Principal Function
The Discipleship & Missions Pastor provides oversight, leadership, and service in fulfillment of First Baptist Matthews’ mission of making disciples of Jesus Christ.

Position Description
The Discipleship & Missions Pastor oversees and leads the mission and discipleship strategy of First Baptist Matthews to fulfill the church’s mission to make disciples of Jesus Christ. He will work with paid staff and volunteers to develop and implement a disciple making strategy and process inclusive of small groups, equipping groups and seminars, evangelism, and both short and long-mission endeavors. Additionally, he bears responsibility for Guest Services and First Impressions ministries and teams, as well as Next Steps planning, volunteer recruiting and training, and resources aiding guests and members in spiritual growth.

Areas of Essential Responsibility – Discipleship

●      Coordinate and partner with pastors and ministerial staff to:

•        teach and preach the Scripture in large and small group settings
•        develop a unified discipleship strategy for all ages
•        oversee weekly small groups including the selection of teaching materials and the development of the program
•        oversee special events to accomplish the mission of the church through Small Group, Connections, Guest Services, and Next Steps

●      Strategically plan and execute effective meetings of First Connect and First Family for guests throughout the year.

●      Coordinate engagement of and communication with guests and members to connect them with small groups and lead them through Next Steps.

●      Create and wisely administer annual budgets for all Discipleship related programs.

Areas of Essential Responsibility – Missions

●      Develop process, goals, lead and oversee a comprehensive missions & evangelism vision and strategy which encourages the church to keep their focus on the community, state, nation and world as they PRAY, GO and GIVE.

•        Plan and implement the processes of this strategy with the leadership of the Church Missions & Evangelism Council on the foundation of Acts 1:8 and Matthew 28:18-20.
•        Ensure all functions are aligned with biblically sound doctrine and FBCM guidelines and policies.
•        Lead, recruit, train/teach, advise, plan/organize/oversee and release lay leadership to lead mission ministries and short-term mission/evangelism trips
•        Equip congregation with a Biblical understanding of world missions / evangelism. Encourage involvement through prayer, witnessing, correspondence, hands on missions, financial support, and on-going creative “mission” awareness and education plan for every generation.

●       Provide counsel, mentoring and support for all of our FBCM long-term missionaries serving around the world.

●       Lead and oversee the development of evangelism tools and ministries that emphasize lifestyle evangelism as an outcome of a Christ-like disciple’s life. Promote this culture within the church at every age level and in every ministry in the church.

●      Create and wisely administer annual budgets for all Missions related programs.

Essential Characteristics and Theological Convictions
●      Confess Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, living a mature Christian life.

●      Meet the biblical characteristics and qualifications for an elder/pastor/overseer given in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, being above accusation in his character, conduct, and the commitments to his family.

●      Calling to serve in vocational ministry.

●      He must affirm the inerrancy and sufficiency of Scripture and be able to teach sound doctrine, affirming and teaching in accordance with the Baptist Faith & Message 2000.

●      Bachelor’s or master’s degree in a ministry-related field (or a non-ministry Bachelor’s degree working toward a seminary degree).

●      Ordained to pastoral ministry or willing to walk through ordination candidacy process.

●      A coachable and teachable spirit and attitude.

●      Ability to lead staff and volunteer teams, collaborate with peer team leads, work through conflict resolution as required, and communicate with supervisors.

●      Work together as a team with pastoral and ministerial staff, volunteers, and congregation.

Initial Questionnaire: We are excited to learn more about each candidate and discover the person God has selected for this position. In addition to your resume, please provide your responses to the questions below. Please email your resume and the responses. Include the words “Discipleship/Missions” in your subject line.

1.     Tell us about your salvation experience.

2.     Please share your calling by God to Discipleship/Missions ministry.

3.     What three characteristics would you consider most important for a Discipleship/Missions Pastor?

4.     Describe a time where you faced a challenge from either a staff member or a member of the congregation; include how you overcame the issue and what you learned from it.