Executive Discipleship Pastor

General Profile

River Tree Jackson is an actively growing, highly contemporary Christian church with a non-denominational feel that is located in Northeast Ohio near Canton (home of the NFL Hall of Fame). RT Jackson is part of a larger network of 8 church locations in NE Ohio called River Tree, which work together for genuine community transformation. As the largest of the locations, Jackson’s mission is to win hearts to Jesus one person at a time.

Our broad strategy is to be both attractional and missional within an authentic and relational community. We seek to develop Christ-followers with a holistic approach to discipleship and grow leaders who can lead others to do the same. Our existing staff culture and chemistry are strong with a focus on: trust, relational priority, holistic health (physical, emotional, mental, spiritual), positive and fun, clear and consistent communication, creativity, collaboration, vision-forward thinking, strong leadership, and a passion for genuine relationship with Jesus where our doing flows from our being.

RT Jackson is an ideal opportunity for new team members who are hungry to pursue a compelling vision, and eager to minister with a strong team of leaders who are committed to one another, the body of Christ, and being on mission with Jesus.

We believe that discipleship is the primary thrust of the Great Commission. Following the example of Jesus when He called His disciples (Mk. 1:17), our strategy of disciple-making is built around intentionally directed living that is: UP in relationship with Jesus, IN through dynamic spiritual growth anchored in spiritual disciplines and authentic community, OUT in missional living within each person’s spheres of influence, and AROUND in leadership development that teaches Christ-followers to personally lead others in the same process.

The ideal candidate and their family will share this conviction and have proven and successful experience working in larger ministries with multiple team members.

• Meet the scriptural requirements for church leadership (1 Tim. 3; Titus
  1).
• Agree with our statement of beliefs, mission, vision, values, and strategy.
• Have an earned bachelor’s degree in a discipline of ministry; a master’s degree in ministry is strongly preferred.
• Have a minimum of 7 years of healthy, successful experience in discipleship-focused ministry and teaching, with a particular focus on the development of various forms of small groups, in-depth mentoring relationships, and training and spiritual growth vehicles/classes.
• Proven and successful experience leading multiple FT and PT staff persons, including other team members and volunteers who may report to them.
• Proven skill in leadership, vision casting, communication, administration, creative teaching, strategic planning in short/long-term goal execution, volunteer development, and advanced skills in identifying, calling, coaching, and equipping men and women to lead others in discipling the body of Christ.

• Work closely with the Lead Pastor to develop our growth pathway by establishing various types of small groups, same-sex mentoring relationships, and strategic classes and vehicles for strong spiritual and relational formation. This focus is connected to the IN pathway of our discipleship strategy.
• Oversee growth pathway budgets through wise stewardship, develop streamlined systems for tracking engagement and measuring healthy spiritual growth, cast a vision for future growth models and new disciple-making-oriented ministries, and develop a comprehensive plan for engaging more families in serving and spiritual growth opportunities.
• Identify, recruit, train, and equip a large volunteer contingent (including group leaders and facilitators), and lead and shepherd future discipleship staff who may be part of the growth pathway team.
• Create healthy systems for identifying spiritual gifts (discover, develop, deploy) to be used inside and outside the church.
• Work closely with our children and student ministry teams to develop a comprehensive approach and integration to our larger discipleship strategy.
• Serve as the direct report for the Student Ministry and Children Ministry staff members, including: ensuring that job descriptions and ministry and personal improvement plans are executed with excellence, holding regular 1:1 meetings with direct reports, providing pastoral care and support for team members, maintaining our staff values, and conducting yearly reviews.
• Serve as part of the pastoral team to provide general church leadership, coaching, counseling, and be in rotation as a member of the church teaching team.
• Serve as a member of our LEAD team to plan and execute our broader strategic ministry objectives in the fulfillment of our mission and vision.
• Hold regular office hours, attend monthly staff meetings (All Team, Chapel, Prayer Huddles, and Leadership Training), and work with the overall RT Jackson team in…