Lead Pastor

U.S. Church Ministries•Lexington, KY

About The Position

First Alliance Church (FAC), a multigenerational Christian & Missionary Alliance church in suburban Lexington, Kentucky, is seeking a spiritually mature, visionary shepherd to lead its next season of ministry and local and global Gospel impact. Founded in 1956, FAC has experienced growth in attendance, engagement, and giving, with Sunday attendance averaging over 1,700. Its mission is to be a loving community of disciple-makers who passionately pursue God, extend life-changing hope, and disciple people to be Spirit-empowered followers of Jesus. The Lead Pastor will honor the church’s history while helping it move forward with clarity, unity, and renewed outward focus. The Lead Pastor provides spiritual, pastoral, and strategic leadership, with general oversight of the church’s ministry, staff, and mission. The role serves as primary preacher and teacher, shepherds the congregation, and works with the Leadership Board and staff to clarify and advance ministry vision. The pastor builds and develops a healthy leadership team, strengthens churchwide discipleship and leadership development, and champions outreach, evangelism, and global missions. The Lead Pastor reports to the FAC Leadership Board for ongoing direction and performance evaluation. Pastoral licensing and church polity accountability are provided by the Ohio Valley District of the Christian & Missionary Alliance. The position requires licensing with the Christian & Missionary Alliance; candidates must be ordained or willing and able to pursue ordination. Applicants are asked to submit an application, testimony, resume, and other relevant background information. Candidates should not contact the church directly.

Requirements

Meet the biblical qualifications for an elder or pastor.
Be fully aligned with the doctrine, mission, and polity of the Christian & Missionary Alliance.
Be ordained or willing and able to pursue ordination with the Christian & Missionary Alliance.
Demonstrate a life marked by prayer, humility, integrity, and dependence on the Holy Spirit.
Have significant pastoral leadership experience in a local church.
Have experience preaching and teaching in a congregational setting.
Have experience leading staff, ministry teams, or key leaders.
Demonstrate the ability to preach, teach, and apply Scripture with depth and clarity.
Be committed to ongoing theological, pastoral, and leadership development.
Obtain licensing with the Christian & Missionary Alliance.

Nice To Haves

Graduate-level theological education, such as an M.Div., M.A. in Theology or Ministry, or equivalent.
Experience in a growing, multigenerational church.
Experience working with boards, elders, or governing leadership teams.

Responsibilities

Serve as the primary preacher and teacher, presenting Scripture with biblical depth, clarity, and practical application.
Teach in ways that form mature disciples, call people to faithful obedience, and shape the theological direction and spiritual tone of worship.
Work with appropriate staff to plan biblically grounded and spiritually formative worship services.
Shepherd the congregation with humility, warmth, approachability, and spiritual maturity.
Provide strategic oversight of congregational care while empowering staff and lay leaders to provide direct care.
Help the church build trust, heal from its leadership transition, and move forward in unity.
Work with the Leadership Board and staff to clarify and advance the church’s ministry direction and communicate its vision clearly and consistently.
Move vision from discussion to action through clear plans, priorities, and follow-through; evaluate and refine ministry goals as needed.
Build, empower, and release a healthy leadership team by delegating leadership to qualified staff and ministry leaders.
Clarify staff roles, reporting relationships, expectations, and accountability rhythms.
Develop and mentor key staff and leaders, and help establish healthy systems for goals, feedback, evaluation, and growth.
Strengthen a churchwide culture of discipleship and develop emerging staff, lay leaders, and volunteers.
Equip leaders to disciple, develop, and empower others through healthy leadership pipelines.
Connect spiritual formation, ministry service, and leadership development into a unified culture of growth.
Champion local outreach, global missions, and evangelism as central to church life.
Support and empower the Pastor of Outreach and Missions, encouraging pathways for people to share their faith and serve their neighbors.
Keep the church focused on reaching neighbors, the nations, and the next generation, and welcome new believers into community and discipleship.
Report regularly to the Leadership Board and work with it to establish long-term goals, priorities, and measures of success.
Support healthy communication and alignment among the Board, staff, and congregation.
Receive feedback with humility, participate in regular accountability, and help the Board identify ministry opportunities, challenges, and staffing needs.
Maintain a growing personal relationship with Jesus Christ and pursue healthy accountability with trusted people inside and outside the church.
Demonstrate humility, self-awareness, teachability, and integrity, and protect personal, family, spiritual, and emotional health.