support for a Heidelberg catechism class.
• Support the church’s commitment to Christian day school education.

WORKING CONDITIONS:
• The position requires considerable flexibility in hours available for work including evenings and weekends. The church will provide an office, and equipment, with secretarial assistance.

OTHER RESPONSIBILITIES:
• Regularly attend Executive, Elder and Council meetings, and at least one Deacon meeting per year.
• Provide leadership for weddings and funerals, when requested, for church members. Requests for such services from non-CRC members should be first cleared with Consistory Executive.
• Secure marriage preparation sessions for engaged couples.
• Attend continuing education courses, workshops, seminars, retreats etc.
• Attend Classis meetings as requested by Council as well as Synod meetings of the CRC.
• Establish a Pastor Relations Committee as a personal support for self and family.

ACCOUNTABILITY:
• Serves under the supervision of Council for administrative matters and under the supervision of Consistory for spiritual and pastoral care matters.
• Presents oral and written reports of all visits and meetings at each Consistory meeting.
• This job description may be reviewed at the request of the Pastor, Consistory or Council

Please send all resumes and inquiries to Tim Annema by email.