Executive Pastor

ENCOUNTER Church is seeking an Executive Pastor to manage and direct the implementation of the vision and values of ENCOUNTER, in partnership with the Executive Team, which includes the Lead Pastor and Executive Director. We are a dynamic and evolving contemporary church that is looking for a strong and compelling leader to help translate vision into into disciple making strategy, healthy systems, and wise financial stewardship across the church.

A successful candidate will also have a heart for creating community engagement and ministering to our growing multicultural city.

The Executive Pastor will provide leadership for the church’s discipleship strategy, strengthening systems that help people grow in faith and take next steps in their spiritual formation. This leader will be Biblically trained with the ability to create ministry systems for discipleship while effectively communicating the Word of God. Both a shepherd and an implementer, this pastor will have integrity and a loving heart, coupled with the skills of an effective leader and manager.

They will be a problem solver who dreams big and demonstrates creativity and boldness.

The Executive Pastor will oversee key ministry and operational leaders including Family Ministries (Children and Youth), Finance, Human Resources, Facilities, and Preschool. This pastor will provide leadership and support while ensuring alignment and synergy across ministries. This leader will also help steward the church’s campus and facilities, working with leadership to plan for future building and space needs as the church grows.

The Executive Pastor will also play a key role in stewarding the church’s financial resources, working closely with the Finance team and elders to develop and oversee budgets that align with the mission and long-term sustainability of ENCOUNTER. The position includes strong administrative support.

Transforming LIVES with hope and healing through Christ.

We are a gospel-centered, intergenerational church made up of people who come from all kinds of experiences, stories, and brokenness—but, we have embraced the grace of Jesus Christ in our lives.

ENCOUNTER began as Bible Fellowship Church in Ventura in 1953. From our humble roots in a living room, to our existing campus, our goal has always been to communicate and share the grace of God locally and globally. We're a church of 662 who is defined by grace.

Our church is made up of deep relationships that are resilient through thick and thin. We are a committed and giving congregation who work hard to welcome everyone. We are a family that strives to reach others with the love and grace of Jesus.

We are committed to transforming lives with hope and healing, both locally and abroad. For us, that means we are:

Locked in on Jesus
- Christ is the center of our faith. We fix our eyes on Him, the founder and perfecter of our salvation, laying aside what hinders us as we pursue Him with endurance. Jesus is both our beginning and our end. As a church, we help one another keep our focus on Him through worship, prayer, service, and discipleship, believing that when Christ is first, everything else finds its place.

Ignited by Scripture
- God’s Word fuels and shapes every part of our lives and ministry. Because Scripture is God-breathed, living, and authoritative, it teaches, corrects, and equips us to live faithfully in the world. As we read, study, and apply the Bible together in worship, in our homes, and in daily devotion, we are strengthened in faith and formed into disciples who make disciples.

Victorious through Grace
- We believe every part of the Christian life is sustained by the grace of Jesus Christ. God watches over us in every season, through even the darkest moments, reminding us that…