Our Lead Pastor Position
We are seeking a Lead Pastor who will preach and teach the inerrant Word of God with urgency, conviction, and relevance. He should model Jesus Christ intentionally as a loving spiritual shepherd to First Church and the surrounding community.

The Lead Pastor will be accountable to the Session and work together to provide leadership for the vision and mission of First Church to advance the kingdom of Christ.

Primary Responsibilities
• Priority of time spent on sermon preparation and pastoral teaching roles with understanding and implementation of Reformed doctrine and creeds. Expository preaching style is preferred for the majority of the time.
• Pursue spiritual development and healthy growth of First Church, its leaders and its members.
• Provide leadership with church staff and others in service preparation to develop meaningful corporate worship.
• Seek the lost and encourages the congregation to do the same by sharing his faith in Christ as his personal Savior and helping establish effective evangelism programs to train members.
• Provide supervision and works well with fellow staff members to solve problems and assist in decision making.
• Oversee the training and work of church officers.
• Provide leadership to the congregation with the ability to listen to opposing points of view while focusing on maintaining the peace, purity, and progress of First Church.
• Perform weddings, counseling, and funerals as requested. Visit those in the hospital or emergency situations.
• Represent First Church in the PCA Chicago Metro Presbytery.

Desired Character Traits
• Able to relate well socially and spiritually with people of various ages and stages of Spiritual Development.
• Communicate the Scripture in a clear and compelling way that engages all ages and levels of understanding with practical application.
• Exhibit humility, integrity, and teachability to persevere and grow in wisdom, nurtured by personal devotion to God’s Word.
• Lead with a servant’s heart. He should be aware of his weaknesses and able to delegate to others gifted in those areas.
• Exhibit empathy and concern, burdened for hurting souls.
• Desires fellowship with the congregation. Is approachable and conversive with existing members as well as visitors.

Required Qualifications
• Masters Degree of Divinity
• Holds to Biblical inerrancy and Biblical sexuality

How to Apply
If you sense that God may be calling you to serve First Church as its next Lead Pastor, we encourage you to apply for the position.

Interested candidates should email and attach the following:
• Cover Letter
• Resume
• Ministerial Data Form (available upon request from the PCA Administrative Committee)
• Sermons (2–3; URLs or audio files)

Please confirm receipt with Mark Plesha by text/call at (219) 433-9154

Please note that the search committee will ask for references later in the selection process. Candidates should therefore be ready to provide the committee with references upon request.

We look forward to hearing from you