Associate Pastor

Aspire Church•Jacksonville, FL

About The Position

The Associate Pastor leads discipleship and spiritual formation at Aspire Church San Marco and assists the Senior Pastor in coordinating ministry to make disciples of Jesus and equip those who do. The role engages, equips, and empowers staff and lay leaders to build a church of groups where every member has a primary place of belonging, spiritual formation, and routine member care. The Associate Pastor shares in preaching and pastoral ministry, develops future leaders, and equips congregations across the Aspire Family of Churches. San Marco is the first priority and serves as a place to develop ministry approaches that other congregations can adapt to their contexts. The Associate Pastor leads Adult Grow ministry, including group health, participation, biblical teaching, spiritual practices, leader development, and multiplication. The role recruits, equips, coaches, and supports group leaders and apprentices, strengthens the group structure, develops pathways for spiritual growth and service, and explores groups beyond the church campus. It also develops a care approach through groups and Deacons, coordinating with the Member Care Coordinator and referring needs beyond group capacity to the pastoral team. The position supervises the Next Gen Team Leader through coaching, goal setting, and performance evaluation while the team leader retains day-to-day responsibility for Next Gen and its departments. The Associate Pastor collaborates on equipping parents as primary disciple makers and strengthening connections among family discipleship, Next Gen, and adult groups. As the Senior Pastor’s principal ministry lieutenant, the Associate Pastor assists with strategic planning, ministry evaluation, coordinated programming, and follow-through at San Marco. The role convenes ministry leaders on the Senior Pastor’s behalf, requests ministry proposals, clarifies agreed responsibilities and timelines, tracks progress, and brings unresolved conflicts to the Senior Pastor. The Senior Pastor retains primary responsibility for overall ministry planning and final decisions on competing priorities. The Associate Pastor renews leadership-development efforts and owns the design, recruitment, placement, and coaching of internships and apprenticeships, coordinating with ministry leaders who provide practical experience and mentoring and with the Executive Pastor on employment, budget, and administrative requirements. The role also equips leaders across the Family of Churches with adaptable resources, training, and coaching; supports church-planting efforts; and continues Grow coaching after congregations launch. The Associate Pastor assists in preaching approximately 14–18 Sundays annually across San Marco and other Family of Churches congregations, leads Next Steps approximately once a month, and teaches in groups and leader-training settings as needed. As part of the core pastoral team, the Associate Pastor maintains a pastoral presence and participates in the assigned Pastoral Call rotation, assisting with hospital visits, counseling, funerals, weddings, emergencies, and other pastoral needs. The position manages the Grow budget, including personnel, adult groups, and Next Gen ministry, within approved church policies and budget authority. The proposed 2027 Grow budget is $223,838, subject to church approval. The role works with the Executive Pastor on personnel matters, shared systems, and expenses beyond the approved church budget, and works with Member Care and Ministry Support Coordinators. No dedicated administrative assistant is currently assigned. The Associate Pastor reports directly to the Senior Pastor. The role owns Grow leadership and exercises delegated ministry-coordination authority on the Senior Pastor’s behalf, but has no supervisory authority over leaders outside its assigned reporting structure. The Director of Missions and Mobilization retains leadership of Go, including missions, partnerships, ESL, GoJax, and internal and external mobilization. Worship arts, administration, missions and mobilization, community-center management, and building-project leadership are outside the position’s supervisory scope. First-year priorities are strengthening existing groups, group leaders, Deacon care, and group multiplication; coordinating with Next Gen to equip parents; and renewing leadership-development initiatives through a manageable approach to internships and apprenticeships. Evaluation considers group participation and health, leader and apprentice development, Deacon coverage, care follow-through, multiplication, parent equipping, staff development, Family-wide ministry support, and planning and follow-through. Increased baptisms and worship attendance are shared congregational outcomes to which the role contributes.

Requirements

A growing love for Jesus; biblical faithfulness; prayerfulness; integrity; humility; and pastoral character above reproach.
Faith and practice aligned with Aspire’s Statement of Faith.
Ability to develop disciples and leaders, communicate clearly, make timely decisions, manage assigned staff, and follow through on commitments.
Effective biblical preaching and teaching.
Sound pastoral judgment, confidentiality, and compassion in member care.
Ability to work across cultures and ministry functions, respect local pastoral leadership, and collaborate with staff and lay leaders.
Strategic planning, budget stewardship, and organization skills.
Proficiency with Microsoft 365 and church ministry systems.
Master of Divinity or comparable education in a related field from an accredited school.
Ordination to pastoral ministry.
At least five years of ministry experience demonstrating effective leadership, sound judgment, and pastoral character.
Active membership in a church of like faith and practice and willingness and ability to meet Aspire Church San Marco’s membership requirements.

Responsibilities

Lead Adult Grow ministry, strengthening group health, participation, biblical teaching, spiritual practices, leader development, and multiplication.
Recruit, equip, coach, and support group leaders and apprentices; develop pathways connecting group participation with growth in faith, service, leadership, and disciple-making.
Strengthen the existing group structure and develop leaders and opportunities for groups beyond the church campus, including apartment communities.
Collaborate with the Director of Missions and Mobilization and group Go Leaders to engage members in ministry and missions.
Develop and lead a member-care approach that places a Deacon in every group and equips Deacons and group leaders to respond to absences, illness, crises, and spiritual concerns.
Provide group connection and named care responsibility for members unable or unwilling to attend regularly, including homebound members and students away at college.
Maintain pastoral relationships with Deacons and group leaders; coordinate with the Member Care Coordinator and refer needs beyond group capacity to the pastoral team with follow-through.
Supervise the Next Gen Team Leader through coaching, goal setting, and performance evaluation.
Work with the Next Gen Team Leader to equip parents as primary disciple makers in their homes and strengthen continuity among family discipleship, Next Gen, and adult groups.
Assist the Senior Pastor with strategic planning, ministry evaluation, coordinated programming, and ministry follow-through at San Marco.
Convene ministry leaders on the Senior Pastor’s behalf, request participation and ministry proposals, assemble coordinated plans, clarify responsibilities and timelines, track progress, and bring unresolved conflicts to the Senior Pastor.
Identify and prepare people to lead groups, ministries, and future congregations; own the design, recruitment, placement, and coaching of internships and apprenticeships.
Coordinate with ministry leaders providing practical experience and mentoring and with the Executive Pastor on employment, budget, and administrative requirements for internships and apprenticeships.
Equip Family of Churches leaders with adaptable resources, training, and coaching, supporting local application across languages and cultures.
Develop groups and leaders that contribute to church planting for languages spoken in Duval County Public Schools that lack a healthy, Gospel-centered church.
Collaborate with the Senior Pastor, Director of Missions and Mobilization, and Family of Churches pastors; identify groups and leaders ready to become congregations and initiate discernment with the Senior Pastor and Family Council.
Continue Grow coaching after a congregation launches.
Preach approximately 14–18 Sundays annually across San Marco and other Family of Churches congregations, as scheduled with the Senior Pastor and local pastors.
Lead Next Steps approximately once a month and teach in groups, leader training, and other settings as needed.
Serve on the core pastoral team and participate in the assigned Pastoral Call rotation; assist with hospital visits, counseling, funerals, weddings, emergencies, and other pastoral needs.
Manage the Grow budget, including personnel, adult groups, and Next Gen ministry, within approved church policies and budget authority.
Coordinate with the Executive Pastor on personnel matters, shared systems, and expenses beyond the approved church budget.
Attend required staff and ministry meetings, participate in church-wide ministry, and carry out related responsibilities assigned by the Senior Pastor in keeping with the position’s purpose and priorities.