I've been approached more than once over the years by individuals who are interested in "doing what I do." They're interested in becoming an executive pastor someday. They ask, "How do I become an executive pastor?" Given the uniqueness of the role and my path to the position, I'm not sure what to tell them. There's no degree or "typical" career path. In fact, in most cases, people in this role didn't set out to … [Read more...]
Executive Pastor Job Description
General Description The Executive Pastor is responsible for the overall leadership and direction of church staff, leading all functional areas in the accomplishment of the church’s mission. This includes outreach, arts, pastoral care, group life, student and children’s ministry areas as well as strategic planning, finance, administration, human resources, and operations. Essential Job Functions Support the … [Read more...]
What’s The Plan?
Strategic Planning ... One Of The First Steps For The New Executive Pastor
After the new executive pastor implements data collection and reporting, it's time to tackle planning. Leading the church staff through a strategic planning process, resulting in a documented plan that is regularly reviewed and updated, is probably the most important thing a new executive pastor must do in the first few months of their ministry. I've posted on the topic of planning a few times over the years. … [Read more...]
How’s Business?
Data Collection ... One Of The First Steps For The New Executive Pastor
Understanding the current "state of the business" is one of the first tasks for the new executive pastor. Peter Drucker said it best, "What business are you in, and how's business?" From a post I wrote a while back, the concept I'm putting forth here comes from the Performance Cycle. Starting at the end, Measuring Results, the new executive pastor must implement data collection and reporting processes right from … [Read more...]