Lead Pastor of MERCYhouse - Job Description

MERCYhouse, Amherst, Massachusetts
Updated April 6, 2023

Classification: Full-Time
Salary: Compensation commensurate with experience. Salary beginning at $80,000 / annual. Additional benefits include a seminary stipend, healthcare and retirement contributions.

Position Summary:

The Lead Pastor proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ, labors in prayer for the church, its members, and its mission, and ensures that care is provided to meet the needs of the Church membership. The Lead Pastor is responsible to lead the congregation by preaching the Gospel and overseeing the organizational structure of the church and its ministries. His leadership should aim to facilitate the spiritual health of the congregation and further the ongoing mission of reaching our campuses and communities with the Gospel.

Qualifications: 

  • Must be submitted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ

  • Must be called to the vocation of pastor at MERCYhouse

  • Must affirm the MERCYhouse Beliefs Statement

  • Must be qualified as an elder according to 1 Tim. 3 and Titus 1

  • Must have advanced knowledge of the Bible and advanced oral and written communication skills in teaching the Bible  

  • Must demonstrate a strong desire to declare the Word of God and shepherd others according to the Word of God

  • Must have strong leadership capabilities which include communicating vision, possessing organizational skills, and overseeing a variety of ministries

  • Must be able to identify and foster spiritual gifts within the congregation 

  • Must be able to interface with all levels of church membership and staff and possess the ability to approach others with humility and gentleness 

Preferred Qualifications:

  • Holds an M.Div. or other advanced degree in Biblical studies, theology, Christian ministries, or a related field, or the willingness to pursue further training to this end

  • Experience shepherding a congregation for multiple years, or other similar experience

  • Experience working with college students and young families in the context of ministry

Duties: 

Prayerfully seek guidance from the Holy Spirit to determine, plan, execute, and evaluate:  

  • the mission and vision of the church along with the church elder team.

  • official preaching and teaching of the church. This includes Sunday morning preaching, small group content, and retreat/conference content.

Oversee together with the elders:  

  • the official outreach ministry of the church, which includes proclaiming the Gospel among students within the 5 College area and among community members  in the surrounding towns.

  • the pastoral care of the congregation, which may include premarital and marriage counseling, counseling through pain/loss/distress and/or sharing in the joys of individuals within the church.

  • the ceremonial needs of the congregation, which include Sunday worship, marriage ceremonies, baptism ceremonies, and funeral ceremonies. 

  • the process of church membership, which includes how people become members and how they are cared for as members.

Get to Know Us!

If you are interested in the Lead Pastor position as described above, we invite you to review our church profile as an initial step to get to know us before you apply. Please click below to learn about our church history, membership demographics, local community, and ministry opportunities in this position.

How to apply

After reviewing the above job description and the church profile document, please complete our online application linked below, including the following information:

  • Contact information for 3-5 references (diverse references encouraged – e.g. previous supervisors, previous coworkers, previous individuals to whom you have ministered, etc.)

  • Cover letter

  • Resume or CV

  • Links to two sermons (if possible, video or at least audio)

  • Written responses to the following short answer questions. Prior to calling a pastor (but after preliminary interviews), we will ask the applicant to fill out our elder application, which we encourage you to read here. We have selected a few questions for applicants to answer at the outset. Please respond to the following questions and prompts, feeling free to elaborate as you feel necessary.

    • In your own words, briefly describe the gospel message.

    • Who have been your primary theological teachers, or influences?  In other words (apart from the Bible), what authors, theologians (either living or dead), movements, denominations, or schools of thought have most influenced your theology?

    • Do you agree with MERCYhouse's Statement of Faith? If not, explain briefly.

    • Please read the yes/no questions in the “Theology” section of the elder application. If there are any questions to which you would answer “no”, please state your reasoning. (This is not necessarily disqualifying, although the views of the elders of MERCYhouse are currently reflected in the content of these questions.) If you agree with all questions, please simply state your agreement below.

    • You are praying with folks up front after a Sunday Service and a married man asks you to pray for him in regard to an addiction to pornography that his wife knows nothing about.  What would you do and how would you counsel this man? How would you pastor his wife?

    • An attendee who is interested in joining the church hears about our church’s beliefs regarding the baptism of professing believers by immersion and is wondering why we do baptism this way.  How would you answer his inquiry? 

Questions? Please contact the Pastoral Search Committee at search@mercyhouse365.org.