Senior Pastor

Mesa View Baptist Church; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 110,000 - 190,000; Full time

Job summary

Mesa View Baptist Church in Poway, California, seeks a Senior Pastor to shepherd the congregation, lead biblical preaching, and cast a clear vision for spiritual vitality, outreach, and growth. The candidate will equip leaders, develop staff, and build ministry capacity while remaining anchored in the church’s Statement of Faith, mission, and governance.

This role demands evangelism, multi-generational leadership, compassionate pastoral care, and a commitment to cultivate a healthy,

Qualifications

• Personal faith in Jesus Christ and a clear calling to pastoral ministry.
• Full affirmation of Mesa View Baptist Church’s Statement of Faith.
• Commitment to Mission, Vision, Church Covenant and biblical values.
• Minimum of five years in a pastoral leadership role.
• Master of Divinity or equivalent from an accredited institution.
• Strong ability to cast vision and lead change.

Responsibilities

• Preach biblically sound, Christ-centered messages with clarity, conviction, relevance, and practical application.
• Lead worship, prayer, spiritual growth, discipleship, and Christian service.
• Protect doctrinal integrity and align teaching with the Statement of Faith.
• Develop and communicate a compelling vision and growth strategy.
• Strengthen ministry infrastructure, staffing, systems, technology, and facilities.
• Provide pastoral care through scalable leadership models.
• Recruit, mentor, and empower ministers and lay leaders.

Skills

Biblical preaching

Leadership ability

Communication

Team building

Education

Master of Divinity or equivalent

Doctorate of Theology or equivalent

Job description

MESA VIEW BAPTIST CHURCH

SENIOR PASTOR JOB DESCRIPTION

Seeking Sinners Saving Souls Strengthening Saints

About Mesa View
Mesa View Baptist Church is a Bible-centered, multicultural Baptist congregation in Poway, California, serving the greater San Diego region. Founded in 1992, Mesa View has grown from a small group of founding disciples into an established church community of about 225 members, with average Sunday worship attendance of approximately 100 to 125. Our mission is “Seeking Sinners; Saving Souls; Strengthening Saints,” and our vision is to be a local church with a global reach – a place where God is worshipped, Christ is exalted, the Holy Spirit is welcomed, and God’s Word is studied, shared, and lived. The congregation is multicultural and multigenerational, with active ministries supporting worship, Christian education, children and youth, fellowship, discipleship, missions, outreach, families, and service to the church and community.

Mesa View currently holds Sunday School, Sunday worship services, and Wednesday Bible Study in person and via Zoom. The church’s staff includes a Youth Minister, Minister of Music, and Office Administrator, and the ministry is further supported by two Associate Ministers, the Deacon Board, the Trustee Board, and active lay ministry leaders. This established ministry foundation provides the next Senior Pastor with an engaged congregation and leadership structure from which to strengthen discipleship, expand outreach, develop leaders, reach new generations, and build the ministry capacity necessary for Mesa View’s next season of significant spiritual and numerical growth.

The Opportunity

Mesa View is prayerfully seeking a Senior Pastor who will faithfully shepherd the congregation while leading the church into its next season of spiritual vitality, broader reach, and sustained growth. The church desires to reach substantially more people with the Gospel, strengthen ministry across generations, develop leaders, expand community and digital reach, and build the staff, systems, facilities, and ministry capacity necessary to serve a significantly larger congregation.

Growth is not the mission; it is an anticipated result of faithfully carrying out the mission.
Position Summary
The Senior Pastor is the principal spiritual and pastoral leader of Mesa View Baptist Church. The Pastor will provide biblical preaching and teaching, spiritual leadership, pastoral care, strategic direction, staff and ministry leadership, and a clear focus on evangelism and discipleship. The successful candidate must fully affirm and be willing to teach and lead in accordance with Mesa View Baptist Church’s actual Statement of Faith and support the church’s Mission, Vision, Church Covenant, Constitution, Bylaws, and governance.

Key Responsibilities

Biblical Preaching & Spiritual Leadership

• Preach and teach biblically sound, Christ-centered messages with clarity, conviction, relevance, and practical application.
• Lead the congregation in worship, prayer, spiritual growth, discipleship, and Christian service.
• Protect Mesa View’s doctrinal integrity and ensure ministry and teaching remain consistent with the church’s Statement of Faith.

Vision, Growth & Strategic Leadership

• Develop and communicate a compelling, biblically grounded vision for Mesa View’s future.
• Work with church leadership to establish a multi-year strategy for sustained spiritual and numerical growth.
• Strengthen the ministry infrastructure, staffing, leadership capacity, systems, technology, and facilities needed to effectively serve an increasing congregation.
• Lead appropriate change with wisdom, transparency, collaboration, and respect for Mesa View’s history.

Evangelism, Discipleship & Community Reach

• Keep reaching people for Jesus Christ at the forefront of the church’s ministry.
• Develop clear pathways that help people move from guest to believer, member, disciple, servant, leader, and disciple-maker.
• Strengthen community outreach, missions, digital ministry, and partnerships that extend Mesa View’s local and global reach.

Multigenerational Ministry & Leadership Development

• Strengthen ministries for children, youth, young adults, young families, adults, and seniors.
• Honor and engage long-standing members while intentionally reaching and developing future generations.
• Identify, mentor, equip, and empower ministers, staff, deacons, lay leaders, and volunteers so ministry expands through people rather than depending primarily on the Senior Pastor.

Staff, Organizational & Pastoral Leadership

• Lead, develop, and hold staff and ministry leaders accountable within a collaborative, Christ-centered culture.
• Align people, ministries, budgets, facilities, and resources with the church’s Mission, Vision, and strategic priorities.
• Provide and oversee compassionate pastoral care, including a scalable model of care involving ministers, deacons, and trained ministry leaders (including, but not limited to, spiritual guidance, prayer, counseling, visitation, and support, leadership during illness, hospitalization, bereavement, family challenges, and significant life events, officiate weddings, funerals, baptisms, Communion, and other pastoral functions consistent with Mesa View’s beliefs).

Required Qualifications

• Personal faith in Jesus Christ, a mature Christian life, and a clear calling to pastoral ministry.
• Full affirmation of Mesa View Baptist Church’s actual Statement of Faith.
• Commitment to Mesa View’s Mission, Vision, Church Covenant, and biblical values.
• Demonstrated excellence in biblical preaching and teaching.
• A minimum of five (5) years of experience in a pastoral leadership role.
• Master of Divinity, theology, ministry, or comparable graduate theological degree from an accredited institution.
• Demonstrated ability to cast vision, strategy development, lead change, and build effective teams.
• Strong interpersonal, communication, collaboration, and conflict-resolution skills.
• Biblical character marked by integrity, humility, accountability, wisdom, and a genuine love for people.

Preferred Experience & Education

• Doctorate of Theology or equivalent.
• Ordination within the Baptist tradition or ordination from a comparable Christian tradition subject to review and approval by Mesa View Baptist Church.
• Senior Pastor, Lead Pastor, Executive Pastor, or comparable senior ministry leadership experience.
• Demonstrated experience leading substantial church or ministry growth and building organizational capacity to support growth.
• Experience leading staff, ministry planning, a multigenerational congregation, and providing budget oversight.
• Demonstrated success in evangelism, discipleship, leadership development, next-generation ministry, community outreach, and digital ministry.

Doctrinal Alignment – Condition of Candidacy

Candidates must review and fully affirm Mesa View Baptist Church’s actual, adopted Statement of Faith.
The Senior Pastor is expected to personally believe, preach, teach, and lead consistently with the Statement of Faith and to protect the doctrinal integrity of Mesa View Baptist Church. A candidate who cannot fully affirm the Statement of Faith will not advance in the pastoral search.

Accountability

The Senior Pastor will serve in accordance with Scripture and Mesa View’s Statement of Faith, Church Covenant, Bylaws, policies, and governance structure, working collaboratively with the congregation and established church leadership.

The Pastor We Are Seeking

Mesa View seeks a shepherd who loves people, a preacher who faithfully proclaims God’s Word, an evangelist committed to reaching the lost, a leader who develops other leaders, and a visionary builder who can help the church expand its Kingdom impact while remaining firmly grounded in biblical truth.

Seeking Sinners Saving Souls Strengthening Saints