General Information
Job Title:
Senior Pastor
Job Description:
Micah 6:8 Act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with your God
First Congregational Church Of Essex
Pastor’s Job Description
With the retirement of our long serving Pastor, we are searching for a full time pastor who is a passionate teacher, wise preacher and humble leader consistent with the Word Of God.
Position Qualifications:
Our new leader will help us continue to grow our mission: Relying on the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, the First Congregational Church of Essex seeks to:
Bring people into relationship with Jesus Christ
Gather them together to worship Jesus Christ
Help them to live like Jesus Christ
Equip them to serve Jesus Christ
And our vision: Receiving and extending the hospitality of Jesus as we connect with God, one another and our community
Professional Competencies
Strong communication skills with the ability to craft and deliver relevant, biblically based sermons that speak effectively to both new and maturing Christians.
Passion for outreach and connection; working with lay leadership in drawing individuals and families into our Church community.
Care for the spiritual well being of the congregation characterized by love and humility and bathed in discernment and prayer
Effective ability to manage multiple responsibilities inherent in the role
Primary Responsibilities
Personal Spiritual Growth – daily prayer, daily Bible and devotional study and participation in continuing education, as opportunities arise, to enhance the Pastor’s development and ministry skills.
Worship – With the assistance of the Diaconate and music staff, planning and preparing services of worship each Sunday and other times as appropriate. Pastor should preach and teach the Bible, administer sacraments and conduct weddings and funerals as appropriate.
Pastoral Care- Regular ministry of prayer for the congregation, including office hours and visits with those who have special needs – the hospitalized, sick and shut ins, with the assistance of members of the diaconate.
Christian Education – With the assistance of the Christian Education Committee, the Pastor should help foster spiritual development with programs of Sunday school for children and adults, new member classes and small group ministry.
Outreach – With the assistance of the Missions Committee, the pastor should be involved with outreach and service to local community as well as the wider Church via the organizations we support around the world. As appropriate and time permitting, the Pastor should participate in ecumenical groups, the broader denomination and community affairs.
Administration – The Pastor should provide guidance to all the committees that help operate the church to ensure our programs run smoothly.
Lay Leadership Development – As the entire congregation is called to engage in ministry, the Pastor should seek in all of the above to teach, encourage and enable the members of the congregation to minister effectively. The Pastor should help others identify their own special gifts of ministry and help them cultivate and use those gifts.
In all of the above, we the congregants affirm that our ministries are in fact mutual. We shall give the Pastor all the proper attention, love, prayerful support, as well as the physical resources needed, so that we might together carry on the ministry of Jesus Christ.
Personal Qualifications
Bachelor’s Degree from an accredited University/Seminary
MDIV or other advanced ministry degree, or nearing completion of same
Ability to give testimony to their love for the Lord and call to pastoral ministry
Love and care for people and ability to create, model and sustain positive relationships
Fervor to understand and teach God’s word
Compensation
Salary commensurate with experience, in range of $50-70,000
Fully Paid Family Healthcare ($20,000 value)
Parsonage Housing and Free Utilities ($40,000 value)
Pension Contributions
Paid Vacation and Personal Development Time
Sabbatical Every 7 years
Application Deadline
02/01/2025
Job Type:
Full Time
Salary Range:
$55k-$70k
General Information
Church/Organization Name
First Congregational Church of Essex (Massachusetts)
Contact Name & Contact Info
Industry
Church
Denomination
Other
City, State
Essex, MA
Description of Organization
Church Description – First Congregational Church Of Essex
History and Background
The First Congregational Church of Essex (FCCOE) was founded in 1683, after independent minded residents grew tired of having to walk 5 miles a week to the neighboring town of Ipswich and pay tithes to the official church. They wanted to worship closer to home and the effort to break away was spearheaded by women of the congregation. FCCOE gained historic distinction through its first pastor, John Wise, who popularized the inspiring phrase “No taxation without representation”. John Wise was also an early leader who opposed the Salem witch trial hysteria of the day.
The present day church building was constructed in 1792 and in 1797 the congregation donated silver dollars, silver spoons and jewelry to the Paul Revere foundry to cast a steeple bell. That bell, weighing 827 pounds, still rings to gather the congregation to worship every Sunday.
For the next 225+ years, FCCOE has served the town as sanctuary, and up until a town hall was built in 1894, as the town meeting house. As with many churches in New England, membership started to dwindle in the 1970’ s and 80’s and was down to a few dozen by the early 90’s. Under the leadership of our retiring pastor, Tim Ziegenhals, numbers started to grow steadily. In 2005, we changed denominational affiliation from the UCC to CCCC, seeking to maintain unity and avoid the polarization the UCC’s focus on hot button issues was causing within our congregation. By 2010, membership stood at around 150, with about 2/3 of that total attending weekly.
Covid had a significant impact on worship attendance, even after social distancing and masking measures were lifted. We have been slowly building back membership and adding both adults and some young families post covid. While FCCOE still has nearly 130 members, in person worship service attracts on average 40-50 people each week, with an additional number watching our live stream. Sunday school is attended by 15-20 adults and 5-10 children every week. Some of the curriculum we use is Group Publishing for VBS and NT Wright & Michael Bird for adult Sunday school. We also at times utilize guest speakers from Gordon Conwell seminary and Gordon college to lead the adult classes.
The reduced worship attendance may reflect the national trend of fewer individuals identifying with an organized religion, but also reflects the changing characteristics of the greater Essex community. Essex was traditionally a mostly blue collar seaside town of shipbuilders, farmers and tradesmen. It is now a bedroom community North of Boston and its people are now more affluent, educated and secular without traditional ties to the church. We now draw from a broader geographic area, but remain very homogeneous ethnically. FCCOE has a strong, vibrant and welcoming community but we still wrestle with how to attract members to join us in this new environment. How and what to change about our approach to bring people in is clearly the greatest challenge and biggest opportunity we face as a church.
Church Culture & Organization
The FCCOE church family strives for a spirit of humble servant leadership, brotherly/sisterly love, winsome witness and unity in the essentials of following Jesus Christ. We combine that with civility and mutual respect across a congregation that has several lines of difference on issues of the day. We try to live by the words from Acts and devote ourselves to biblical teaching, fellowship, the breaking of bread and prayer. The church has a weekly group who gathers on Zoom to pray for the Church and the broader world, and half a dozen small groups that meet to explore scripture and support each other’s faith journeys.
The church is governed by a Church Council which consists of the Pastor, Moderator, Clerk, Treasurer, Assistant Treasurer and committee chairs (Trustees, Deacons, Christian Education and Missions). The Church Council follows a series of by-laws that have governed the church, with periodic updating, for several generations.
Church members meet annually to approve the budget, committee members and any special projects that need to be undertaken.
In addition to a full time pastor, church staffing includes a recently hired part time youth pastor, a part time administrative assistant, music director and organist. We hire a cleaning service for the church building and lawn care for both the church and parsonage.
FCCOE strives to be an active participant in our community and the broader world. Our missions committee supports 10 local organizations that range from local food pantries, to organizations building affordable housing, to ministries reaching out to college students in local high schools and Boston colleges. We support 8 international ministries that are providing relief in some of the poorest areas around the globe and looking to bring God’s word to those who have not yet had the opportunity to hear it. Members of our church make up the majority of the board of one of those organizations, Kijabe Children’s Education Fund, which is supporting wonderful schools in the worst slums of Nairobi.
We reach out to the greater Essex area with monthly community breakfasts hosted at the church, serving dinners at the local food pantry, hosting a yearly Vacation Bible school and making our facility available for community groups to meet. We continue to look for new ways to stand alongside the community and build relationships there.
Church Details
The church includes a large second floor sanctuary with a balcony and pipe organ that can seat 250. The ground floor has a large kitchen and spacious fellowship hall. An additional wing was put on the church in 2001 which houses 3 classrooms, a nursery and offices for the Pastor, Church Administrative Assistant, Youth Pastor and Music Director. The church has a large yard behind it for recreation and picnics. The church property also contains a 2200 square foot parsonage with 3 bedrooms, 1 and a half bathrooms, a deck, large yard and off street parking.
FCCOE finances have been managed well through the ups and downs of worship attendance over the last 50 years. The church is debt free and maintains a $300,000 endowment fund. The congregation has traditionally responded very generously to special requests for funding projects.
Contact Information
First Congregational Church Of Essex
39 Main Street, Essex, MA, 01929
Website: www.FCCOE.org
Phone: 978 – 768 -7855
Email: pastorsearch@fccoe.org