Worship Pastor

Friends Church; Willoughby Hills (OH); On-site; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Friends Church seeks an Associate Pastor of Worship to lead planning, execution, and development of the worship ministry. You will produce Christ-centered worship experiences, guiding volunteers and student ministry in worship leadership, while working with weekend services, production, and teaching teams.

Reporting to the Executive Pastor of Worship & Creative, you will maintain a culture of excellence, discipleship, and collaboration across Creative, Production, and Weekend Experience teams.

Qualifications

• Growing relationship with Jesus and agreement with Friends Church beliefs.
• Demonstrated calling to worship ministry and pastoral leadership.
• Strong vocal and instrumental proficiency.
• Experience leading contemporary worship in a church setting.
• Experience recruiting, leading, and developing volunteer teams.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and leadership skills.
• Working knowledge of Planning Center and worship technology.

Responsibilities

• Plan and lead engaging, Christ-centered worship experiences.
• Lead rehearsals, weekend services, and ministry events.
• Collaborate with Creative, Production, Communications, and Teaching teams for seamless service execution.
• Build worship sets, service flows, and rehearsal plans using Planning Center.
• Contribute creative ideas that support the church's vision.

Skills

Vocal proficiency

Instrumental proficiency

Pastoral leadership

Planning Center

Team development

Education

Bachelor's degree in Worship Ministry, Music, Theology, or related field

Tools

Planning Center

Worship technology

Job description

Associate Pastor of Worship

Job Summary

The Associate Pastor of Worship leads the planning, execution, and development of the worship ministry at Friends Church. Reporting to the Executive Pastor of Worship & Creative, this role creates Christ-centered worship experiences that help people encounter God, grow in their faith, and take next steps in discipleship.

General Ministry Expectations

• Maintain a growing personal relationship with Jesus through consistent prayer, Scripture, worship, and spiritual disciplines.
• Live a life consistent with biblical leadership and the mission, vision, and values of Friends Church.
• Actively participate in the life of Friends Church through worship, discipleship, and church-wide initiatives.
• Help people encounter Christ, grow spiritually, and engage in the church's discipleship pathway.
• Equip and develop volunteers to use their gifts in ministry (Ephesians 4).
• Shepherd volunteers with humility, integrity, and care (1 Peter 5).
• Support the leadership and direction of the Executive Pastor of Creative and Weekend Services.
• Foster unity, collaboration, and a positive staff culture.

Key Responsibilities

Weekend Worship Leadership

• Plan and lead engaging, Christ-centered worship experiences.
• Lead rehearsals, weekend services, and assigned ministry events.
• Collaborate with Creative, Production, Communications, and Teaching teams to ensure seamless service execution.
• Build worship sets, service flows, and rehearsal plans using Planning Center.
• Contribute creative ideas that enhance worship experiences while supporting the overall vision of Friends Church.

Team Development & Shepherding

• Recruit, train, schedule, and develop worship and production volunteers.
• Coach worship leaders, musicians, vocalists, and technicians toward musical and spiritual growth.
• Provide ongoing pastoral care, encouragement, and leadership development.
• Build a culture of discipleship, ownership, excellence, and servant leadership.
• Develop clear leadership pathways for volunteers from first involvement to team leadership.

Next Generation Worship

• Lead worship within Student Ministry as assigned.
• Recruit and mentor student musicians and production volunteers.
• Develop future worship leaders and create intentional opportunities for students to serve alongside adult teams.
• Build a sustainable leadership pipeline for future worship ministry.

Ministry Operations

• Maintain accurate Planning Center schedules, resources, and communications.
• Steward worship equipment, instruments, and ministry resources.
• Ensure worship environments are prepared, organized, and ministry-ready.
• Improve ministry systems, workflows, and volunteer processes for greater effectiveness.
• Assist with special events, conferences, holidays, and church-wide initiatives.

Success Metrics

Weekend Excellence

• Worship services are prepared and executed with excellence.
• Planning Center plans are completed by established deadlines.
• Weekend execution issues remain minimal and are addressed proactively.
• Volunteer scheduling maintains at least a 90% fulfillment rate.

Team Development

• Recruit and onboard 20–30 new worship and production volunteers annually.
• Provide quarterly coaching and care for volunteers.
• Develop emerging leaders capable of leading teams and worship experiences independently.

Next Generation

• Lead Student Ministry worship 2–4 times per month.
• Recruit and develop 10–20 student volunteers annually.
• Identify and mentor 3–5 student leaders each year.
• Transition 2–4 students annually into adult worship or production teams.

Ministry Health

• Maintain healthy volunteer retention and engagement.
• Strengthen collaboration across Creative, Production, and Weekend Experience teams.
• Continuously improve ministry systems, communication, and volunteer experience

Qualifications

• Growing relationship with Jesus Christ and agreement with the beliefs and values of Friends Church.
• Demonstrated calling to worship ministry and pastoral leadership.
• Strong vocal and instrumental proficiency.
• Experience leading contemporary worship in a church setting.
• Experience recruiting, leading, and developing volunteer teams.
• Excellent organizational, communication, and leadership skills.
• Working knowledge of Planning Center and worship technology.

Preferred

• Bachelor's degree in Worship Ministry, Music, Theology, or related field.
• Three to five years of worship leadership experience in a growing church.
• Experience leading multi-generational volunteer teams.
• Familiarity with production environments and AVL systems.
• Familiarity with Planning Center

Core Competencies

• Gets It: Understands the vision of Friends Church and the role worship plays in disciple-making.
• Wants It: Has a passion for leading people in worship, developing volunteers, and building healthy ministry teams.
• Capacity: Demonstrates the leadership, relational skills, musical ability, and organizational capacity to lead a growing worship ministry.
• Spiritual Maturity
• Humility and Servant Leadership
• Team Builder
• Musical Excellence
• Strong Communicator
• Organizational Excellence
• Collaborative
• Disciple Maker
• Adaptable and Solution-Oriented
• Creative Thinker

Reports to

Executive Pastor of Worship & Creative

Works Closely With

• Weekend Experience Team
• Production Team
• Communications Team
• Student Ministry