Next Steps Pastor (SLK)

Gateway Church; United States; On-site; USD 90,000 - 130,000; Full time

Job summary

Gateway Church is seeking a Next Steps Pastor to own the pathway from first-time guest to connected, serving member at one campus. You will design and lead the local Next Steps experience, plan within the campus budget, and oversee the Serve Team in alignment with Gateway’s church-wide standards.

You will recruit, train, and develop staff and volunteers, steward the ministry budget, and pastor people through care, prayer, and presence as they grow in faith and connect with the mission.

Qualifications

• Four or more years of ministry experience, leadership capacity, and a clear biblical foundation.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience and licensed or eligible to be licensed as a minister.
• Experience in a multisite church setting is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Owns Next Steps at a campus, designing and leading its plan within the campus operating plan and budget.
• Recruits, hires, trains, and provides accountability for the Next Steps Team.
• Oversees the Serve Team, including recruiting, training, retention, and appreciation.
• Manages the ministry budget and ensures spending stays within approved thresholds.
• Pastors people through care, prayer, and presence, and connects guests to next steps.

Skills

Pastoral leadership

Staff development

Clear communicator

Budgeting & planning

Crisis management

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Minister license or eligible

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Job Summary:

The Next Steps Pastor owns the pathway people walk at one campus—from first-time guest to connected, serving member. This role is responsible for designing and leading the local Next Steps experience, including its plan within the campus operating plan, budget, Serve Team, and team members who bring it to life, while ensuring alignment with Gateway’s church-wide Next Steps standards. The Next Steps Pastor makes each step clear and accessible, helping people know where to go next and encouraging them to continue taking meaningful steps as they grow in their faith and become increasingly connected to the life and mission of Gateway.

Principal Job Responsibilities:

• Leads Next Steps at one campus, owning its plan within the campus operating plan
• Delivers the church-wide standard for Next Steps locally, adapting the expression without changing the standard
• Recruits, hires, leads, trains, develops, and provides accountability for Next Steps Team
• Builds and stewards the Serve Team for the ministry: recruiting, training, retention, and appreciation
• Owns the ministry budget for the area and spends within the approved threshold
• Pastors the people the ministry reaches, through care, prayer, and presence
• Participates in the cross-campus meeting for the ministry, led by the Area Leader Pastor
• Reviews ministry metrics and makes decisions accordingly
• Owns the campus's assimilation path from first-time guest to connected and serving member tracking individual movement through each stage
• Leads Starting Point at the campus, including its sessions, environments, and volunteer teams
• Oversees baptisms, membership, and new-member onboarding at the campus
• Owns first-time guest follow-up and connection card response, and ensures requests reach the right person
• Follows up on salvation decisions and next steps, ensuring anyone who makes a decision for Christ or indicates a next step receives timely, personal contact and is connected to the appropriate next step
• Partners with Groups and with ministry leaders so that people who take a next step find community
• Holds a ministerial license to minister, preach the gospel, and fulfill the work of serving God's kingdom, valid for the duration of pastoral ministry at Gateway Church, and carries spiritual authority within the church
• Serves the congregation by officiating weddings, funerals, baby dedications, communion, and other ministry services
• Is present and serving at weekend services and churchwide events as the ministry calendar requires, and is available to the congregation for pastoral care as needs arise
• Teaches through biblical principles and by lifestyle example
• Performs other duties as assigned. As a member of the Gateway Church team, this position is expected to support, recruit, and develop Serve Team members, and to serve alongside the broader team as ministry and organizational needs arise

General Skills & Qualifications:

• A clear passion for Jesus and a strong biblical foundation
• Clear and effective communicator with both large and small groups
• Demonstrated ability to gather, develop, and deploy staff and volunteers
• Strong critical thinking, and the ability to manage ambiguity and lead others through change
• Systems-minded, with the ability to design and hold a path people actually move through
• Warm and approachable with guests and new members
• Comfortable holding others accountable with clarity and care
• Demonstrated emotional and relational intelligence
• Willingness and ability to engage in courageous conversations
• Strong time-management skills and the ability to hold several priorities at once
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and able to learn and function within new software and systems

Education/Certification(s):

• Four or more years of ministry experience - required
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience - required
• Licensed as a minister, or eligible to be licensed upon employment - required
• Prior experience in a multisite church environment - preferred

General Physical Requirements:

• Sit or stand for extended periods of time
• Occasionally kneel or crouch
• Frequently lift and/or move up to 10 lbs.
• Occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 lbs.

*This description is not all inclusive, and other duties may be assigned as necessary.

Gateway Church does not discriminate in employment opportunities or practices on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, disability, or any other characteristic protected by law as it applies to churches. However, Gateway Church does discriminate on the basis of religion.

At Gateway Church, we exist to lead people to know God personally, grow in faith, and live on mission.

We are one church body with congregations planted throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex and Jackson Hole, Wyoming; multiple prisons; and homes around the world.

Our faith is firmly rooted in the Bible, and we live out our faith by being submitted to and empowered by the Holy Spirit.