Associate Pastor

Aspire Church; Jacksonville (FL); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Aspire Church San Marco in Jacksonville, FL is seeking an Associate Pastor to lead discipleship, spiritual formation, and staff development. You will share in preaching, equip leaders, and coordinate ministry to make disciples across the Aspire Family of Churches.

You will oversee Adult Grow and Next Gen initiatives, collaborate with other pastors, and guide groups from campus-based to community avenues while maintaining pastoral care and leadership development.

Qualifications

• Master of Divinity or comparable education from an accredited school.
• Ordination to pastoral ministry.
• At least five years of ministry leadership experience.
• Active membership in a church and willingness to meet Aspire Church San Marco’s membership requirements.

Responsibilities

• Lead Adult Grow ministry, strengthen group health, teaching, and leader development.
• Recruit, coach, and support group leaders and apprentices; connect groups with growth in faith and service.
• Develop care approach with Deacons to respond to absences, crises, and spiritual concerns.
• Supervise Next Gen team and equip parents as primary disciple makers.
• Coordinate strategic planning and ministry proposals with senior leadership.
• Renew leadership-development efforts and coordinate internships and apprenticeships.
• Develop ministry resources and multi-congregation approaches across Aspire Family.
• Assist with preaching, teaching, and pastoral care; participate in call rotations and visits.
• Manage Grow budget and relate personnel needs to Executive Pastor; ensure alignment with policy.

Skills

Pastoral leadership

Preaching & teaching

Group leadership

Cross-cultural collaboration

Strategic planning

Communication

Pastoral care

Education

Master of Divinity

Tools

Microsoft 365

Job description

Date Prepared/Updated: October 22, 2026

Congregation (Horizontal): Aspire Church San Marco

Ministry Function (Vertical): Grow

Reports to: Senior Pastor

Basic Purpose:

The Associate Pastor leads discipleship and spiritual formation at Aspire Church San Marco and assists the Senior Pastor in coordinating ministry to make disciples of Jesus and to equip those who do. He engages, equips, and empowers staff and lay leaders to build a church of groups, where every member has a primary place of belonging, spiritual formation, and routine member care. He shares in preaching and pastoral ministry, develops future leaders, and equips congregations across the Aspire Family of Churches. San Marco is the first priority and serves as a place to develop ministry approaches that other congregations can adapt to their contexts.

Adult Groups and Spiritual Formation

• Lead Adult Grow ministry, strengthening group health, participation, biblical teaching, spiritual practices, leader development, and multiplication.
• Recruit, equip, coach, and support group leaders and apprentices. Develop a clear pathway that connects participation in groups with growth in faith, service, leadership, and disciple-making.
• Strengthen the existing group structure to support future expansion. Develop leaders and explore opportunities for groups beyond the church campus, including apartment communities.
• Collaborate with the Director of Missions and Mobilization, who works with group Go Leaders to engage members in ministry and missions.

Member Care through Groups and Deacons

• Develop and lead a care approach that strategically places a Deacon in every group and equips Deacons and group leaders to respond to absences, illness, crises, and spiritual concerns.
• Provide an intentional group connection and named care responsibility for members unable or unwilling to attend regularly, including homebound members and students away at college.
• Maintain close pastoral relationships with Deacons and group leaders. Coordinate with the Member Care Coordinator and ensure needs beyond group capacity are referred to the pastoral team with appropriate follow-through.

Next Gen and Family Discipleship

• Supervise the Next Gen Team Leader through coaching, goal setting, and performance evaluation. The team leader retains day-to-day responsibility for Next Gen and supervision of its individual ministry departments and team members.
• Work with the Next Gen Team Leader to equip parents as the primary disciple makers in their homes and strengthen continuity between family discipleship, Next Gen, and adult groups.

Ministry Coordination and Planning

• Serve as the Senior Pastor’s principal ministry lieutenant, assisting with strategic planning, ministry evaluation, coordinated programming, and follow-through at San Marco.
• On the Senior Pastor’s behalf, convene ministry leaders, require their participation and ministry proposals, and help assemble coordinated plans, including contributions from leaders who do not report to this position.
• Clarify agreed responsibilities, timelines, and commitments; track progress and bring unresolved conflicts to the Senior Pastor. The Senior Pastor retains primary responsibility for overall San Marco ministry planning and final decisions on competing priorities.

Leadership Development

• Renew leadership-development efforts by identifying and preparing people to lead groups, ministries, and future congregations.
• Own the ministry design, recruitment, placement, and coaching of internships and apprenticeships. Coordinate with ministry leaders who provide practical ministry experience and mentoring.
• Work with the Executive Pastor, who handles employment, budget, and administrative requirements for these initiatives.

Family of Churches and Multiplication

• Develop effective ministry at San Marco and equip its leaders to share adaptable resources, training, and coaching across the Family. Support local pastors and leaders in applying these resources within their own languages and cultures.
• Develop groups and leaders that contribute to the broader strategy of planting churches for languages spoken in Duval County Public Schools that do not already have a healthy, Gospel-centered church. Collaborate with the Senior Pastor, Director of Missions and Mobilization, and FOC pastors.
• Identify groups and leaders showing readiness to become congregations and initiate discernment with the Senior Pastor and Family Council. Decisions to establish a congregation are collaborative.
• Continue Grow coaching after a congregation launches. Its pastor is supervised by the Host Congregation’s pastor, or directly by the Senior Pastor when the host pastor is unable to provide supervision.

Preaching, Teaching, and Pastoral Ministry

• Assist the Senior Pastor in the preaching ministry, preaching approximately 14–18 Sundays annually across San Marco and other FOC congregations, as scheduled in consultation with the Senior Pastor and local pastors.
• Lead Next Steps approximately once a month and teach in groups, leader training, and other settings as needed.
• Serve as part of the core pastoral team, maintaining a pastoral presence among members, staff, and FOC pastors. Participate in the assigned Pastoral Call rotation and assist with hospital visits, counseling, funerals, weddings, emergencies, and other pastoral needs.

Stewardship and Ministry Support

• Manage the Grow budget, including personnel, adult groups, and Next Gen ministry, within approved church policies and budget authority. The proposed 2027 Grow budget is $223,838, subject to church approval.
• Coordinate with the Executive Pastor on personnel matters, shared systems, and expenses beyond the approved church budget. Work with the Member Care and Ministry Support Coordinators, who provide support to this role; no dedicated administrative assistant is currently assigned.

Authority and Working Relationships

The Associate Pastor reports directly to the Senior Pastor. The Executive Pastor provides personnel and operational support and owns organization-wide personnel processes, shared systems, and expenses exceeding the approved church budget. Supervision of assigned staff is exercised in accordance with Aspire’s personnel policies.

This role owns Grow leadership and exercises delegated ministry-coordination authority on behalf of the Senior Pastor. That authority allows the Director to convene leaders, request proposals, and follow up on agreed plans; it does not create supervisory authority over leaders outside the assigned reporting structure. The Senior Pastor resolves competing ministry priorities in close partnership with the Associate Pastor, Executive Pastor, and Director of Missions and Mobilization.

The Director of Missions and Mobilization retains leadership of Go, including missions, partnerships, ESL, GoJax, and internal and external mobilization. Worship arts, administration, missions and mobilization, community-center management, and building-project leadership are outside this position’s supervisory scope. These leaders remain essential collaborators in a coordinated discipleship ministry.

First Year Priorities and Evaluation

The first year will emphasize the following priorities in order, alongside ongoing preaching, pastoral care, and ministry coordination:

1. Strengthen existing groups, group leaders, Deacon care, and group multiplication.
2. Coordinate with Next Gen to strengthen parents as their children’s primary disciple makers.
3. Renew leadership-development initiatives through a manageable approach to internships and apprenticeships.

The Senior Pastor and Associate Pastor will establish goals using current baselines and available resources. Evaluation will consider

Adult Grow participation, group health, leader and apprentice development, Deacon coverage, care follow-through, and progress toward multiplication. Increased baptisms and worship attendance at San Marco are shared congregational outcomes to which this role contributes. Evaluation will also consider parent equipping, staff development, Family-wide ministry support, and improved planning and follow-through.

Skills and Leadership Expectations

• A growing love for Jesus; biblical faithfulness; prayerfulness; integrity; humility; and pastoral character above reproach; and faith and practice aligned with Aspire’s Statement of Faith.
• Ability to develop disciples and leaders, communicate clearly, make timely decisions, manage assigned staff, and follow through on commitments.
• Effective biblical preaching and teaching; sound pastoral judgment, confidentiality, and compassion in member care.
• Ability to work across cultures and ministry functions, respect local pastoral leadership, and collaborate with staff and lay leaders.
• Strategic planning, budget stewardship, organization, and proficiency with Microsoft 365 and church ministry systems.
• Attend required staff and ministry meetings, participate in church-wide ministry, and carry out other related responsibilities assigned by the Senior Pastor in keeping with this position’s purpose and priorities.

Education and Experience

• Master of Divinity or comparable education in a related field from an accredited school; ordination to pastoral ministry.
• At least five years of ministry experience demonstrating effective leadership, sound judgment, and pastoral character.
• Active membership in a church of like faith and practice and willingness and ability to meet Aspire Church San Marco’s membership requirements.