Pastor - Emanuel Church; Manchester, Michigan

Emanuel Church is searching for a new Pastor. The opportunity is to serve a close-knit, Bible-based community church in a small Michigan town that has spent the past two years in intentional reflection and renewal. Over the past several years we have worked with the Lombard Peace Center to strengthen communication and conflict resolution, restarted youth ministry, launched free monthly community meals that have served more than 5,000 people, and re-engaged with our neighbors through events like Trick-or-Treating in our courtyard, Adopt-a-Family sponsor ships, an ice cream social, and our Christmas Bazaar.

We are a congregation that has known decline and conflict, has done the hard internal work, and now feels we are on the right path forward. We need a leader who will walk alongside us - not carry the church alone, but partner with us as we grow.

Emanuel Church is searching for a new Pastor. The opportunity is to serve a close-knit, Bible-based community church in a small Michigan town that has spent the past two years in intentional reflection and renewal. Over the past several years we have worked with the Lombard Peace Center to strengthen communication and conflict resolution, restarted youth ministry, launched free monthly community meals that have served more than 5,000 people, and re-engaged with our neighbors through events like Trick-or-Treating in our courtyard, Adopt-a-Family sponsor ships, an ice cream social, and our Christmas Bazaar.

We are a congregation that has known decline and conflict, has done the hard internal work, and now feels we are on the right path forward. We need a leader who will walk alongside us - not carry the church alone, but partner with us as we grow.

We are seeking someone driven by the Holy Spirit who can deliver meaningful, scripture-based teaching and steady relational leadership. We want a leader who is more teacher than preacher - someone who guides us through Scripture and helps us apply God's Word to daily life. Our preaching style leans biblical, relatable, and uplifting. Worship is traditional with a modern touch; we are not a praise or contemporary church, but we are not bound to rigid tradition either, and there is growing openness to thoughtful new expressions of worship as we look toward younger families.

• (1) Personable, Compassionate, and Energetic - someone who can motivate volunteers, inspire participation, and bring fresh ideas;
• (2) Sociable and Community-Involved - someone visible at major community events and engaged with local life;
• (3) Strong Communication and Conflict-Resolution Skills - someone who can build on the foundation our Lombard Peace Center work has laid, communicating openly and addressing conflict with grace.

Manchester is a small, rural Michigan village in southwestern Washtenaw County, often described as a bedroom community of Ann Arbor. The area offers a good mix of professions - trades, farming, office and university workers, including some who commute to the University of Michigan. The community is largely Caucasian and somewhat older, though school enrollment is rising as younger families move in.

We value our small-town connections deeply: because of our size, we can respond quickly and personally when neighbors are in need, and we feel that same care returned to us. Local churches communicate openly and work together, and we hope to keep strengthening those ties. Our congregation is involved with Manchester Family Services, the Manchester Community Resource Center, Red Cross blood drives, the Manchester CROP Walk, and Church World Service, and our building…