Ministry Information Form Query

APC’s vision for ministry is encapsulated in our mission statement based on Romans 12:2: “Transforming Lives through the Good News of Jesus Christ.”

We seek to live as transformed people devoted to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We define the Gospel message as the good news that Jesus has died for our sins and was raised from the dead so that through his resurrection and gift of the Holy Spirit we can live transformed lives filled with love for God and service to his creation.

Our vision for ministry is to be living witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ through worship, communion, fellowship, study, prayer, service and mission.

How we live out this vision:

By celebrating the presence and grace of God in worship: Our weekly worship services connect    us to God and to each other through meaningful preaching, celebration of the sacraments, beautiful music, and Christian fellowship. Our music program provides opportunities for worship participation for all ages.

By growing in wisdom and knowledge of God through prayer and study: We gain knowledge and insight through Bible studies and small groups. We encourage children and youth to be active participants in the life of the church. We join in prayer to connect with God.

By spreading the great joy of Jesus’s to our neighbors and serving the community: We connect to others in our community through our various mission projects and care for those experiencing hardship.

We strive to be an inclusive community of faith, responding to both the needs of our congregation and to the needs of the outside world. We are a suburban congregation located in the western suburbs of Philadelphia. Although our church building has a somewhat imposing façade, we feel called to connect ourselves more fully with the wider world.

Some specific needs to which we feel called to respond in our community are: the need for affordable housing (our First Place Ministry provides transitional housing for immigrants, refugees and others in need), homelessness (we support of the Welcome Church in Philadelphia), and food insecurity (we support St. Mary’s Food Pantry in Ardmore).  We also feel called to support international missions, honoring God’s call to minister to the entire human family, regardless of geographic borders. 

We also are attentive to the needs of our church community. Ardmore Presbyterian cares for members of our congregation who are experiencing difficulties by helping them through crises and holding them in prayer.  We also seek to provide educational opportunities for our adults, youth and children so that their faith may be informed and strengthened by study and discussion. Our current Director of Family Ministries an important role in this endeavor. We also feel called to worship God through music. Our music director has developed a music ministry at our church which involves the active participation of all ages in worship and music.

We are seeking a spiritually mature pastor who can help us pursue our vision of being a congregation living transformed lives and transforming the lives of others through Jesus’ love through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our ideal candidate would share our vision and encourage us through teaching, preaching, leadership in worship, pastoral care, and community outreach.

We are seeking an individual who will challenge us to become a more interconnected and inclusive community of faith. Ardmore Presbyterian is often complimented for its openness and friendliness towards visitors. We hope that our next pastor can help us extend ourselves further into the life of our community in Ardmore.

Pastoral care is another important aspect of this position. We seek someone who will play an active role in caring for those in our congregation through personal outreach. This will help us reach our mission goal of caring for those in our church community and our vision of transforming lives through the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The person who fills this position will also be collaborating with our Director of Family Ministries and our Director of Music to support existing programs and to develop new opportunities for all ages.

Through strategy and vision, we hope our next pastor can help us grow our congregation.  We wish to be sustainable as an organization, useful in the mission of God and relevant for the next generation. We believe our next pastor will play a vital role in pursuing these goals.

We seek a dynamic leader whose knowledge and love of scripture provides a foundation for a ministry in which the word is preached and taught with insight and inspiration. We are also seeking an individual whose faith is rooted in the Reformed tradition as expressed in the confessions of the church.

He or she must possess a love of worship and preaching, delighting and celebrating in traditional worship and liturgy, making traditional worship accessible and relevant to all ages, especially children and youth. A love and appreciation for choral music and traditional hymnody would also be a welcome attribute of our ideal candidate.  The ability to deliver thoughtful, inspiring sermons is another vital element of worship leadership. He or she should also be a welcoming presence in worship, making both regular congregants and newcomers feel included and loved.

We seek an individual who can provide strong, decisive institutional leadership and possesses excellent management skills with the ability to communicate effectively with the church staff and church leadership. This individual should also inspire and support the ideas and initiatives of congregation members.

We seek an individual skilled in pastoral care and committed to mission and service.

Above all, we seek a pastor whose leadership and vision will help us live out the reality of God’s kingdom and can assist APC in becoming a vibrant, growing congregation that cares deeply for each other and the world.

Preaching and worship leadership

• Deliver substantive, thought-provoking, motivational sermons that inspire our congregation to engage in Christ’s work on earth
• Actively support our music program
• Joyfully participate and lead us in worship through the celebration of the sacraments
• Provide meaningful opportunities for engagement in worship with children and youth

Strategic leadership and organizational agility

• Guide the church with vision and purpose
• Assist in strategic financial planning and stewardship

Communication

• Communicate effectively with church and community members
• Collaborate with the Director of Family Ministries and the Music Director, to sustain existing programs and develop new opportunities for ministry
• Teaching Bible studies and communicating the Gospel with depth and insight

Pastoral care and interpersonal communication

• Connect to those in need with compassion
• Encourage/motivate members of the church to reach out to those in need

Administration and management of staff

• Manage church’s programming and operations
• Supervise and work collaboratively with staff
• Effectively communicate strategy, vision and objectives

Outreach and mission

• Develop and increase our missions and outreach into our immediate community of Ardmore and around the world
• Dynamically engage and motivate APC in the work of Christ in the world