The First Baptist Church of Rochester is currently seeking an Associate Pastor to be a part of their staff. Please see the job description and snapshot of FBC Rochester below.


SUPERVISION: Pastor

FUNCTION:  To provide comprehensive pastoral care, presence, and leadership to the full congregation in partnership with the pastor focusing primary attention on ministry to and with families with children and youth, and adult Christian formation.

Primary Responsibilities:

  • Oversight and implementation of ministry to and with families with children and youth
    • Ensure through collaboration with the Pastor and other church leadership, the effective inclusion of children and youth in worship, education, mission, fellowship, and all aspects of church life.
    • Develop comprehensive faith-formation plans for youth and children.
    • Recruit and equip volunteers to plan age-specific activities for children and youth.
  • Implementation of Faith Formation and Christian Education
    • Serve as staff liaison to the Christian Education Committee.
    • Along with the Christian Education Committee, develop, plan and implement comprehensive and wholistic Christian Education.

Secondary Responsibilities:

  • Support the pastor in Pastoral and Congregational Care
  • Coordinate with the Pastor to develop a workable strategy for the sharing of pastoral care needs.
  • Together with the Pastor coordinate with volunteers in the area of congregational care.
  • Preach 6-10 times annually
  • Assist in Worship Planning and Presiding
  • Participate in weekly planning of individual services.
  • Assist in leading the congregation in worship.
  • Alongside the Pastor, participate in long-range worship trend and seasonal planning.
  • Other duties as assigned by Pastor

Requirements:

  • Must hold a Master of Divinity degree from an Association of Theological SchoolsAccredited Seminary or be within one semester of completion at time of call.
  • Must have completed one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education with an Association of Clinical Pastoral Educators accredited program; preference for additional units.
  • Must be ordained or working toward ordination in a manner and tradition capable of recognition by American Baptist Churches USA.
  • Must identify as Baptist and demonstrate a desire and ability to develop and maintain a relationship with American Baptist Churches USA, its partners, congregations, and people.
  • Must be Welcoming and Affirming to persons of LGBTQ+ identity.
  • Must demonstrate a passion for Christian education and pastoral care across the lifespan.

Interested applicants please submit a cover letter and resume to fbcr.apsearch@gmail.com.


Our Welcome:

We seek to be a welcoming community where every child of God is included. We welcome and affirm as God’s people all who wish to join us in our journey of faith. Individually we espouse soul freedom, endeavoring to live by the moral and ethical principles taught by Christ and revealed in scripture, realizing that God is the ultimate and sole judge of our thoughts and actions. As a worshipping community, we celebrate and seek to be worthy trustees of God’s creation in all its diversity. We uphold freedom of religious expression, expect no conformity to any creed, and strive for social justice within all human relationships. If it is your desire to continue your journey of faith with this community, speak to any member of the congregation.

The practice and policy of the First Baptist Church of Rochester is to welcome into full membership and participation in our faith community all persons who profess Jesus as Lord – regardless of race, class, gender, disability, place of origin, or sexual orientation.

Our Purpose:

The purpose of the First Baptist Church is to inspire and develop disciples of Jesus Christ.

Our Mission:

The First Baptist Church is Baptist by conviction, ecumenical in spirit, and committed to Christian service. Believing that God offers forgiveness and hope to heal our lives and make us whole, we seek to create a worshiping community characterized by the study of scripture, prayer, forgiveness, peace, joy, and a radical welcome. We accept the risk of creating a transforming community that brings good news to the poor, proclaims release to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, sets oppressed people free, and proclaims the year of the Lord’s favor. (Luke 4:18-19, NRSV)

Our Vision:

The vision of the First Baptist Church is to raise the quality of life in Jesus’ name for the congregation, the community, and the world through our ministries of worship, Christian formation, fellowship, mission, and emerging ministries that foster social justice, morality and equality for all people.

Our Covenant:

Believing that God has called us into being as persons and as a church;

Confessing that the adoration of God leads to the fullest experience of our humanity;

Accepting Jesus Christ as the human face of God, and One we know as brother, teacher, confessor, redeemer, Lord and Savior;

Promising faithfulness to the way of Christ and to the unique community of the Church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, we establish this covenant with God and each other:

  • To uphold the purpose of the First Baptist Church of Rochester, which is to inspire trust in God and to develop disciples of Jesus Christ.
  • To endeavor to live by the moral and ethical principles taught by Christ and revealed in scripture, and to be cheerful stewards of our wealth, wisdom, and work.
  • To uphold freedom of religious expression, to honor the diverse ways in which God is known among us, and to strive for social justice within all human relationships.
  • To create a worshiping community characterized by love, the study of scripture, prayer, forgiveness, peace, joy, and
  • To accept the risks that accompany the holy process of transformation and the struggles of any community that follows Jesus with passion.
  • To pursue our common vision to raise the quality of life in Jesus’ name for the congregation, the community, and the world through our ministries of compassionate service.