Village Church Lead Pastor

 Village Church is looking for a new Shepherd to lead the flock!

We are looking for a new pastor to build on the ministry of Village Church in Oldmeldrum, 17 miles from Aberdeen. Started in 2019 Village Church is a pioneering community of believers looking to work on the fringes of the community and see people come to know Jesus.

Village Church, (VC) is active in the community with the Village Hub (VH), a weekly drop in space in the heart of Oldmeldrum where the public can meet with Church volunteers and community in a social and friendly setting to relax, chat, share and where appropriate share their burdens and concerns.

The right person will journey with and encourage the small leading team and the regular attendees to grow in their Christian faith, as well as encouraging and supporting people in the community from the surrounding rural location to journey with them and get involved.

The successful pastor applicant will need to show proven experience of growing and nurturing a pioneering church and have demonstrable vision on how they would do this with VC and also the Hub work.

They must be an experienced “bridge builder” being excellent at working with others both within and out with the church setting. They must also be outward focused and see the work of VC through its community and social engagement and not just a Sunday service. They must understand the importance and priority of discipleship and be keen to train others within the church on how to effectively do this.

Qualifications

·      Undergraduate degree in Theology, or a related field such as Divinity or Religious Studies, preferable/ equivalent experience.

·      Church leadership/ church planting/new church experience essential.

·   Previous church work in a rural setting would be advantageous and a demonstrable social community engagement work history would also be advantageous.

·      Full UK Driving license essential.

Preferred Experience & Skills

Leadership & Pastoral

·      Proven experience of discipling others.

·      Providing oversight to the VC Team, leading the vision of the church forward and mentoring and encouraging volunteers as necessary.

·      The applicant should be comfortable communicating with and teaching a wide age range from children to elderly adults.

·      Be able to communicate with people from all backgrounds and organisations relevant to VC community work.

·      Pastoral attitude to supporting others.

Organisation & Admin

·      Motivated, organised and a disciplined worker.

·      Holds an understanding for the budgeting and finance management required in overseeing a charitable organization.

·      Be confident to monitor, update and implement policy and compliance procedures relevant to a small church setting.

·      Understanding of legislation relevant to Safeguarding and GDPR.

·      Must be willing and able to seek grant and foundation funding for the Church running and expansion costs.

Communications

·      Overseeing and managing positive communication both in person and written.

·      Dealing with conflict and effective resolution of this.

·      Managing email communications, tailored to the audience.

Community Support

·      The Pastor should have an understanding of the mental health challenges people in rural communities may face and therefore be able to lead and guide the VH with consideration to growing the services available and offered.

·      Having an understanding of community services available for support such as mental health organisation, social work etc. 

Personal Attributes & Qualities

·      Leads with a servant heart with integrity, humility, empathy, kindness, patience and love.

·      Ability to challenge, confront and communicate difficult things with kindness.

·      Takes ownership of processes.

·      Ability to facilitate growth well.

·      Willingness to learn and grow.

·      An eye for detail as well as being aware of the “big vision”. 

·      To be flexible to accommodate fast changing situations and to be bold to implement swift change where needed.

Please note that it is a genuine occupation requirement that the post holder is a committed evangelical Christian with a vibrant faith in Jesus Christ.

Candidates must have the legal right to work in the United Kingdom and will be required to provide proof of this.

Please note that VC is a faith organisation and as such a key part of the role is sourcing sustainable funding for both the Lead Pastor of Village Church as well as other key roles and opportunities for the charitable organisation. As such this role is offered on a permanent basis with an understanding that further funding is required to see this realised. Alongside the team, the Lead Pastor is expected to take the fundraising and sustainability of funds for the Church seriously in their role and play a key role in seeing this established sustainably. Please note therefore that this permanent post is subject to successful regular funding streams and thus is dependent on them.  A regular review for the role will be carried out in partnership with the Board on an agreed mutual basis where funding of the role is reviewed along with responsibilities and areas of oversight as the Church.

Those who are successful in being called for an interview for this role will have the opportunity to discuss this and any questions pertaining to this aspect of the role. 

 We look forward to hearing from you. Please send your CV along with a cover letter as to why you feel this role is right for you to hello@village-church.org.uk by the 2nd of June, 2025, 5pm. 

Location:    Garioch & Formartine area / Surrounding Northeast area – working from home/ Town hall location as required. 

Responsible to:  Village Board 

Contract term:   Permanent – part time post 

Pay band: £30,000 (full time salary) 

Review period:  6 months

You will undertake personal development through participation in annual work reviews, training and discipleship as agreed.