Brighton First Staff Job Descriptions in Review

The congregation of Brighton First chose to follow the recommendations of a Vital Church Initiative (VCI) Consultation Team in April 2015. Since that time, church leadership has been involved in implementing processes to revitalize and strengthen Brighton's ministry. The Staff-Parish Relations Committee (SPRC), the human resources team for our church, has worked to design and hire new 4 staff members since VCI implementation began. Beginning in May 2016, they began the task of rewriting job descriptions for all staff positions. Their goal, as directed by VCI, is to ensure that we are staffed to move the mission of the church forward.

Writing a job description for the senior pastor
at Brighton First begins with reviewing the
responsibilities of an ordained elder, found in
The Book of Discipline of The United
Methodist Church.

A three-person task force from the SPRC began the work by creating a basic framework for developing all job descriptions. They examined the mission and vision of the church and were informed by present job descriptions, as well as by staff members and immediate supervisors. The SPRC has now agreed to a process and a format. The first round of job descriptions (approximately 8) will be drafted by August. It is the hope of the SPRC to complete the work by the end of 2016 and to use the newly designed job descriptions for evaluation purposes and for future hiring.

Interestingly, there is no job description in place currently for the senior pastor. The Book of Discipline of The United Methodist Church does provide a detailed list of the responsibilities for an ordained elder who is appointed to lead a church. For years, this has been "good enough". There are certain things that we have come to expect of a pastor, including preaching, teaching, and visiting the sick. In the case of Brighton First, there is also an expectation that the pastor will manage the staff. However, that general job description does not highlight specific responsibilities for Brighton First's senior pastor, nor does it indicate what skills and tasks are necessary to lead Brighton First and its unique vision. Russ Ruhnow, the chairperson for the SPRC, will be heading the small group that will develop this senior pastor job description.

Often in the church, job descriptions are formed by the people who are hired to do the ministry. The SPRC has been challenged to step back and ask, "What skills and tasks are essential to carry out the vision for our church?" and to include them in our expectations for staff.

Please keep the SPRC in prayer as they take on this project.