Director of Covenant Servant Leadership

Evangelical Covenant Church•Chicago, IL

About The Position

The Director of Covenant Servant Leadership provides visionary, strategic, and pastoral leadership to guide the denomination in developing spiritually grounded, Covenant-aligned, and skillfully prepared lay leaders. The role develops, implements, and oversees comprehensive lay leadership formation strategies—including discipling, coaching, training, and mentoring—in partnership across local churches, Conferences, and the Denomination through the “3-Strand Strong” model. The Director leads the strategy and development of scalable leadership initiatives, sets goals and measures to assess effectiveness, and identifies emerging needs across the denomination. The role oversees the development of curriculum, resources, coaching tools, and learning pathways, ensuring they reflect Covenant theology, values, and mission. Leadership development experiences may include workshops, conferences, cohorts, mentoring relationships, and online learning platforms. The position builds collaboration among churches, Conferences, and denominational ministries; coaches and equips lay leaders and volunteer leadership teams; and promotes servant leadership, spiritual growth, effective leadership, and long-term leader sustainability. The Director also communicates and represents the ministry, including preaching, teaching, and providing ministry leadership at Covenant congregations, conferences, regional gatherings, and denominational events as invited.

Requirements

Master of Divinity (M.Div.) or equivalent graduate degree in theology, ministry, leadership, organizational development, or a related field.
At least seven years of progressively responsible leadership experience within a local church, Conference, denominational ministry, or comparable faith-based organization.
Ordained in the Evangelical Covenant Church or able to obtain ordination within a mutually agreed-upon timeframe following hire.
Deep personal faith and demonstrated commitment to the mission, affirmations, and practices of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
Strategic planning, organizational leadership, and systems-thinking skills.
Ability to lead through influence, collaboration, and relationship building.
Expertise in leadership development, discipleship, coaching, mentoring, and spiritual formation.
Strong project management, problem-solving, and decision-making capabilities.

Nice To Haves

Experience leading denomination-wide or multi-site leadership development initiatives.
Experience in curriculum design, coaching, mentoring, and adult learning.
Ministry leadership experience within the Evangelical Covenant Church.

Responsibilities

Develop, implement, and continuously refine a scalable, Spirit-led leadership development strategy for lay leaders across diverse ministry contexts.
Establish goals, priorities, metrics, and assessment tools to evaluate program effectiveness and ministry impact.
Oversee complex, multi-phase leadership development initiatives, ensuring alignment, accountability, and effective execution.
Identify emerging leadership development needs and opportunities across the denomination.
Lead the development, implementation, and enhancement of leadership development resources, curriculum, coaching tools, and learning pathways.
Ensure resources and training experiences reflect Covenant theology, values, and mission.
Design and facilitate leadership development experiences through workshops, conferences, cohorts, mentoring relationships, and online learning platforms.
Build and sustain collaborative relationships among local churches, Conferences, and denominational ministries.
Foster alignment and shared ownership of leadership development initiatives throughout the Covenant.
Collaborate with denominational leaders and ministry teams to coordinate strategy and maximize organizational effectiveness.
Promote alignment across ministry levels while demonstrating an understanding of Covenant structures, culture, and partnerships.
Provide preaching, teaching, and ministry leadership in Covenant congregations, conferences, regional gatherings, and denominational events as invited.
Recruit, equip, coach, and support volunteer leadership teams and ministry partners.
Provide coaching, mentoring, and consultation to emerging and established lay leaders.
Promote servant leadership principles and healthy leadership practices throughout the denomination.
Encourage spiritual growth, leadership effectiveness, and long-term leader sustainability.
Develop and execute communication strategies articulating the vision, mission, resources, and impact of Covenant Servant Leadership initiatives.
Prepare and deliver presentations, reports, and leadership development resources.
Represent Covenant Servant Leadership at denominational, Conference, and local church events.
Serve as an advocate and ambassador for lay leadership development throughout the Covenant.