What is the congregation’s or organization’s vision for ministry? Additionally describe how this vision is lived out.
Highlands (HUPC) is a family of faith guided by God in the love we share for Christ, the church, and its Precious Gifts Preschool. We strive to put that love into action in our worship and in our ministry to one another and to our community. During the pandemic we lost our beloved Pastor to illness and encountered other difficulties in sustaining our strong set of church programs. Facing these issues head on, we inaugurated virtual services, maintained a solid foundation of committed members, continued to support most of our mission objectives, and retained a solid financial foundation.
It is fair to say, however, that we have yet to fully recover from this period of uncertainty and change. Accordingly, our vision is to strengthen and grow our ministry through leadership and inspiration from the pulpit while remaining deeply devoted to mission, Christian education, youth engagement, and fellowship that constantly affirms a genuine care for one another. |
How do you feel called to reach out to address the emerging needs of your community or constituency?
We want to have a more meaningful and larger footprint in our community. We recognize that people are looking for something that goes beyond a traditional worship experience. This change may mean we examine our current traditional offerings, and move gently toward more contemporary offerings and technologies.
In congregational gatherings, we hear that Highlands has a “small church feel with big church offerings.” We want to be the church option that allows people to feel known, recognized, and cared for. Members can become as involved as they wish and know that their efforts make a difference to the church and its missions.
Highlands has over 50 years of history serving Jacksonville. Much of our success is grounded in adapting to the changing needs of our members and community. We aspire to have many more years of being a church home for people of all ages looking to learn about and worship God with other Christians. |
How will this position help you to reach your vision and mission goals?
This position has been and is the most crucial component to the success of Highlands. The candidate should possess a willingness to lead across a wide breadth of f faith activities and be prepared to serve the needs of a church which desires to increase its ministry to all generations and to reach out even more to our community.
The involvement in and care for our members, the development of activities to attract new neighbors, and the skills and creativity of the candidate will ensure we sustain our important place as a leading and vibrant church for the greater Arlington neighborhood. |
Provide a description of the characteristics needed by the person who is open to being called to this congregation and or organization.
The Installed Pastor will have the personal attributes of compassion, spiritual maturity, and hopefulness, and will be a skilled and effective communicator. In addition, the Installed Pastor will need strong leadership and organizational talents and the ability to envision, strategize and generate change that builds passion for our ministry both within the church and in our community.
The message from the pulpit each week is the primary experience for most of our members. Our members respond most favorably to a message that is grounded in scripture but delivered in a way that is easily connected to their personal lives. Our members expect our pastor to know them personally and care about both their spiritual and physical health.
As mentioned previously, we lost key leadership during the pandemic which compounded the difficulty of maintaining our programs. These changes forced our congregation to step into the void created. The new pastor will need to engage with the session and committees to help support and provide guidance around our programs. We need vision and a willingness to challenge existing programs and processes if there may be better ways to move our church forward, led by an effective
organizer, collaborator, and delegator. |
What specific tasks, assignments, and program areas will this person have responsibility?
Our pastor is the leader of the church both spiritually and organizationally. The session and committees are composed of volunteers that have busy lives and rotate on and off session and the committees. We don’t expect our pastor to do all the jobs, but they are the continuity that connects our efforts as individuals change.
Direct responsibilities:
● Worship leader
● Moderator of session
● Set vision for our mission, fellowship, and educational programs
● Provide day-to-day oversight and management of church staff
● Guide successful youth programs and events
● Pastoral care of members
● Active participation in the Presbytery
Indirect responsibilities:
● Resource for the various committees
● Leadership and significant input to our adult and youth education and programs
● Develop a strategy for attracting new church visitors and members
● Develop relationships with neighboring churches and community organizations
● Ensure that the administrative needs of the church are met either through qualified volunteers or professional resources
● Nurture the relationship with the preschool as a pathway to church growth
● Provide supportive leadership in our music ministry
● Enhance technology for worship, evangelism, and communication |
Optional Links
www.facebook.com/hupcjax
www.micahsbackpackjax.org
www.familypromisejax.org
www.coj.net
www.unf.edu
www.fscj.edu
www.myjaxchamber.com |