Church Staff Job Descriptions

Your church is growing. Or, perhaps a better way to put it is your church wants to grow. 

You sense God doing a new thing. You head out to your favorite church job website and you are looking to hire that next person who God will empower to flourish with their gifts in your church community. The question is, what kinds of church jobs are out there? 

Look no further! Here is our big list of staff jobs in a church. They’re organized in the order in which most churches tend to add to their staff as they expand. 

If you’re looking for more information on a type of church staff job, there’s a good chance it’s in here. After each job, we’re including a short sample job description. Use it as a launch pad for your own copy and then tailor it to your unique situation. 

Let’s dive in! 

NOTE: These are job descriptions that are meant to start a job advert. They don’t include things like special requirements, duties, responsibilities, or compensation packages, as those elements vary widely from one congregation to the next. However, when you go to make your listing, you definitely want to include those items, as well!

Senior Pastor Job Describtion

What is a senior pastor? What does a senior pastor do? In practice, these are kind of impossible questions to answer. Most senior pastors do a million different things, which makes it hard to define what exactly a senior pastor’s job is. 

Eugene Peterson, in his landmark book Working the Angles, says there are three core things for a pastor to do. They are: 

• Pay attention to God in prayer
• Pay attention to God in scripture
• Pay attention to God at work in other people. 

That’s it in a nutshell: You’re paying a pastor to pay attention to God. 

Along the way, every senior pastor has a million little tasks to do. But the best senior pastors find ways to integrate all of their work, no matter how “unspiritual,” with their work of prayer, studying the Bible, and providing spiritual care for others.

Okay, so how does that look on paper? Once a pastor has a solid foundation of prayer, the Bible, and looking for God at work, there are some tasks that pretty much every senior pastor is expected to do. 

For instance, senior pastors preach and teach a lot. They tell a compelling story of who the church is and where the church is going (something called vision casting). They provide spiritual care, including counseling, visiting people in the hospital, and being there for families in times of spiritual crisis. They are present in the biggest life moments of transition: birth (baptism or dedication), marriage (weddings), and death (funerals). They also lead and mentor the staff and work closely with the governing board of the church.

Sample Job Description

The Senior Pastor of [YOUR CHURCH] should serve as a spiritual leader who devotes their time to prayer, scripture, and the spiritual direction of the [YOUR CHURCH] congregation. They are responsible for preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ, teaching, and overseeing the spiritual needs of the community.

Executive Pastor Job Describtion

Every pastor has their own unique set of gifts. Preaching, teaching, vision casting, and counseling are all very different skills from the skills it takes to run an organization in its day-to-day operations. That’s where an executive pastor comes in. An executive pastor can use their valuable gifts of staff management and business expertise to free up the senior pastor to use their gifts. In short, executive pastors oversee the staff.

Sample Job Description

The Executive Pastor of [YOUR CHURCH] should oversee the day-to-day operations of the church and support the senior pastor in the strategic direction of the organization. They are expected to lead in the areas of human resources, finance, and strategic planning.

Associate Pastor Job Describtion

The simplest way to think about an associate pastor position is as “a second pastor.” That is, unless there is some descriptor after their title, like “Associate Pastor of Families and Young Children,” you can assume that they’re going to help the senior pastor doing all the pastor-y things. 

These include preaching, teaching, pastoral care, and officiating baptisms, weddings, and funerals. In a larger church, there’s enough of this work to go around that the senior pastor can really use the help an associate pastor provides. 

If at all possible, try to give your associate pastor a longer title, such as “Associate Pastor of Mission” or “Associate Pastor Youth and Worship,” so that church newcomers and old-timers alike can quickly and clearly understand what each pastoral staff person does in your church. 

Sometimes in mid-sized or economically lean congregations, the associate pastor position is a hybrid of two different pastoral positions. In this scenario, the church cannot afford two positions, so they attempt to hire someone to fill both. Common blends include a youth pastor and worship pastor or an associate pastor with a focus on 20-somethings who is also working in a campus ministry supported by the congregation. 

Because associate pastors are so customizable, it’s hard to write a one-size-fits-all job description. But you can start with: 

“An associate pastor at [YOUR CHURCH] is a pastor who assists the senior pastor…” 

From there, zero in on exactly the specific things you want this particular associate pastor to focus on.

Youth Pastor Job Describtion

At this point, everybody knows what a youth pastor is, right? No need for any explanation? Well, no, maybe the question What is a youth pastor is harder to answer than you think. 

Who are they, exactly? A pastor who happens to pastor teenagers? A spiritual teacher or mentor for young people? A babysitter? 

Some youth pastors emphasize evangelism, volunteering in public schools, and training teens to share the gospel with their own classmates. Other youth pastors emphasize service to the community or even activism. Some youth pastors dip more into contemplative spiritual practices.

Some youth pastors "do church" separately from the other age groups of the church. In other words, the teens have their own worship service, with its own trendier music and other worship elements tailored to teens. Other youth pastors pursue catechesis, teaching teens the core doctrines in their tradition. And, of course, a lot of youth pastors focus on getting enough pizza and Mountain Dew.

If it's sounding like there are as many kinds of youth pastors as there are "regular" pastors, it's because there really is that much diversity in the role. The obvious takeaway here is that your own church context has a huge impact on the kind of youth pastor that you're looking for. 

The key takeaway here: know who you are as a church and put that into your youth pastor job description. Here’s a start.

Sample Job Description

The Youth Pastor at [YOUR CHURCH] is a person called to the spiritual care of young people. They will accomplish this by organizing regular worship, fellowship, teaching, and service projects for youth from 7th to 12th grade.

Children's Pastor Job Describtion

Kids dramatically change the mood and vibe of a church. Children bring life and vitality and a sense of growth and possibility. But they have their own spiritual needs, and if a church cares about the discipleship and spiritual growth of its kids, a children’s pastor is a great way to invest in them.

Caring for children requires many people. So a big part of a children’s pastor’s job is recruiting, training, and mobilizing volunteers. People skills are an absolute must. 

Many children’s pastors also see their role as an equipper of parents to do the discipling of their own kids within their own homes and families. You want to find a children’s pastor who has a deep pocket of resources to give families for faith formation and a teacher’s heart to share their passion for kids learning about God.

Like youth pastors in more liturgical contexts, children's pastors in a similar setting may focus on introducing children to elements of liturgy. This often means developing fun activities around the church calendar, like a family craft night to make an Advent calendar or an interactive Lenten stations of the Cross specifically designed for children. 

Sample Job Description

The Children's Pastor at [YOUR CHURCH] is called to the spiritual care of children. They create and lead experiences specifically designed for children in the congregation to know God’s love and to grow in their love for God.

Communications and Marketing Director Job Describtion

In today’s overcrowded and distracted media landscape, the role of a church communications and marketing director is both daunting and essential. 

On the communications side, promptly and clearly communicating information to your congregation has become nearly impossible because people’s preferred method of communication has splintered into a dozen modes. In any given congregation, you will have people who respond best to phone calls, texts, emails, and even that stray person who still prefers to receive a letter in the mail. 

A good communications director sends out the same information a half dozen times in a half dozen different channels in the hopes that somehow the word will get out and get through.

And then there’s social media. We’re not even going to list all the different social media platforms your people might use because the list will be outdated a few minutes after we post this article! 

A good communications and marketing director has both a good working knowledge of current social media and the curiosity to jump onto new platforms quickly and creatively. If your marketing director consistently posts stuff that your people like, comment on, and share, it’ll boost your church’s social media profile on the platform enough for new people to see it. 

Sample Job Description

The Communications and Marketing Director at [YOUR CHURCH] is responsible for planning, creating, and implementing effective communication with the church and the broader community. The individual will partner with church staff to create and coordinate messages across a wide spectrum of media.

Administrator Job Describtion

The church administrator is the person who makes sure everything runs smoothly in your ministry. They handle a bunch of different tasks, like scheduling meetings, managing communications, coordinating events, and keeping records. In some churches, the church administrator is directly involved in managing staff and volunteers, too.

Depending on the size of your church, your administrator may also be the first face at the front door or the person who answers the phone. So friendliness and hospitality are a big plus. (Larger churches may hire a receptionist to do this, freeing administrative staff to just do administration.)

Sample Job Description

The Church Administrator at [YOUR CHURCH] is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the church. This includes welcoming visitors during the week, receiving and directing phone calls and emails to the correct staff people and volunteers, coordinating meetings and events, and maintaining church records.

Worship Pastor Job Describtion

The backbone of a church’s life is its weekly gatherings for worship. Many churches care about the quality of their weekly worship enough that they’re willing to hire someone to make their worship the best it can be. But the task of crafting worship services looks very different from church to church.

Some tasks are common to all worship pastors. They recruit musicians, artists, and worship leaders. They organize and lead rehearsals. They are usually directly involved in executing the worship service or services. 

Beyond that, a worship pastor may be more heavily involved in the music, singing, playing, composing, and arranging. They may oversee production elements like sound mixing, lighting design, and stage design. They may also be responsible for crafting the shape and flow of the service and writing the liturgy in more traditional contexts.

Some churches specifically hire their worship pastor to serve as an “artist-in-residence.” They can also function as someone who will recruit other local artists to turn the church into a creative hub for sacred dance, art installations, and creative writing groups, to name just a few examples. 

Worship pastors have to be good team players, as their creative energy for worship is guided by the preaching pastor’s vision and theme for preaching.

One last thing about the title “worship pastor.” Some churches specifically hire a worship pastor instead of a worship director because they are specifically looking for someone who will bring theological depth to their worship. Other churches want a worship pastor because they value a spiritual care component in working with staff and volunteer singers, musicians, techs, and other artists.

Sample Job Description

The Worship Pastor at [YOUR CHURCH] is responsible for creating, planning, and implementing weekly worship for the people of God. They will do this by recruiting musicians, artists, sound techs, and lighting techs, as well as leading weekly rehearsals and worship times. They will work closely with the senior pastor to ensure that worship coheres to the biblical themes for the week.

Missions Pastor Job Describtion

A church isn’t a church just for itself. God wants churches to shine their light outward and be a light to the world. If your church wants to get more intentional about shining that light, a missions pastor is a great way to focus your resources on this goal. 

A missions pastor can give a congregation the direction and courage to share the gospel with others. A missions pastor can spot the real needs of the community and activate the congregation to share the love of Jesus in responding to those needs. 

The best missions pastors plug the church into the real needs of the community that are already there. Missions pastors may start or join important community organizations, like food shelves, pregnancy centers, homeless shelters, or campus ministries. Innovative missions pastors even start or join “third spaces” where people congregate, like coffee shops, laundromats, or game rooms. 

If your church values domestic or international missions, an essential part of your missions pastor’s job will be maintaining regular contact with the missionaries your church supports. This includes passing along updates from missionaries as well as scheduling regular visits where the missionaries come and share in-person updates about what God is doing in their harvest field. 

Finally, a missions pastor goes to share the good news, and they take others along with them. This includes planning, leading, and going on missions trips and service projects.

Sample Job Description

The Missions Pastor at [YOUR CHURCH] will catalyze the congregation to join in God’s Kingdom work wherever it is happening. They will do this by discovering real community needs and mobilizing volunteers to help. The Missions Pastor should have a burning passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ and a desire to share that passion in word and deed.

Penning the Perfect Job Description

Phew! That’s a lot of staff positions. Isn’t it amazing how many different kinds of people God calls to do His work? That’s why Paul says in Ephesians that God shows his wisdom through the church in many, many different ways. (Ephesians 3:10) 

May God lead your church as you focus on exactly the next person God is calling you to add to your Kingdom team!